I enjoyed writing this feature about how the local authority is working to improve attainment in Tower Hamlets, for a number of reasons: I used to live in the neighbouring borough of Hackney; my sister is a teacher in Tower Hamlets; and a lot of MediaChild's friends will be going to school there next year. So I was very interested and impressed by how the council is prioritising education and the results they are getting. We recently moved from London to Colchester and people often assume this was because we were worried about inner London schools (it wasn't), but I think this feature shows that in fact many schools in London are pockets of excellence. Of course there are many with problems as well but that's the case everywhere.
I could have included a lot more in the piece but word count did not permit. However I do want to share these quotes from a mum and children in Tower Hamlets which I couldn't include in the feature as my deadline had passed.
Claire Davis is a mother of four daughters in the borough and she says she is "delighted" with the education they are getting. "In primary school, they have inspiring teachers and do a huge range of
activities inside and outside the classroom that help them to learn," she says. "I am
really impressed with the partnership working with THAMES (the Tower Hamlets
Arts and Music Education Service). My two youngest daughters learn
stringed instruments at school – Agnes is eight and has just started the
violin. Maud is ten and has just started her third year of playing the
cello. She’s now playing guitar too. She goes to Saturday morning
music school and has been given her instruments on loan so she can practice at
home every day. The whole school (75 children in each year) from
year 3 onwards is given this amazing opportunity."
Davis says learning music helps
improve children’s numeracy as well as self-confidence and creativity. She also praises the Ocean Maths
project which includes parents coming into school to play numeracy games with
their children, and continuing learning together by doing worksheets and
experiments at home, prizes given for book reviews which promote literacy, and "a fantastic array of after school clubs."
Davis' other two daughters are at secondary school in the borough, at a school ranked as outstanding by Ofsted. She says: "My eldest daughter sat her
GCSE in Maths this year, two years early. She passed with a C but will
re-sit next year, as she is capable of getting a higher mark. I think it’s
great that the school is keen to be flexible and get the students to sit exams
when they are ready, not just when they reach a certain age. A few of
Flora’s peers got As and A*s aged fourteen in Maths, which I think shows that
their education is just a good as anywhere else in the country."
Something I completely agree with is that the diversity of inner London, which can be seen as a problem (for example, the number of children who don't have English as a first language) can actually be a benefit. "I think that living and going to school in Tower Hamlets, children benefit
from the diversity of students that they mix with," says Davis. "In any class the
children may speak tens of different languages at home, follow a number of
religions or none, and live in very different circumstances from one
another. Tower Hamlets schools are brilliant at making sure all children
are included and that everyone learns to respect everyone else. I’m not
sure that education is as rich as this elsewhere in the UK. I think Tower Hamlets
children are very lucky to go to school so close to the centre of London,
because so much opportunity is on their doorstep."
Davis' children have comments to make too:
Agnes (8) What is the best thing about my school? The
trampolining.
My school helps me to do well in work by teaching me about division.
We have different groups for literacy, maths, topic and guided reading. They put
us on different tables because some people are better than others at these
subject. This helps the teacher to give a different worksheet for each
table. I like working in a group like this because people sit in the same
place every day.
Maud (10) The best thing about my school is the playground because there
are lots of activities I can do every day like hula hooping and football.
My school helps me to do my best by explaining things properly and helping
us if we don’t get it right first time.
We are streamed for maths and we have different groups in literacy. I think
this is a good idea because it means I don’t have to do activities that are too
easy for me. I like having work that’s a bit harder for me and I feel
proud of myself when I get it right and know what I can do.
Nancy (12) I had a great day at school yesterday when my PE teacher asked
me to run the class. She said I had great leadership skills so I could be
in charge. I really enjoyed that.
Flora (15) The best thing about my school is my history
teacher. He could be an IT teacher too because he is very techie. I
also think he could be a drama teacher because he does fantastic vignettes to
help us remember things in History. I particularly like his dance, to
remind us how to structure our essays. We are set for subjects like
English, Maths and Science and we work in mixed ability groups for other
subjects. This works well.
