Sarah Hohler, KCC Cabinet Member for Education, Learning and Skills, has resigned her post, and been replaced by Mike Whiting, previously one of the two Deputy Cabinet Members in the same Department. Gary Cooke, the other Deputy, remains. This all introduces more change in the Department, which is currently headed by two temporary appointments and is in the middle of a major restructuring. Patrick Leeson, the new Corporate Director for Education, Learning and Skills, is not joining Kent County Council until next month......
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New Kent and Medway Academies for September are: Barton Court Grammar School, Canterbury; Brockhill Park Performing Arts College (Hythe - in a chain with Highworth Grammar School for Girls and Towers School and Sixth Form Centre); Homewood School and Sixth Form Centre, Tenterden (in a chain with Sandwich Technology School); Sheldwich Primary, Selling CofE Primary School, Lynsted & Norton Primary School, Milsted & Frinsted CofE Primary School (in Federation). New sponsored (old style Academies) are: St Augustine Academy (previously Astor of Hever Community School, Maidstone)  (sponsored by the Woodard Foundation) and Horizon Primary School (Swanley). In Medway there are:.......
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Congratulations to Seabrook CofE Primary School inShepway, which is the latest Kent Primary School to be judged Outstanding by OFSTED, making this a total of 11 in the last 18 months, above the national average. You will find a full list of these schools here.  Congratulations also to Cranbrook School, yet another Kent grammar school to be found Outstanding.  The Seabrook Report is one of the very best I have seen. Excerpts from the summary include:...........
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New Kent academies open for August 2011 in Kent include Wilmington Grammar School for Girls in a chain with Wilmington Grammar School for Boys. This is allowable because Wilmington Girls was awarded Good with Outstanding Features in its most recent OFSTED Report, enabling Wilmington Boys to be accepted under its wing, as its OFSTED Report was just Satisfactory. This type of linkage emphasises the importance of a good OFSTED Report, sometimes at the expense of other essential aspects of a good eduction (no suggestion of this at Wilmington Girls). The other conversions are:......
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KCC appears to be changing its view on supporting secondary schools to become academies as the financial advantages start to vanish. BBC SE is planning to cover the situation this evening.
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The Local Government Ombudsman has today (July 6th) published a highly critical report on the Independent Appeal Panel for Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Girls for entry last September (2010). Whilst no fault was found with the school's actions (apart from engaging a Kent County Council Panel), KCC itself comes in for heavy criticism on a variety of fronts:........
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Just one new academy in Kent appoved this year; Mascalls' School in Padddock Wood. There are also two new academies in Medway: Rainham Mark Grammar and Cliffe Woods Primary School.However, there is a large number of new applications:..........
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Congratulations to: Downs View Infants School, Kennington; Herne Bay Infants School; St Michael's CofE Infant School, Maidstone; and Woodlands Junior School in Tonbridge on being awarded an Outstanding OFSTED Grading in the past month. These contribute to the total of ten Kent primary schools to be found Outstanding in the past year, the others being:..........
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