Big Brother Is Reading You

A French character in last year’s production caused endless security problems because of her name. You see Securus sends an automatic alert to the Assistant Head who acts as Big Brother to the school’s ICT and Network system. Whenever children or even members of staff use the Internet to search out potentially offensive material or use inappropriate language such as swear words, the system sends an automatic alert to Big Brother. The character in the play was called Fanny. But we never told the director about the alarms she regularly triggered.

The system is expensive but invaluable. It provides passive monitoring of the most effective kind. No one can claim they are being watched- unless they do something wrong, or at least capable of misinterpretation. A teacher, for example, researching a topic on racism for a History class might prompt the alert. Similarly, song lyrics down loaded for Music can be a trigger point.

Not that this is a problem- we prefer a sensitive system that we can ignore if we need to. The on screen alert reads: ‘ severe violations are pending.’ Our censor then logs into Securus and can read the exact date and time of the potential offence and the actual computer. It applies to lap tops and use both in school and at home. A click to view option allows him to see what the material is and make a decision about whether there is the need to follow it up.

If a child uses emails to be offensive, the system will pick it up. Two students have had their access rights withdrawn because of their hacking skills, even though they are taking ICT GCSE. Securus tracked them down. A couple of years ago we had a data leak but the system identified the computer immediately and we were able to find the culprit within hours and limit the damage caused.

It’s an effective deterrent and allows us to sleep easily, knowing that INTERNET violations can’t take place undetected. But it can give Big Brother some privileged inside information. Recently someone used inappropriate language in an email that told us of a secret she was about to break. Yes- she was pregnant and no- it wasn’t Fanny.

ALL DIETERS NOW

A new Government report claims that the next generation, today’s South Dartmoor students, may lead shorter lives than their parents. The cause: over-eating, being over-weight – obesity. Since this is bound to become the responsibility of schools (aren’t we to blame for all society’s ills?), I am expecting a new Government target to sort the problem.

In the School Performance Tables, published annually, next to the number of students gaining five A*-C passes at GCSE, we may soon see a column to judge the weight of students in each school. Why? Well the Government has always believed if it moves they should measure it. And this is certainly a measurable target. The higher the average weight of the year group, the lower the success rate of the school.

Nervous headteachers around the country will be waiting with fingers crossed in the summer to hear not just how many GCSEs their students have gained but how they score on the bathroom scales. I can hear the OFSTED inspector now asking for data on body mass ratios. Schools may be put into special measures because they fail the obesity target.

Staff this week have also had their own weigh-in sessions or at least this is what they’re being described as by one senior educationalist. All teachers, we are told, should come to share practice and exchange ideas on a regular basis, in the way that Weight Watchers support groups work. Well, we have introduced what we are calling Learning Hubs – on teaching not eating. The Hubs were a great success because of the lead from our teacher assistants and some excellent choreography from Rachael Hutchinson. Does she still teach Dance?

Meanwhile in Assembly this week, Phil Randall also took on a lead role, giving an Oscar winning performance, portraying a younger me driving through rural Africa in the 1970s. To be fair, this was pure improvisation and actually he didn’t look anything like me, but I am not going to mention flab in this paragraph.

But, there have been some naughty distractions. In order to persuade staff to offer evaluations on the Performance Management Scheme, Nat Parnell is providing chocolate bar rewards. Large bars of obesity-creating confectionary are now appearing in staff pigeon holes.

At the Governors’ session this week, healthy vegetables and dips kept us munching through the meeting. There was much discussion of new dining facilities to help us improve the quality of life for students

The new cycle initiatives, the extensive range of clubs and activities, Scoffers’ healthy food and the fact that no-one at South Dartmoor ever sits still, all suggest to me that we might do rather well in the Obesity League Table targets. I might even write to the Government to propose they introduce them soon. Bring it on.

The First Blog Standard Comprehensive?

The forensic team from the Science Department have this week been trying to solve a mystery. Someone has taken the ultra modern, beautifully designed school notepaper and performed an act of vandalism.

Instead of the neat, crisp lines and clutter free, 21st century image, a heap of logos has been scattered over the bottom of the page by some amateur graffiti artist. Even worse, The Sports College and Arts mark Gold logos have been defiled by the presence of new symbols.

Year 8 parents this week received letters printed on what looked like official South Dartmoor paper. But soon the phone lines were blocked with puzzled parents trying to find out what the new designs meant for their children’s education. Good question.

Creator of the original paper, graphics expert, Martin Burt- the man who has single handedly changed the meaning of the controversial term, intelligent design- will today join the Science Department to see if the culprit can be tracked down.

One theory is that this may be the first example of artificial intelligence at work. Richard Penhale, ICT Systems Manager believes this might really be a South Dartmoor first. Could it be the computer wot done it?

We are, of course, proud to be one of the very first Sports Colleges (only six in the country when we attended our first national conference in Loughborough eleven years ago). So that logo goes on.


Then there’s our training school, again one of the first and really making an impact. Arts mark gold is a third time winner- nine solid years of excellence. We haven’t even recognised our leading edge status (in the first selection again) or Trust- the first in Devon and only thirty on the scene so far.

So where do all the logos go? We tried adding them on to the paper a few years ago and there was no space left to write anything. We could still add some new ones gained recently. Each one represents significant achievement.

For example, why don’t we include SIMS Reference Site? Well, er … hands up if you know what it means. Or there’s the BECTA ICT Mark. Shall we test you on that one? Investor in Careers- that’s a bit too easy to guess. Investor in Work Related and Enterprise Learning? That one almost fills the blog, never mind the note paper. Then there’s Investor in People… Investor in ……….

Yes we want to celebrate achievement and a school that aspires must surely inspire its students. Even this blog, I’m told by my colleagues, is a first- so while we’re definitely not bog standard we may soon be blog standard. In all the best mystery stories, you have to wait to hear who done it. So answers on an email (postcards definitely not accepted) to Peter Kensington who may even, at this very minute be teaching a Year 11 class some forensic Science. Got him!

Anything Goes

My wife has a thing about food combinations. While I love to experiment (what’s wrong with curry-flavoured ice cream anyway?) she rejects any two flavours if she thinks they don’t go.

This week the topic of food in school has been exercising our minds. It’s not just that the seagull invasion has become an epidemic. Waste food scavenging from these air-born predators is actually reaching scary levels. We could soon see one of our little Year Sevens swept into the skies- not sure if we’ve ticked the box for this on the health and safety check list. We need to confine the eating to one or two areas, preferably indoors. But we scratched our heads in despair at the likely, and therefore impossible, cost of a new dining facility for our students. So back to the drawing board- and even that will cost me in architect’s fees! Scoffers can provide such great food. It’s a pity students have to eat on the hoof because of our limited dining facility. In Italy they sell: “walking ice creams”, a description of food sold to eat as you go. On this score almost all we sell is “walking food” and it’s converted into “flying food” as students throw down their litter. Anything that’s biodegradable is swept up just minutes after it’s dropped. The seagull outside my window a few minutes ago was tucking into a packet of bacon crisps and a tasty-looking chicken wrap. Do they go together?


We’ve had guests here from the Ministry of Education in Bangkok. It was great to be reminded of the tastes and sounds of Thailand. How do the Thais manage to be so cheerful always- ever smiling and accommodating? Perhaps the fantastic food and the time devoted to doing it justice helps. We have all been given beautiful badges which represent the 60 year reign of the much revered King of Thailand. Some staff wore the beautiful red silk shirts given as presents on their last visit to the country. Personally, I think Steve Dinnie could start a new fashion trend for the smart/casual man-about-town. A new silky soft image for him?

I remember the amazing food combinations out there and wonder, as we eat lunch together, what they make of our traditional bread and butter pudding. They all try it and are impressed. Julie Ingham-Hill confesses that she has never eaten it before! I think it’s the most delicious one I’ve ever tasted- but I did cheat and put some custard on the fruit salad. Don’t tell my wife.

Later, as I glance out of the window, I see another giant seagull fly past carrying something that looks suspiciously like Judith Morgan…….now who’s going to health and safety check that?