Bradford's schools aren't good enough - so why the complacency?

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The future of Bradford schools is "in good hands" screams the headline - great we think, someone's in charge (when he isn't trying to get elected as an MP).

In charge of what? Are Bradford's schools so good:

Councillors on the Children’s Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee were told that four partnerships were working together with a “passion” to improve educational standards across the district now and in the future.

Representatives of Bradford Partnership, Bradford Primary Improvement Partnership (BPIP), the District Achievement Partnership (DAP) and the Nursery Schools Partnership told of their hard work...

Hard work that has meant:

Bradford’s primary schools came third-bottom of a 150-strong table for SATs results...

But, our schools leaders say this is all fine because:

They are recognised for things like progress, leadership and management, and health and safety – not just attainment.

Wow! All that progress, leadership and management has led to no improvement in performance. Perhaps that's the problem? Perhaps rather than all this mumbo-jumbo, we should try some teaching? A bit of focus on results rather than ticking boxes?

However, we're told to 'trust them':

“We are putting in place structures that will allow progress over time. We are trying to work out what our strengths are and how we progress. It will not happen overnight.

“Trust us, these are good models.” 

Trust you? On the basis of these results? No chance.

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