www.dg.dial.pipex.com12936 readers since 1 Jan 2000 

Information

On this page:

A bit about me
About my website
Accessibility
Links to other sites

A bit about me

After attending Godalming Grammar School in Surrey, I did my initial teacher training from 1963 to 1966 at Westminster College, which had just moved from London into new buildings on Harcourt Hill to the west of Oxford. My two main subjects (in addition to education) were music and divinity.

It was a time of great creativity and innovation in education. Most local authorities were getting rid of the eleven plus exam and introducing comprehensive schools, and the Plowden Report on primary education was about to be published.

My final teaching practice was at Bampton CE Primary School, where child-centred education was very much in evidence. The head teacher, Mr RT Smith, was a member of the Central Advisory Council which produced the Plowden Report.

My first teaching post was in Guildford, Surrey. The accommodation at St John's CE Primary School consisted of a converted house in the Farnham Road so the classrooms were very cramped, but there was a friendly family atmosphere. The head, Mrs Walford, a delightful elderly Scot, lived next door.

After my first year we moved into Queen Eleanor's CE Primary School, which had previously been a secondary school, so we now had much bigger classrooms, a good gym and even a small swimming pool in the quadrangle. I taught general subjects to (large!) classes of nine/ten year olds.

After four years I transferred to Westborough County Primary School, also in Guildford, where, in addition to my general class teaching duties, I was responsible for the teaching of music throughout the school.

In August 1972 I moved to Northampton and was appointed music teacher at Kingsthorpe CE Primary School.

A year later, the town's schools were reorganised into first, middle and upper schools and I transferred to Bective Middle School. John Allsebrook was an inspirational head to work for, a real visionary. I spent eleven happy years at Bective, teaching in a variety of capacities. For several years I was first year (now year 5) coordinator, then I specialised in teaching music and religious education, and finally I was appointed deputy head, a position I held for two years. (The school was later amalgamated with St George's and renamed Northampton Middle School. The buildings were demolished in 2002. John Allsebrook died in 1994).

In 1985 I was appointed to my first headship at Christ Church CE Middle School in Ealing, West London. In three busy years we compiled a staff handbook which included curriculum documents and school policies, and we worked with the local authority on developing good equal opportunities practices in all aspects of the school including recruitment and selection procedures. We also piloted a staff appraisal scheme - before being required to do so by the government!

During my time in Ealing I undertook a two year part-time course at the University of London Institute of Education (ULIE), leading to the award of Diploma in Education. The areas I focused on were curriculum studies and the management and administration of education in the UK.

I took up my second headship at Marston Middle School Oxford (pictured) in January 1989. During the 1990s our work on bullying was featured in the local and national press and on radio and television (see my article Facing the problem of bullying in schools for more details).

This was not an easy period in education. Like all schools, we had to cope with the introduction of the National Curriculum and local management (ie managing our own budget), while successive years of Tory education budget cuts resulted in the loss of some able staff.

During my time at Marston I undertook a further two year part-time course at ULIE, which resulted in the award of MA in religious education. The topics covered included the aims and history of religious education, moral and spiritual education and values education. (My Dip Ed and MA essays and my MA dissertation can all be found in the Articles section).

I retired from full-time teaching in 1997 with very mixed feelings. I loved the job, especially the daily interactions with staff and pupils, but had become weary of the ever-increasing political interference in schools.

I still care deeply about education, however, and in addition to running this website I continue to serve on the editorial board of the journal Forum which promotes comprehensive education.

About my website

This website, which first appeared online in 1998, is privately owned.

Judging by the emails I get, the vast majority of its readers are students, teachers, lecturers and researchers (which is hardly surprising, given the site's content!)

The site is created and maintained on an Apple iMac. I use Apple's TextEdit program to write all my own HTML code, and Appleworks and GraphicConverter to create the graphics.

There is currently no advertising on the site, but I would be happy to consider proposals from advertisers to help with running costs - email me if you're interested.

The figure at the top right of each page (under the row of buttons) shows how many times that page has been read since it was first uploaded.

The total number of page impressions ('hits') recorded on the site in the past six weeks is as follows:

Accessibility

I try to make my site accessible for those with limited vision or who are blind.

I do not specify the font or size of the text, which means it is displayed in the style and at the size which you set in your web browser - it can be as big as you like. (If you're using Mac OS X and Safari just press the Apple key and + to make the text bigger, or Apple and - to make it smaller).

If you're blind and using Mac OS X and Safari you can listen to my web pages (though you'll probably need someone to help get you started).

To do so, open the page you wish to hear. Press Apple and A to select all the text (or choose Edit > Select All). Now choose Safari > Services > Speech > Start Speaking Text. The page will be read to you in whatever voice you've selected on your Mac. (You can change the voice and the speed of reading in System Preferences > Speech).

Please let me know if there is anything else I can do to improve access to my website.

Links to other sites

Richard Aldrich
Richard is Emeritus Professor of the History of Education at the London Institute of Education and the leading exponent of the application of historical perspectives to current educational issues.

British History Online
Created by the Institute of Historical Research and the History of Parliament Trust, British History Online contains some of the core sources for the medieval and modern history of the British Isles.

Campaign for State Education
CASE campaigns for an education system that is fair to all children, young people and their parents, and which has the resources to provide excellent quality.

Department for Children, Schools and Families
The government department responsible for schools (previously known as the Department for Education and Skills).

Forum
Published by Symposium Journals three times a year, Forum campaigns for comprehensive education. (Many of my articles were originally written for Forum).

The History of Education Society
Founded in 1967, the society aims to promote the study and teaching of the history of education and to encourage and support research.

National Association for Primary Education
NAPE aims to promote the education of children from birth to thirteen. It has more than 200,000 members including parents, teachers, school governors, inspectors and education officers.

National Curriculum
This government website sets out the National Curriculum's programmes of study, non-statutory guidelines and attainment targets, and includes notes and links to online teaching resources.

Ofsted
The government agency responsible for the inspection of schools and a range of other services for children and young people, and learners of all ages.

The Primary Review
Based at the University of Cambridge and supported by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, the Primary Review is examining the condition and future of primary education in England.

Qualifications and Curriculum Authority
The QCA is the government agency which regulates, develops and modernises the curriculum, assessments, examinations and qualifications.

NHS History
Geoffrey Rivett's site covers the history of England's other great public service - the National Health Service.