Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th February 2019

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RogerOThornhill
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Re: Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th February 2019

Post by RogerOThornhill »

Well of course he is...

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the UK’s richest man, quits country to save billions

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sir- ... 1550389059
Britain’s richest man, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who was knighted less than a year ago for his services to business and investment, has been planning to avoid up to £4bn in tax after switching his home and his fortune to Monaco.

The Sunday Times can disclose that the prominent Brexiteer, who built up the chemicals giant Ineos, has been working with the accountant PwC on the tax avoidance plan. This would see him and senior executives Andy Currie and John Reece legally share between £1bn and £10bn tax-free, depriving the Treasury of between £400m and £4bn.

A source with knowledge of the plan described the upper end of the range as “egregious” and said it involved “labyrinthine” structuring. Another source said the plan had not yet…
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HindleA
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Re: Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th February 2019

Post by HindleA »

https://amp.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... ssion=true" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Willow904
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Re: Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th February 2019

Post by Willow904 »

adam wrote:
Willow904 wrote:

While Tories mean-spiritedly begrudge civically responsible youngsters a single day off school, the video in this tweet really brings home the consequences of putting rules before outcomes.

My autistic son is really struggling under this system. After a great start under Labour with child centred learning and plenty of money for TAs and extracurricular activities, the obsession with petty rules and bureaucracy and the pressure to conform and perform that he is facing in an Academy secondary school under the Tories is absolutely crushing him. Sometimes it all gets too much and he refuses to go. Unable to get the school to take seriously the difficulties he is facing, I am being held responsible for his poor attendance and have been referred to the council for prosecution. He was only formally diagnosed with ASD in September 2018 after a long assessment process, but instead of getting the extra support I'd hoped for I've just faced escalating pressure over his ASD related absences. I'm finding dealing with school extremely intimidating and confusing, with lots of contradictory information and all the time I'm having to try to support my son through all the challenges of moving up to year 10 and starting his GCSEs which is hard enough on its own without facing the possibility of being sent to jail if I fail.

If anyone out there could reassure me that the council are far less dicks over this kind of thing than ambitious head teachers with an obsession with league tables and being "the best of the best" and are unlikely to take a heavy handed approach with the bemused parents of a recently diagnosed child I'd appreciate it because I have to confess I'm absolutely terrified.
My experience from the parent pov of this is that the council have buggered off and left us alone when we've pointed out that our daughter's poor attendance was linked to her medical condition. Until next year when they've been back again and we've had to explain again.

The council (and the school) should have policies on equal ops, and on inclusion, as should the EWO and whatever department they are in, which might be helpful. If it's an academy it's possible that the school 'contract' this stuff back to the LA but also possible that they deal with it in house. My school - the one I teach in - is an academy and we employ our own 'ewo'ish person who is very good - I will have a chat with her after half term and see what she says (if that's okay). And, as CitJA would say (and indeed has said) - love and support.
Hi adam. Thanks for responding I was hoping you might see this and be able to reassure me a little. We're being interviewed under caution which is very intimidating. I managed to speak to the community paediatrician who diagnosed my son and she is going to write to the school again. Whether this will help, though, I don't know. The school doesn't want to acknowledge the link between his ASD and his absences because that puts the emphasis on them to provide more support. He has high-functioning autism which means his disability is especially hidden and it's very hard to get people who don't understand ASD to take his difficulties seriously, even with a formal diagnosis.

Edited to add that yes, I'm happy for you to speak to your EWO about this, I really need all the advice I can get.
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gilsey
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Re: Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th February 2019

Post by gilsey »

It sounds really tough for you willow, I hope this is rock bottom and you get more support in future.

xx
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gilsey
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Re: Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th February 2019

Post by gilsey »

Rick


@FlipChartRick
2m2 minutes ago
More Rick Retweeted Roland Smith
Interesting thread on the Gin ‘n’ Jag Leavers. As David Willetts said, Brexit was a vote of the excluded and the insulated. We’ve spent a lot of time talking about the excluded but not much talking about the insulated.
Gin 'n' Jag leavers, like it. Plenty of those here*. Think they're just racists, myself.


* where I live of course, not ftn!
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AnatolyKasparov
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Re: Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th February 2019

Post by AnatolyKasparov »

Willow904 wrote:[ He has high-functioning autism which means his disability is especially hidden and it's very hard to get people who don't understand ASD to take his difficulties seriously, even with a formal diagnosis
I feel his pain.
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Willow904
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Re: Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th February 2019

Post by Willow904 »

gilsey wrote:It sounds really tough for you willow, I hope this is rock bottom and you get more support in future.

xx
Thanks.

I hope things get better but it's difficult. I really need to work with the school to make sure my son is getting the support he needs, in order to reduce the anxiety that is leading to poor attendance, but that's very hard to do when they are referring us to the council for prosecution. It makes it impossible to have a constructive working relationship because there is no trust there.

I loved school when I was young and wanted that same positive experience for my kids and they did get that at primary school (under LEA control, no less) but secondary school has been a nightmare and I can't wait to see the back of it. I know of at least one person with high-functioning autism who had similar difficulties with school who is much happier now they are in their twenties and working, so there is at least some hope that this may well be the worst bit. Which is perhaps better than autistic children with learning difficulties who are adequately supported in school but struggle to hold down a job in later life and are then reliant on benefits which, under the Tories, is rather bleak.

It's been suggested to me to talk to our local MP or councillors about our difficulties with the school. I have no desire to reach out to Rees-Mogg ( :sick: ), but I might try to speak to one of our local Labour councillors, one of whom I think might actually be a governor at the school.
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AnatolyKasparov
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Re: Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th February 2019

Post by AnatolyKasparov »

Re my above cryptic comment. I was officially diagnosed with Aspergers in my 30s - had it been done when I was at school (as would almost certainly be the case today) then I can think of a few things in my life that might have turned out differently.
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citizenJA
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Re: Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th February 2019

Post by citizenJA »

Good-afternoon, everyone
AnatolyKasparov
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Re: Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th February 2019

Post by AnatolyKasparov »

Good to see, feared my last comment had been a bit of a thread killer :)
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HindleA
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Re: Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th February 2019

Post by HindleA »

https://amp.theguardian.com/society/201 ... ssion=true" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
AnatolyKasparov
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Re: Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th February 2019

Post by AnatolyKasparov »

Another inadvertent mishap, no doubt.
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RogerOThornhill
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Re: Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th February 2019

Post by RogerOThornhill »

It has to be said that I am not the best ironer (ironist?) but as 'er indoors is working all weekend, needs must.

Thunderball and the second half of Doncaster vs Palace and it's done.
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citizenJA
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Re: Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th February 2019

Post by citizenJA »

AnatolyKasparov wrote:Another inadvertent mishap, no doubt.
Government's irresponsible policies are disastrous; their garbled and contradictory communications on policy tragic
Denying treatment to those in urgent need of it can result in pandemic
Pandemics cause widespread mortality
Pandemics are expensive
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citizenJA
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Re: Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th February 2019

Post by citizenJA »

Hopefully, that's in language government understands
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citizenJA
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Re: Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th February 2019

Post by citizenJA »

Should've returned a Labour government in 2015
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citizenJA
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Re: Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th February 2019

Post by citizenJA »

My worst fears are being realised
AnatolyKasparov
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Re: Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th February 2019

Post by AnatolyKasparov »

citizenJA wrote:Should've returned a Labour government in 2015
No disagreement there :rock:
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adam
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Re: Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th February 2019

Post by adam »

Willow904 wrote:...snip...
One other thing for now - I don't know if this is common practice but we look at half-termly attendance profiles. There's an awful piece of language use in this - something that didn't occur to me until I was thinking about it earlier on, so apologies for that, but...

as a form tutor I'm asked to chase up all attendance issues, with a focus on students who fall below 96% (whole school target, which I think is a standard national figure) and especially on those who fall below 90%. Below 90% is 'persistently absent'. (It was 'below 85%' until a few years ago).

Pastoral leads and year leads (and I've been a year lead doing this not too long ago) will look at half-termly figures - so you get students highlighted who have been below 90% in any half term - they will stay on the radar all year, even if it was just one issue. One of my form is going to be highlighted on my report sheet all year because he was on an unauthorised holiday for the first week of the school year which put him at around 88% for the first half term, despite all but 100% attendance since then.

But also you can come out of percentages and just look at 'real' numbers. 90% is one day off a fortnight - or 19.5 days off in a 39 week school year. Divide 19.5 by 6, and you start to say that anybody off for more than 3 days in a half term is persistently absent that half term.

The awful language use comes for students who reach 19.5 days absence - they are referred to as 'Graveyard PA' - in other words even if they're in for every single day from that point on they will still end up with below 90% attendance for the year. But if the issue is earlier on and there is a clear upward trend in attendance from some point onward then it's very difficult to see how a parent is 'failing to ensure the child's regular attendance at school'.

I'm aware that it's possible that your figures might not help you, but I would ask for a year by year record of his attendance - the school must be able to provide a simple A4 print out for each year - which you can break down by half term. If his half-termly attendance is regularly around or above 90 but falls below for the year because of focussed bouts of absense, there might be an argument there which would help dissuade the LA from doing anything else. Likewise if it's often low at this time of year but gets better percentage-wise as the year goes on.
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AnatolyKasparov
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Re: Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th February 2019

Post by AnatolyKasparov »

RIP Paul Flynn MP.

A true Labour man, in contrast to the handful of reprobates that may or may not finally get round to flouncing out tomorrow (or whenever)
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