:00:09. > :00:13.Tonight, we make a dangerous foray to the suburbs of Damascus, it is
:00:13. > :00:15.no longer the Syrian Government in no longer the Syrian Government in
:00:15. > :00:19.control, but the rebels. Can the regime maintain the
:00:19. > :00:23.illusion that there is really nothing wrong.
:00:23. > :00:28.TRANSLATION: We don't just want to bring down the regime now, or the
:00:28. > :00:32.President to step down, we want to hang him.
:00:32. > :00:37.The imposition on Syria of an outside force now inevitable, one
:00:38. > :00:44.for our defence editor. There are rumabilities in the gulf
:00:44. > :00:47.state that they may be ready to commit troops to arrest the descent
:00:47. > :00:52.into civil war. We investigate whether school
:00:52. > :00:55.academys are bending over back wards to stop problem pupils
:00:55. > :00:59.sitting GCSEs. The message they are getting is you are independent and
:00:59. > :01:03.in charge, and the dark arts is a temptation if you are trying to
:01:03. > :01:09.improve the league table position. This what you get when you put
:01:09. > :01:13.results ahead of pupils. The Mirror editor concedes maybe
:01:13. > :01:19.his reporters were hacking phones, but all behind his back.
:01:19. > :01:22.possible it was being gone on but hidden from you. Hud the newspaper
:01:22. > :01:31.industry be getting ready for the big crackdown, the editor of the
:01:31. > :01:35.Independent is here. The increasing intensity of the
:01:35. > :01:39.uprising in it Syria, and President Assad's continuing crackdown in it
:01:39. > :01:42.defiance of everyone from the Arab League to the UN proving a much
:01:42. > :01:45.more complex problemer for the international community, than
:01:45. > :01:50.dealing with -- problem for the international community, than
:01:50. > :01:55.dealing with Libya, for example. There is Qatari support for sending
:01:55. > :02:01.in troops with growing support from the Arab world. How would Assad
:02:01. > :02:05.react, Iran has said it will provide support for Syria if it
:02:05. > :02:11.comes under attack. It is extremely hard toen gauge who has the whip
:02:11. > :02:15.hand in Syria. -- to engage who has the whip hand in Syria. We have a
:02:15. > :02:20.report from Damascus, operating under the regime's restrictions.
:02:20. > :02:24.As you say, operating for foreign journalists in Syria is difficult.
:02:24. > :02:27.You need special permission for everywhere you want to go to, and
:02:27. > :02:31.permission for known trouble spots isn't normally granted. Having said
:02:31. > :02:35.that, I think the presence of the Arab League monitors here, over the
:02:35. > :02:39.last month, has opened things up a chink. I think there are more,
:02:39. > :02:45.considerably more journalists here, foreign journalists now with visas.
:02:45. > :02:48.We have been able to move slightly more freely. But, I think
:02:48. > :02:52."slightly" is the word. If you look at the various elements of the deal
:02:52. > :02:55.that was worked out with the Arab League, none them have been
:02:55. > :02:59.achieved. The bloodshed hasn't stopped, the military haven't
:02:59. > :03:04.completely withdrawn from the cities, few detainys have been
:03:04. > :03:08.released. As for national dialogue, there -- detainees have have been
:03:08. > :03:13.released, as for the national dialogue, there is a glim of that.
:03:13. > :03:17.The options are limited. In the meantime, I have been out on the
:03:17. > :03:22.streets with supporters and opponents of President Assad. First
:03:22. > :03:26.I got rare access to a revolutionary stronghold near
:03:26. > :03:29.Damascus In a working-class suburb of
:03:29. > :03:35.Damascus, we are walking into the heart of the Syrian revolution.
:03:35. > :03:39.Deep into a district the Government no longer controls.
:03:39. > :03:42.It is dangerous. Two more protestors have just been shot dead
:03:42. > :03:47.here. They are urging us on, delighted at the very rare
:03:47. > :03:53.appearance of a foreign TV crew, desperate to get their'sage to the
:03:53. > :03:56.outside world. -- message to the outside world.
:03:56. > :04:01.TRANSLATION: All we want what everyone around the world wants,
:04:01. > :04:06.freep dop, for that they are killing us. We don't -- freedom,
:04:06. > :04:12.for that they are killing us. We don't just want democracy and
:04:13. > :04:15.freedom, we want to hang the President. TRANSLATION: We are
:04:15. > :04:20.being slaughtered, all we want is interle national protection, the
:04:20. > :04:24.security forces are killing indiscim ately.
:04:24. > :04:30.The people of Duma have been at the forefront of the uprising against
:04:30. > :04:34.President Assad, no-one too young to risk death. They say they are
:04:34. > :04:38.terrorised in their own homes by Government thugs and police.
:04:38. > :04:42.TRANSLATION: They have no fear of God. They break into houses when
:04:42. > :04:49.our husbands are naked. They are Assad's thieves, at the take away
:04:49. > :04:52.everything, gold, money, even our food. TRANSLATION: We have to cover
:04:52. > :04:56.our faces, because there are so many informants here, if they
:04:56. > :05:00.discover one of us, they will arrest everyone in the family, even
:05:00. > :05:04.the women, just to get us. funeral of two of the people who
:05:04. > :05:09.were killed yesterday in demonstrations is beginning just
:05:09. > :05:11.behind us now at the mosque. Quite often what has happened is people
:05:11. > :05:15.have been killed at the funerals of people killed before. That is one
:05:15. > :05:19.of the ways that the cyclele of violence here has continued for --
:05:19. > :05:23.cycle of violence has continued here for ten months. Interest It is
:05:23. > :05:28.violence, overwhelmingly from the state. The citizens are armed,
:05:29. > :05:34.principally with spray cans, painting new anti-regime graffiti,
:05:34. > :05:39.as fast as the authorities can blot it out. What would a free Duma be
:05:39. > :05:43.like? It is a religiously conservative town. They reject
:05:43. > :05:48.Government claims that a fall in the regime would imsuppose Islamic
:05:48. > :05:52.values on a multiracial country. TRANSLATION: All the people are
:05:52. > :05:57.together, all the sects and the religions. The Government says we
:05:57. > :06:01.are sectarian to stop the revolution and scare people. Root
:06:01. > :06:05.across Syria, the Government -- right across Syria, the Government
:06:05. > :06:09.is fighting with propoganda as well as brute force. That is why it is
:06:09. > :06:15.taking me, and other foreign journalists on a tour to Homs, a
:06:15. > :06:18.city besieged by the milltry, and suffered most in the revolt --
:06:18. > :06:22.military, and suffered the most in the revolt. There is no stopping on
:06:22. > :06:25.the square where many were killed when security forces attacked an
:06:25. > :06:33.opposition protest last spring. We are allowed out in a pro-Government
:06:33. > :06:39.area. An angry crowd gathers to denounce
:06:39. > :06:43.the fascist foreign media. It is the opposite of the welcome we
:06:43. > :06:51.received in revolutionary Duma. Here there is no concern about pro-
:06:51. > :06:55.democracy protests being crushed. They believe the uprising is an
:06:55. > :07:00.attempt to wreck Syrian society. TRANSLATION: Is it democracy to
:07:00. > :07:05.bomb people out of their home, to scare us, and our children. What
:07:05. > :07:08.democracy are they talking about? We are her mainly members of the
:07:08. > :07:12.Shi'ite sect, at that the President's family belongs to.
:07:12. > :07:16.Since the uprising began, they say, they don't dare move outside their
:07:16. > :07:20.own neighbourhoods. This is a city where the predictions of civil war
:07:20. > :07:24.are already coming true. A city divided by barriers and frontlines,
:07:24. > :07:28.into a patchwork of increasingly segregated areas.
:07:28. > :07:33.There is no destruction here, as in opposition areas. Which are uingr
:07:33. > :07:38.regularly shelled by the army. But -- which are regularly shelled by
:07:38. > :07:43.the army. But Government forces say they are targeted by opposition
:07:43. > :07:48.snipers if they move even a few streets away. TRANSLATION: In this
:07:48. > :07:54.area, if you go on the street you are shot by a sniper, a rocket
:07:54. > :08:01.President Yeltsin grenade or a mortar. We can't go to sleep, --
:08:01. > :08:04.and rocket propelled grenade, we can't go to sleep or do anything. A
:08:04. > :08:11.soldier has been taken in for treatment, one of thousand, say
:08:11. > :08:14.doctors, are the victims of armed insurgents, their stories are hard
:08:14. > :08:18.to prove. This soldier says he would happily shoot demonstrators,
:08:18. > :08:22.but he says he's not allowed to. TRANSLATION: We have been given
:08:22. > :08:25.orders not to shoot civilians, we can't shoot women and children,
:08:25. > :08:32.that is why we are being targeted more than them. We can't shoot when
:08:32. > :08:36.there are civilians around. That claim absurd. But some in Homs
:08:36. > :08:40.seem to think that President Assad's not tough enough on the
:08:40. > :08:45.uprising. We saw a rare portrait of him, together with his younger
:08:45. > :08:52.brother, regarded as more hardline. The kind people we were taken 0
:08:52. > :08:59.meet in Homs, don't represent a -- to meet in Homs, don't represent a
:08:59. > :09:05.majority in the city, let alone Syria, they might be enough to hold
:09:05. > :09:10.out for a majority to hold out against the international community.
:09:11. > :09:14.How did the diplomatic allegiances stack up in the region? Just as the
:09:14. > :09:20.conflict has taken on increasingly sectarian character, within Syria,
:09:20. > :09:23.as we saw from Tim's piece there. It is also having an effect in the
:09:23. > :09:27.broader region. There is the perception that the Sunni majority
:09:27. > :09:33.in Syria being oppressed by the minorities, including President
:09:33. > :09:37.Assad as plan. What it means -- President Assad's clan. What it
:09:37. > :09:41.means is Iran is the principle country in the region and backs
:09:42. > :09:47.Syria for a whole variety of power, politic qal and other reasons.
:09:47. > :09:50.President Assad's clan looks to Iran for support as an embattled
:09:50. > :09:54.minority. Consequently, increasingly, some of the other
:09:55. > :10:02.countries in it the gulf are lining up against the Syrians. Seeking to
:10:02. > :10:07.empower Arab League attempts to be more active within this situation.
:10:07. > :10:10.We had Qatar a few days ago, the leader talking about sending combat
:10:10. > :10:14.troops to protect the people. He wouldn't are done that without
:10:14. > :10:18.backing from Saudi Arabia. We know the Saudis support the idea being
:10:18. > :10:24.floated, and one or two other countries, including Jordan. They
:10:24. > :10:27.form a block of countries favouring such action. How likely is it that
:10:27. > :10:30.military intervention would come any time soon? It is not likely top
:10:30. > :10:35.happen soon for a variety of reasons. This may be the beginning
:10:35. > :10:40.of a consensus of building effort, led by Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
:10:40. > :10:43.There are other Arab countries that don't agree with this. Algeria, for
:10:43. > :10:48.example, quite sympathetic to the Bashar al-Assad regime in many ways,
:10:48. > :10:51.Iraq, curiouslys enough, has been quite supportive, and abstained
:10:51. > :10:55.from any criticism of the Bashar al-Assad regime, for all sorts of
:10:55. > :10:58.reasons, the position with Iran being one of them. There are
:10:58. > :11:05.countries, quite influential Arab countries, that might block an
:11:05. > :11:09.attempt to do it through the Arab League. That organisation requires
:11:09. > :11:15.unanimity Joining me from New York is Russia's ambassador to the UN,
:11:15. > :11:21.Vitaly Churkin. Ban Ki-Moon, the UK secretary-
:11:21. > :11:25.general says, really, now, the casualties are so bad, that it is
:11:25. > :11:30.time now for the Security Council to of move to intensify all
:11:30. > :11:35.sanctions against Syria, and Russia blocking this. Why? Well, first of
:11:35. > :11:39.all, I don't think the secretary- general said that. It is, that of
:11:39. > :11:41.course your report has been extremely disturbing, the crisis in
:11:41. > :11:46.Syria has been allowed to deteriorate. What we believe needs
:11:46. > :11:51.to be done now is that everybody should support the Arab League
:11:51. > :11:55.monitoring commission, that confidence and trust should be
:11:55. > :11:58.restored between the Arab League and Damascus, and efb who can
:11:58. > :12:03.influence the process can -- everyone who can influence the
:12:03. > :12:07.process can put the conflicting parties to the table. Only through
:12:07. > :12:12.dialogue the violence canp stop. Would Russia like to see President
:12:12. > :12:16.Assad go? Russia would like President Assad to intensify and
:12:16. > :12:20.clarify his plans for reform, to stop violence on the part of the
:12:20. > :12:24.Government. We call on the opposition not to resort to
:12:24. > :12:28.violence, and to listen to what his people, the people of Syria want to
:12:28. > :12:32.see in terms of political and economic reforms in the country.
:12:32. > :12:39.Let's be clear, your best option, the option Russia would like, for
:12:39. > :12:44.Assad to reform, but essentially Assad to stay? No, we would like
:12:44. > :12:47.the Syrian people to decide this in peaceful ways. Through political
:12:47. > :12:52.dialogue, and fair and democratic elections. Not through trying to
:12:52. > :12:55.create a revolution or a situation of civil war in the country. That
:12:55. > :12:59.would have dramatic consequences for the Syrians and neighbouring
:12:59. > :13:02.countries. It it is not surprising that your correspondent, a cop of
:13:02. > :13:07.minutes ago, spoke about the concerns -- a couple of minutes ago
:13:07. > :13:11.spoke about the concerns of the Iraqi and the Lebanese sharing
:13:11. > :13:14.similar concerns. A deterioration of the situation could have
:13:14. > :13:18.dramatic consequences not just for Syria, but the region itself. Our
:13:18. > :13:22.call is for the end of violence, whatever the source of the violence,
:13:22. > :13:27.and a broad national dialogue. Reform through political prohe is.
:13:27. > :13:30.We know, ambassador, that there has really been no let up to the
:13:30. > :13:35.violence, the casualties are escalating as Ban Ki-Moon has said,
:13:35. > :13:39.you out of step with France, Britain and the US on this. Why is
:13:39. > :13:44.Russia sticking to its guns in support of President add sad, is it
:13:44. > :13:47.because Russia sells arms to Syria? We are no -- President Assad, it
:13:47. > :13:51.because Russia sells arms to Syria? First of all President add sad is
:13:51. > :13:55.interest, it is a reality, he has broad support in the country.
:13:55. > :13:59.support in the country? Broad support in the country, eventhough
:13:59. > :14:03.there are protestors, there are people in the country supporting
:14:03. > :14:07.him. He cannot be wished away. It is a political reality. If somebody
:14:07. > :14:10.is going down the road of fanning a revolution and civil war in Syria,
:14:10. > :14:16.we believe it is extremely dangerous. We believe the conflict
:14:16. > :14:22.could have been stopped months ago, had everybody heeded the call for a
:14:22. > :14:26.broad political dialogue. Isn't the problem, we have heard what Susan
:14:26. > :14:30.Rice the US envoy to the UN has said, essentially one of the
:14:30. > :14:36.problems Russia make as lot of money out of selling weapons to
:14:36. > :14:42.Syria, and you still do? When I hear Americans talk about, against
:14:43. > :14:45.selling weapons, it he reminds me of a cannibal advocating
:14:45. > :14:49.vegetarianism. The United States one of the largest suppliers of
:14:49. > :14:53.weapons into the Middle East. This is not the point at all. It may not
:14:53. > :14:58.be the point, two wrongs don't make a right, I just want to clarify,
:14:58. > :15:01.Russia still selling weapons to Syria? We may have a certain
:15:01. > :15:07.contracts with the Syrian Government, I'm not sure what the
:15:08. > :15:11.state of that is. This is not the important point there. The
:15:11. > :15:15.important point is unfortunately, you know, the Security Council was
:15:15. > :15:22.able to work together jointly in order to try to resolve things
:15:22. > :15:26.politically in yes mam machine. I have heard people -- Yemen, I have
:15:26. > :15:32.heard people call for in Bahrain a position of going in with the
:15:32. > :15:35.authorities. From Syria the call from the outset was completely the
:15:35. > :15:37.opposite. Do you accept that actually it would improve the
:15:37. > :15:43.situation if Russia stopped selling weapons to Syria, whatever
:15:43. > :15:47.contracts you have? It has no effect whatever contracts we have
:15:47. > :15:53.with them. It has no effect on the situation at all. The situation has
:15:53. > :15:57.been there. Let me of move on, the time is limited with you. Do you
:15:57. > :16:00.agree that actually the Qatari proposal to send in troops, which
:16:00. > :16:05.seems to certainly going to be discussed by the Arab League, would
:16:05. > :16:10.you back that? I think it is an unhelp of statement, it is a
:16:10. > :16:13.distraction and irritant. There are two main tasks now, to support the
:16:13. > :16:18.Arab League monitoring mission, it is where we hud focus on, and
:16:18. > :16:22.secondly, to re-- should focus on, and secondly to restore trust
:16:22. > :16:27.between the Arab League and Damascus. This is fantasy talk of
:16:27. > :16:33.Arab troops moving into Syria. I don't see many Arab countries
:16:33. > :16:36.volunteering that, or Qatar trying to unvaid Syria. I don't see Saudi
:16:36. > :16:39.Arabia sending their troops to Syria after sending troops to
:16:39. > :16:44.Bahrain in support of the Government. Unstead of creating
:16:44. > :16:48.such artificial irritants, let's focus on the need to stop violence
:16:48. > :16:52.in Syria from wherever it comes, and supporting the monitoring
:16:52. > :16:56.mission, and supporting further dialogue between Syria and the Arab
:16:56. > :17:01.League. Briefly, is David Cameron wrong to call for another
:17:01. > :17:04.resolution on Syria, that unhelpful of Britain and France? No, Russia
:17:04. > :17:08.was the one who proposed the new draft several weeks ago in the
:17:08. > :17:13.Security Council, in support of political prohe is, and then the
:17:13. > :17:17.violence in it Sir -- processes, and then there was the violence in
:17:17. > :17:21.Syria. So it is good that there are calls from other members of the
:17:21. > :17:24.Security Council. The academy system in England,
:17:24. > :17:29.started under the last Government, was designed to guarantee a decent
:17:29. > :17:32.education for all who attend one. An investigation by Newsnight has
:17:32. > :17:38.revealed that some academys are employing what is called the dark
:17:38. > :17:44.arts, to rid themselves of underprfoerming pupils. Academys
:17:44. > :17:48.permanently exclude far more pupils than state schools. This is a
:17:48. > :17:50.different method of removal. The drive for league tables means some
:17:50. > :17:59.of the most vulnerable pupils are being discarded, sometimes
:17:59. > :18:04.unlawfully. This boy had been at an academy. It
:18:04. > :18:09.should have powered him to a good education. However, he tarted to
:18:09. > :18:15.get into trouble, not enough to be permanently excluded, but his
:18:15. > :18:19.mother felt he had to leave and he was let down. My son felt
:18:19. > :18:26.completely demoralised, it showed in his whole demeanor. He used to
:18:26. > :18:30.love going to gymnastic, he lost interest in efg.
:18:30. > :18:35.- gymnastics. He lost interest in everything. When asked why was he
:18:35. > :18:40.behaving it way, he said nobody was helping him get back into school.
:18:40. > :18:44.Is this an example of unofficial exclusion, a way to ease out those
:18:44. > :18:51.pupils that won't help an academy shape up in the league tables.
:18:51. > :18:55.cad moose are very, very high -- academys are very, very high stakes
:18:55. > :19:00.institutions, the expectations of the FE and those in favour of the
:19:00. > :19:04.academy scheme, must be that they are a success. The message the
:19:04. > :19:09.academys are getting from wherever is you are in charge, you are in
:19:09. > :19:15.authority, and then the dark arts a temation, isn't it. The 15-year-old,
:19:15. > :19:19.we have agreed not to identify him, had been at a Harris Academy, one
:19:19. > :19:24.of a cluster of schools sponsored by businessman, Lord Harris, and
:19:24. > :19:30.given high marks by the Education Secretary, recently. Every single
:19:30. > :19:34.one of the schools he takes over, gets an additional 20% or more
:19:34. > :19:40.young people to pass five good GCSEs, compared to the record when
:19:40. > :19:45.the local authority ran it. When the coalition came to power
:19:45. > :19:49.there were 200 academys, now there are more than 500. Both
:19:50. > :19:54.traditionlal, set up in deprived areas, and high-achieving schools
:19:54. > :19:59.which have converted. Are the results which Mr Gove wants them to
:19:59. > :20:03.achieve being produced, in part, at the expense of more vulnerable
:20:03. > :20:08.pupils. The whole point of academy schools to improve the chances of
:20:08. > :20:11.kids like this, to stop them joining, what Michael Gove calls,
:20:11. > :20:15.an educational underclass. We have spoken to parents who found the
:20:15. > :20:20.reality to be quite different. Their children have been forced out
:20:20. > :20:25.of school, not officially, but through pressure and persuasion, a
:20:25. > :20:30.practice which can be illegal. Our teenager was about to start
:20:30. > :20:36.preparing for his GCSEs when trouble began. He had had a series
:20:36. > :20:39.of temporary exclusions. In an e- mail from the Harris Academy,
:20:39. > :20:43.Merton, his mother was told it might be better for him to have a
:20:43. > :20:47.fresh start, and to consider applying to another school. The
:20:47. > :20:52.only other option was alternative offsite provision, where her son
:20:52. > :21:00.would have beenedcated away from the school, with other children
:21:00. > :21:06.deemed not to fit in. All -- been educated away from the school with
:21:06. > :21:09.other children deemed not to fit in. With the statistics of a permanent
:21:10. > :21:17.exclusion, and you feel pressured into finding another school for
:21:17. > :21:21.your child. In my case that is how they made me feel.
:21:21. > :21:31.The Harris Academy Merton say they never unofficially exclude a pupil
:21:31. > :21:40.
:21:40. > :21:46.This school in south London is run by the local education authority.
:21:46. > :21:49.They are the ones who give us the money, although we pay tax.
:21:50. > :21:53.schools, including the academys, are under pressure to bring down
:21:53. > :21:58.permanent exclusions, and yet, every year pupils come here, who
:21:58. > :22:02.have to leave academys, without being permanently excluded. Many of
:22:02. > :22:07.them are seeking to move because of what I often call the dark arts.
:22:07. > :22:11.They have been asked to of move rather than permanently excluded,
:22:11. > :22:15.they have been ignored for a few months on study leave, or ignored
:22:15. > :22:18.in a study support centre. Parents and children have eventually
:22:18. > :22:22.decided this school isn't for me, they won't have me in the building,
:22:22. > :22:26.they won't permanently exclude me, they won't do anything, despite my
:22:26. > :22:29.requests, I are go and look for another school.
:22:29. > :22:36.This barrister fights cases for parents who think their children
:22:36. > :22:40.have been unfairly treated. Academys are masters of their own
:22:40. > :22:44.budgets and curriculum, but Darid Wolfe thinks this very independent
:22:44. > :22:49.is behind the growing number of cases he's seeing. The freedoms
:22:49. > :22:52.they have got and they think they have got, which goes beyond what
:22:52. > :22:55.they have actually got, means whatever they are doing for the
:22:56. > :23:00.majority of children in their establishment of children, there is
:23:00. > :23:03.a small group being disadvantaged or squeezed out. Maybe they are
:23:03. > :23:06.paying the price of the benefits for the other children.
:23:06. > :23:12.department for education says academys must follow the same law
:23:12. > :23:15.and guidance on exclusions as all schools. But David Wolfe says the
:23:15. > :23:20.cases he's dealing with suggest that isn't happening. There are two
:23:20. > :23:26.groups that I see, children just starting out in primary schools,
:23:26. > :23:30.but the number merically larger group are typically 14-15-year-old
:23:30. > :23:35.boys, going into near nine or ten, just starting their GCSE, very
:23:35. > :23:40.aufpb black, or disabled with special he had Kay -- often black,
:23:40. > :23:44.or disabled with special educational needs, not exclusively
:23:44. > :23:49.so. This is Chloe, testing her Christmas present. The 15-year-old
:23:49. > :23:54.had been in an academy if Lincolnshire. Even her mum accepts
:23:54. > :23:59.she was a tricky pupil. What sort of things were you
:23:59. > :24:03.getting into trouble for? It Smoking, being on my phone.
:24:03. > :24:07.Disrupting classes, houting out, making silly -- shouting out,
:24:07. > :24:17.making silly remarks. Trying to get everyone to laugh at her. Were you
:24:17. > :24:20.
:24:20. > :24:29.aware of a problem? Yeah, because she got stated -- stated -- stated.
:24:29. > :24:33.To staves statement -- so she had a statement, and then after an
:24:33. > :24:38.incident with a teacher she was excluded. She tried to take it off
:24:38. > :24:45.me and I stuck it down my bra, she asked me to leave and I said no,
:24:45. > :24:51.she took my phone and started shouted me in the face when she
:24:51. > :24:58.took it out of my hand so I pushed her out of my face. Did you push
:24:58. > :25:05.her hard? Not that hard. She was sent off to another site, she
:25:05. > :25:09.didn't like it. It was all boys things, welding, carpentry, motor
:25:09. > :25:13.mechanics, I didn't want to do that. This is the last refuge for
:25:13. > :25:18.children who don't get on with mainstream education. After a whole
:25:18. > :25:21.term at home, Chloe spent a month here at a privately of-run
:25:21. > :25:26.alternative provision. -- privately-run alternative
:25:26. > :25:30.provision. For some kids, Chloe included, places like this are too
:25:30. > :25:34.alternative. She wanted to resit an English GCSE, to try to get a
:25:34. > :25:38.better grade, but she couldn't. Because GCSEs aren't actually
:25:38. > :25:42.taught here. Clearly it is a no-swearing zone
:25:42. > :25:46.for the meal, end story, I think we have some young ladies doing the
:25:46. > :25:51.waitressing. The morning drill is led by ex-army officer Chris Jones,
:25:52. > :25:56.he set up Build A Future to reengage teenagers, turned off by
:25:56. > :26:00.school. That's it from me, have a good morning, guys, crack on.
:26:00. > :26:03.It is certainly not an alternative to school. I personally believe the
:26:04. > :26:06.way forward is for a young person not to be excluded but to have a
:26:06. > :26:11.bit of this as part of their education, as well as what goes on
:26:11. > :26:17.in school. It it is very important for them to carry on with their
:26:17. > :26:22.GCSEs. We don't offer that, we do alternatives to that.
:26:22. > :26:25.Across England, alternative provisions do their best for pupils
:26:25. > :26:29.permanently or temporarily excluded. Eventhough permanent exclusions are
:26:30. > :26:34.going down, the number of children being educated at alternative
:26:34. > :26:39.provisions going up. The concern that such places are being used as
:26:39. > :26:48.dumping grounds. The system driven by league table,
:26:48. > :26:53.driven by A*-C grades, add academys the stakes are higher, the costs of
:26:53. > :26:59.setting up academys are enormous, getting them established, sometimes
:26:59. > :27:04.against local opposition has required big promises about results.
:27:04. > :27:09.English and maths are the key exams which schools are judged by, the
:27:09. > :27:16.pressure to secure the best GCSE grades great, leaving less room for
:27:16. > :27:21.pupils, less likely to get them. But there is no data for the
:27:21. > :27:23.unofficial stuff, the nudging, the forcing out of pupils. So we have
:27:23. > :27:31.collected some figures which suggest something unusual might be
:27:31. > :27:35.happening. We found that compared to local
:27:35. > :27:42.authority schools, academys are entering a smaller number of pupils
:27:42. > :27:47.for the key GCSEs, maths and English. Our figures were obtained
:27:47. > :27:52.from the Department of Education and applied to England. In 2010,
:27:52. > :27:55.3.5% of pupils in academys did not sit English and maths GCSEs,
:27:55. > :28:00.compared to 2% for all other schools.
:28:00. > :28:05.In a fifth of academys, 5% of pupils didn't sit English and maths.
:28:05. > :28:08.Double the proportion of any other schools. In nearly a tenth of
:28:08. > :28:16.academys, 10% of pupils didn't sit English and maths, it is a more
:28:16. > :28:20.than trip the proportion of any other schools.
:28:20. > :28:25.The Department for Education says these figures relate only to
:28:25. > :28:30.previously failing schools with challenging intakes. Some students,
:28:30. > :28:35.however hard they try, will nef get a C grade. No matter how well --
:28:35. > :28:41.never get a C grade, no matter how well they are taught. It it is part
:28:41. > :28:45.of the rich tapestry of human variation. For those students,
:28:45. > :28:55.getting any level of expertise and ability in English and maths
:28:55. > :28:58.enormously important. Chloe was taken off the role of the
:28:58. > :29:04.academy without being permanently excluded, it means none her grades
:29:04. > :29:10.are affect its league table results. Now at a new alternative provision,
:29:10. > :29:15.she knows she will leave at 16 without improving her academic
:29:15. > :29:20.qualifications. Basically I'm going to be thick all my life and not
:29:20. > :29:28.have anything. That what you think? Yeah. What do you think, Donna
:29:28. > :29:32.think they hud let her do GCSEs, surely there is some stuttor --
:29:32. > :29:36.tutor some where who can help her through it. It doesn't just matter
:29:36. > :29:40.to people like Chloe, but to all of us. Figures from the Ministry of
:29:40. > :29:45.Justice show that more than a third of those convicted of involvement
:29:45. > :29:50.in last year's riots had been excluded from school.
:29:50. > :29:56.It's an irony that a number of them will have been turf ofed out of
:29:56. > :30:00.academys, schools at that were meant to lift tardz for all pupils,
:30:00. > :30:04.whatever -- standards for all pupils, whatever their abilities,
:30:04. > :30:07.schools, in other words, that were set up to help them succeed. We did
:30:07. > :30:11.ask for an interview with the Education Secretary, or any
:30:11. > :30:18.education or schools minister, but no-one was available.
:30:18. > :30:28.I'm a joined by the head teach of an axe cad me in Essex, and -- axe
:30:28. > :30:28.
:30:28. > :30:32.cad me in Essex, and someone -- academy in Essex.
:30:32. > :30:36.Already disadvantaged children are being disadvantaged further by the
:30:36. > :30:42.actions the academys are taking? The focus on academys doesn't make
:30:42. > :30:48.sense. We only convrt today academy. I don't agree with exclues, I don't
:30:48. > :30:53.agree with where it ends up leading to. The focus on academy doesn't
:30:53. > :30:57.make sense. As educators we have a moral purpose, head of an academy,
:30:57. > :31:02.I have the same moral purpose. know in terms of formal exclusions
:31:02. > :31:07.interest are more at academys, by theed of our film this back door
:31:07. > :31:12.exclusion is taking place. There is a barrister dedicated to helping
:31:12. > :31:16.parents deal with this. It is a more insidious form of exclusion
:31:16. > :31:25.because the parents themselves may be vulnerable? You haven't taken
:31:25. > :31:29.account of where the academys were situated. Academys mark one are in
:31:29. > :31:33.it disadvantaged areas so there is more issues there. You will get
:31:33. > :31:37.more unofficial exclusions in disadvantaged areas where a lot of
:31:37. > :31:41.them are. By the evidence of the figures we have been using have
:31:41. > :31:47.been in the past failing, it goes on? Clearly, it would be a mistake
:31:47. > :31:51.to see that as a bad thing, necessarily. What you moon by that
:31:51. > :31:56.is -- what I mean by that is boundaries are good for children,
:31:56. > :31:59.it is good to have rules and ringlaigss for children to follow -
:31:59. > :32:02.- regulations for children to follow at school. When heads have
:32:02. > :32:06.to exclude a child, they are not doing it, rubbing their hands
:32:06. > :32:12.together, and having a good time. It it is very sad moment. It takes
:32:12. > :32:15.years to exclude a chide. unofficial exclusions we are
:32:15. > :32:19.talking about here, parents who are asked perhaps it would be better if
:32:19. > :32:22.your child attended another school, do you approve of that? The reason
:32:22. > :32:28.why because the head trying to save that child. The head trying to do
:32:28. > :32:32.right by that child. If he exclude the child, then, in a way, he
:32:32. > :32:39.ruining that child's life chances. Why as if he gives that child an
:32:39. > :32:43.opportunity to go to another school or alternative provision,
:32:43. > :32:47....Interesting You say that, formal exclusion ruins a child's chances
:32:48. > :32:52.you say, you don't agree with that? As ahood once responsible for the
:32:52. > :32:57.whole school. What is -- as a head, one is responsible for the whole
:32:57. > :32:59.school. What is concerning about that film, none of the other pupils
:33:00. > :33:04.are interviewed. One has to think about the pupils, there is peer
:33:04. > :33:07.pressure for pupils to misbehave. Academys were et up because there
:33:07. > :33:12.needed another solution, particularly in disadvantaged areas.
:33:12. > :33:15.Do you recognise that some schools are under huge pressure for results,
:33:16. > :33:20.and won't put forward pupils for GCSEs in English and maths,
:33:20. > :33:25.necessarily, if they think it is a good chance they will fail. Look at
:33:25. > :33:29.the statistics as far as academys goes, they are sending fewer
:33:29. > :33:34.children for GCSEs in England? not being entered doesn't mean they
:33:34. > :33:40.don't count in your figures. Just because they are not entered
:33:40. > :33:44.doesn't mean they don't count. They do. As of tomorrow, he have child
:33:44. > :33:48.in year 11 will count towards the final figures, whatever they decide
:33:48. > :33:52.to do, they count in the figures. In my town I work with a fantastic
:33:52. > :33:55.group of secondary schools, if I get to theped of a line with a
:33:55. > :33:59.young person, they are damage -- the end of the line with a young
:33:59. > :34:03.person, they are damaging their own chances and others chance, I will
:34:03. > :34:08.get on the phone to another head and say they need a fresh start,
:34:08. > :34:12.can you do that, what can you do in reply. Labelling them as
:34:12. > :34:16.permanently excluded limits their life chances, not ruining, but
:34:16. > :34:20.limiting them. You would rather unofficial exclusion? It is not, it
:34:20. > :34:23.is giving an alternative chance to succeed. Would you say that any
:34:23. > :34:27.academy that formally exclude a child has failed? That is
:34:27. > :34:32.essentially what you are saying? personally would think I have
:34:32. > :34:35.failed. Would you think any academy that exclude a child has failed?
:34:35. > :34:43.don't think so, sometimes, unfortunately that can be a
:34:43. > :34:48.consequence. But it is important to have that consequence as to that
:34:48. > :34:52.behaviour. There is huge pressure for academys to do well, lots money
:34:52. > :34:55.to set up, huge pressure for the headteacher to deliver. You might
:34:55. > :35:01.say it is in the baseline figure, but it looks better for a school if
:35:01. > :35:04.there are more students passing GCSEs in maths and English?
:35:04. > :35:07.refuse to believe that a head teacher would exclude a pupil in
:35:07. > :35:12.order to get better results. Head teachers, after years of working
:35:12. > :35:16.with a chide, with all sorts of pastoral -- a child, with all sorts
:35:16. > :35:20.of pastoral support, with a child stealing things, abusing pupils,
:35:20. > :35:23.assaulting members of staff. In the end a decision has to be made to
:35:23. > :35:27.permanently exclude them sometimes, that is in order to provide a
:35:27. > :35:30.secure and safe environment for other children at the school.
:35:30. > :35:35.Presumably you have turned your school in it into an axe cad me.
:35:35. > :35:39.Let as put it the other -- academy, let's put it the other way, if you
:35:39. > :35:45.have to put them unofficially into offsite profession, you would
:35:45. > :35:49.regard that as failing? Yes. you wouldn't do it? Of course I
:35:49. > :35:53.would. I have some students offsite and on site, because I'm not
:35:53. > :35:58.willing to label a young person as permanently excluded unless I have
:35:58. > :36:02.exhausted everything I can posably. That includes is there -- possibly
:36:02. > :36:06.do, that includes an alternative place for them to be. Maybe we
:36:06. > :36:11.hacked phones, maybe we didn't. The editor of the Mirror and the sister
:36:11. > :36:15.title, the Sunday Mirror, both told the Leveson Inquiry today, it was
:36:15. > :36:20.possible that illegal hacking did take place in the tabloids in the
:36:20. > :36:27.early 2000s, if it did, neither one any knowledge of it. Then the chief
:36:27. > :36:32.executives of the newspaper Trinity Mirror, insisted there was no phone
:36:32. > :36:34.hacks at the titles, eventhough there were no inquiries. She
:36:34. > :36:39.attacked the Newsnight investigation that said it did go
:36:39. > :36:43.on at thep pap, but the paper never complained to Newsnight at the time
:36:43. > :36:47.or since. How did this whole business about the last July
:36:47. > :36:51.hacking story from Newsnight come up? It was extraordinary, we were
:36:51. > :36:56.accused of terrible journalism for our piece last July, when we
:36:56. > :37:01.revealed conversations, detailed conversations with former Trinity
:37:01. > :37:04.Mirror journalist, a Sunday Mirror journalist, despite they have
:37:04. > :37:08.admitted not regting the allegations after we made --
:37:08. > :37:12.investigating the allegations after we made them. To remind you what we
:37:12. > :37:18.said in July, we two very well placed sources who had direct
:37:18. > :37:23.experience of what was going on. One aid that tapes of conversations
:37:23. > :37:27.of Liz Hurley's messages were actually -- one said that tapes of
:37:27. > :37:31.conversations of Liz Hurley's messages were played out. They
:37:31. > :37:36.witnessed that. The others was default PIN codes among certain
:37:36. > :37:40.journalists, an aid to hacking. One of these two sources described the
:37:40. > :37:42.process by which hacking would take place. It was a standard process.
:37:42. > :37:46.Two journalists would simultaneously phone up a target.
:37:46. > :37:51.One would get theen gaugeed signal, at that would allow the PIN codes
:37:51. > :37:56.to be tapped in, voice messages would be accessed on that bay is.
:37:56. > :38:04.We heard allegations that medical records of Leslie Ash were blagged.
:38:04. > :38:08.Do you think Trinity Mirror are allowing wriggle room on this?
:38:08. > :38:15.did deny it strongly before, and said all journalists work within
:38:15. > :38:20.the code, but notice the present tense back then. Another partial
:38:20. > :38:25.denial today. Headlines, Sunday Mirror phone hacking claim revealed
:38:25. > :38:30.by Newsnight, evidence of phone hacking at the Sunday Mirror
:38:30. > :38:36.newspaper has been found by the BBC's programme, Newsnight, its an
:38:36. > :38:39.Eamonn news source, do you know whether or not that -- it is an
:38:39. > :38:45.anonymous source, do you know whether or not that is true?
:38:45. > :38:50.don't believe it to be true. Does it follow from your choice of words
:38:50. > :38:55.that this is not the matter of an investigation? No it hasn't.
:38:55. > :39:03.seems no mam tar row points are being argued, om would say, --
:39:03. > :39:08.narrow -- some narrow points are being argued. Piers Morgan several
:39:08. > :39:14.years ago admitted to listening to a tape recording by Sir Paul
:39:14. > :39:18.McCartney left on Heather Mills phone. Today we had had another
:39:18. > :39:22.partial denial at the inquiry. would like to ask you, as position
:39:22. > :39:28.of editor, iting with that team, at that time, -- sitting with that
:39:28. > :39:33.team, at that time. Is it true there was phone hacking going on
:39:33. > :39:38.among the showbiz team? Not to my knowledge. You say not to your
:39:38. > :39:42.knowledge, can I take it that it could have been going on and hidden
:39:42. > :39:47.from you? It might have been. sense are you getting from Leveson?
:39:47. > :39:54.Taking a step back, the key messages are focusing on the
:39:54. > :39:57.possible outcomes. The status quo not accept be. The other
:39:57. > :40:01.possibility is statutory -- acceptable. The other possibility
:40:01. > :40:05.statutory legislation, highly unlikely. I think it will end up
:40:05. > :40:12.with a beefed up version of the PCC and real teeth.
:40:12. > :40:18.I'm' joined by the Editor of the Independent, and the media Editor
:40:18. > :40:25.of the Guardian who has been there week in week out. Your life's work!
:40:25. > :40:32.We have been through all the big stars, the fame, the JK Rowling,cy
:40:32. > :40:36.enthat Mill and Piers Morgan. Now you get a -- Sienna Miller and
:40:36. > :40:40.Piers Morgan. Now do you get a sense of the thing, there a digging
:40:40. > :40:46.in? He has come back more serious. He started to getterous about the
:40:46. > :40:51.end game. What ot of thing will he recommend -- to get serious about
:40:51. > :40:56.the end game, what sort of thing he will recommend. That is in his mind,
:40:56. > :41:01.as opposed to the barristers, they are digging into do they hack or
:41:01. > :41:05.not. But when the judge gets involved, he will have to write the
:41:05. > :41:11.support report. He asking about -- the report. He's asking about what
:41:11. > :41:15.sort of body will replace the PCC. Going down that road. You yourself
:41:15. > :41:18.gave evidence, what was it like, was it low-key or did you feel
:41:18. > :41:21.under pressure? You feel under pressure, because it is a court of
:41:21. > :41:25.law. It it is strange, it is a court of law. There are barristers,
:41:25. > :41:29.they are not wearing wigs or anything. It is a court, he is a
:41:29. > :41:33.judge, a top judge. You put your hand on the Bible, and you swear
:41:33. > :41:37.the oath and all that. It feels like a court. The odd thing about
:41:37. > :41:41.that when you normally give evidence in a court, you reach a
:41:41. > :41:46.verdict, guilty or not guilty. And in this case, you think he's
:41:46. > :41:51.already reached the remember direct. I think he thinks we're all guilty.
:41:51. > :41:54.-- The verdict. I think he thinks we are all guilty. Do you think
:41:54. > :41:58.that? I don't think it is that, but I think it is the nature of an
:41:58. > :42:02.inquiry to foblg cuss on the negative rather than the positive -
:42:02. > :42:08.- focus on the negative rather than the positive, as soon as an editor
:42:08. > :42:12.talk about how great a newspaper is, people switch off. There is the
:42:12. > :42:17.McCann problem, he was taken principally by the evidence of Kate
:42:17. > :42:22.and Gerry McCann, he wants a form of redress for ordinary people
:42:22. > :42:26.whose lives are turned upside down by the papers. How does he deal
:42:27. > :42:33.with an owner staying out of the system. We have obviously focused a
:42:34. > :42:38.lot on hacking, but on the thicks as well, what is ethical, that is a
:42:38. > :42:43.wider issue. It is maybe not such a starry issue? He keeps stressing,
:42:43. > :42:52.time and again, it is not just about hacking. It keeps um coming
:42:52. > :42:58.back to this. He's also trying to find a form of redress for ordinary
:42:58. > :43:01.people, not celeb tee, who have a grievance with the press. The other
:43:01. > :43:06.-- celebrities. Who have a grievance with the press. He has to
:43:06. > :43:11.find a way of bringing Richard Desmond's papers in it, they are
:43:11. > :43:15.outside the PCC, he has to find a formula to bring them in. Do you
:43:15. > :43:19.have a sense that he is the judge and so forth, do you get a sense he
:43:19. > :43:22.understands the pressures, this is not an exclues, but understands the
:43:22. > :43:28.pressures of putting together a newspaper? Pts at times he does, a
:43:28. > :43:33.lot of times he doesn't. The pace, if you work on a newspaper, as I
:43:33. > :43:38.and Chris do, it is just the pace of decision of-making incredibly
:43:38. > :43:41.fast. And if you are doing broadcasts? You of to do things
:43:41. > :43:47.incredibly instinctively, making split of-second decisions, and
:43:47. > :43:52.thinking whether will the competition do. He feels like we
:43:52. > :43:59.hud pend days deciding -- should spend says deciding to publish a
:43:59. > :44:03.story and unvaiding someone's privacy. Thep pap has to turn a
:44:03. > :44:09.shilling? -- the paper has to turn a shilling? I think he thinks we
:44:09. > :44:14.Saul stand around fill loss fiesing. A lot of what we do very quick and
:44:14. > :44:19.intuitive. What he would say, if he cut you open, like a piece of rock,
:44:19. > :44:23.it should, you hud at your core be ethical? -- you should, at your
:44:23. > :44:29.core, be ethical, do you think there is a whole credo at that has
:44:29. > :44:34.to be followed by all journalists? Yes, but if you ask me. How are you
:44:34. > :44:38.going to do it? If ask me if I'm ethical, of course you will say,
:44:38. > :44:43.yes, of course I am. Would you find telling me something I didn't know
:44:43. > :44:47.bf. At least he has looked at d before. At least he has looked at
:44:47. > :44:51.on official the hard cases. question before we have thought
:44:51. > :44:58.about what exactly would replace the P cfpl C, you think there is a
:44:58. > :45:06.level -- PCC, you think there is a level of self-censorship on the
:45:06. > :45:09.tabloids? I think they are tamer. Duller? Yes, if you go through the
:45:09. > :45:13.Sunday papers, you certainly notice it. One glaring example, the sad
:45:13. > :45:20.death of Garyp Speed, I think in the past, the tabloids would have
:45:20. > :45:24.been all over that. I mean, the mysterious death of a top football.
:45:24. > :45:28.They all left it alone, pretty much much. I think that was a turning
:45:28. > :45:31.point. Do you agree? I think Chris touched on something, I'm not sure
:45:31. > :45:36.Britain a worse place for it. Interest will be an inquest into
:45:36. > :45:46.the death, 0 interest will be some kind of proper prohe is, interest
:45:46. > :45:49.
:45:49. > :45:59.ought to be to allow -- process, he ought to be allowed to do that.
:45:59. > :46:26.
:46:27. > :46:36.That's all from Newsnight tonight. Gavin will be here tomorrow, do
:46:37. > :47:01.
:47:01. > :47:05.join him. Good night from all of us Another cold night out there. A
:47:05. > :47:10.widespread frost forming, exept in parts of Northern Ireland and
:47:10. > :47:15.Scotland, where temperatures are rise above freezing. Tomorrow
:47:15. > :47:19.turning cloud and rain spilling in. Clouding across Wales and North
:47:19. > :47:25.West England for north-east England sparkling unshine before the
:47:25. > :47:32.morning mist and fog has cleared away. For East Anglia a chilly day.
:47:32. > :47:37.Up hien turning hazy by -- sunshine turning hazy by day. Drizzleley
:47:37. > :47:41.rain, turning damp around the west coast of Wales. Further east a dry,
:47:41. > :47:47.bright day, clouding over. Much more cloud across Northern Ireland,
:47:47. > :47:53.a dull, damp, morning, the afternoon seeing skies brightening.
:47:53. > :47:55.A milder day too, damp weather pushing into out west Scotland,
:47:55. > :48:01.north-east Scotland stays fine and sunny once more. More significant
:48:01. > :48:11.changes of the next few days, most places look -- over the feck few
:48:11. > :48:14.
:48:14. > :48:18.days, most places -- over the next Brighter skies across northern