Academies

Unions need bolder fight against plans for Academies and "free schools"

"But what did we hear from the platform about what we do tomorrow, in the schools?", my school NUT rep asked me at the end of the 250-strong Anti-Academies Alliance rally in London on 24 June against the Government's new programme of Academies and free schools. These are the government's lists of schools which have "registered an interest" in becoming Academies: "Outstanding" schools Others Good question. Platform speakers included leading officials of five unions - NUT, NASUWT, ATL, Unison, and UCU - plus journalist Fiona Millar, London head teacher Paramjit Bhutta, and Alasdair Smith, AAA...

Academies and free schools: "we need national action to meet this threat"

The government has announced that all schools will be able to become Academies; schools which have been judged to be “outstanding” by Ofsted will be automatically approved and fast-tracked to that status. The coalition is rushing through legislation to allow schools to make decisions about becoming an Academy before the end of term. And Education Minister Michael Gove has written to all “outstanding” schools inviting them to do this. The Academies programme is also being extended to primary schools. At the moment there are only 203 Academies, but there are 600 “outstanding” secondary schools...

Stop this free market in state schools!

The government’s first Queen’s speech was a mixture of cuts (but just the first round), policy built on New Labour’s “legacy” and various concessions to the Lib-Dems — most of which had already formed the basis of the pre-nuptial agreement between the two coalition partners. But the headline policy on schools reform, while being a logical step on from New Labour rule, was a giant step… towards a completely free market in state-funded education. And any imprint of historical opposition from the Lib Dems to such things as Academies was nowhere in evidence. What do the government propose? •...

Lib Dems: ducking the Academies issue

Nick Clegg and the Lib Dems supports the Academy school system. It seems he is not confident enough in his support to find out what one group of teachers at an Academy think of working at their school. On 21 April Clegg was due to visit Crest Boys’ Academy in Brent. But his visit was cancelled. We don’t know why... but perhaps it was because the majority of teaching staff at Crest Boys’ Academy were on strike over redundancies. The school is run by E-Act (previously Edutrust) a so-called “social enterprise” company. These redundancies are happening at a time when E-Act’s Chief Executive, Sir...

Vestas bosses involved in Academy bid on Isle of Wight

Another front in the Vestas jobs battle has been opened by the involvement of Vestas Technology in a plan to transform almost all the Isle of Wight's schools into Academies (privatised schools receiving public money but run by their business sponsors). In a letter endorsing the Academies bid, Vestas Technology boss Rob Sauven says: "(We are) committed to helping raise educational standards on the Island and to supporting sustainable schools. We would in particular like to encourage the education curriculum to further students' understanding of the planet from the sustainability perspective and...

Barrow students walk out to stop Academy plan

On Monday 1 June, the first day back after half-term, hundreds of students at Parkview School in Barrow-in-Furness walked out of their school hall to stage a protest on the school sports fields. Erin Thompson, Shona Thompson, Laura Storey and Megan Rose, the students who led the protest at Parkview School The head teacher, who had previously licensed students expressing opposition to the school being closed to make way for an Academy, told the Year 7 to 10 students in assembly that the protest must not go ahead. But, as year 10 student Megan Rose said, "They tried to talk us down to stop us...

Barrow students walk out to stop Academy plan

On Monday 1 June, the first day back after half-term, hundreds of students at Parkview School in Barrow-in-Furness walked out of their school hall to stage a protest on the school sports fields.

Against the "National Challenge"!/ Abolish SATS

Against the “National Challenge” The National Challenge scheme, launched in June 2008, is supposed to push up school standards. Schools have been threatened with being forced to convert into Academies, and could face the loss of specialist status and the removal of funding. The 638 National Challenge schools were selected on the basis that fewer than 30 per cent of their students have achieved five or more A*-C grade GCSEs, including English and maths. Now, according to the Times Educational Supplement, “300 extra schools can expect to be subject to special scrutiny under an extension of the...

Support grows for Bolton school strike

Jason is a supporter of Permanent Revolution Nearly sixty people came to the rally, outside a governors' meeting, against the Academy at Withins School, Bolton with strikers, parents, students and delegations from other schools and workplaces. The mood was defiant and loud, leaving governors in no doubt about the strength of feeling. Some governors came to the picket to discuss the issue and at least a couple of governors said they supported us. The main sponsors of the Academy were not brave enough to turn up though they sent a delegate and the good news is that the combination of the strike...

Handing over schools to business spivs?

Gordon Brown and Ed Balls will continue to accelerate the academies programme. The fake concern Balls expressed about some schools flouting admissions procedures acts as sand in our eyes as he and Brown increase selection through academies, trust and foundation status. Local authorities currently face a terrible choice. If they include an academy in their bid for funding under the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, it will be built with no charge to the authority but at a £35m cost to the taxpayer. State schools will be given away at knock down prices to any two-bit entrepreneur...

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