14 September 2015
Government set to ignore local communities, and put ideology ahead of evidence
The new school term is underway, but it seems the government hasn’t finished meddling in our children’s education. A new law is being brought in by the Conservatives giving themselves the legal authority to ignore the wishes of local communities….
The Education and Adoption Bill, currently before parliament, is designed to make it easier to turn local authority run schools into sponsored academies. In effect, local authorities and school governors will be forced, whether or not they think it is in the children’s best interests, and whether or not parents support the idea, to convert to an academy if the school is deemed to be “coasting” or “inadequate”.
The government says it is sweeping away bureaucratic and legal loopholes, but in practice, it is giving itself more powers to compel schools to become academies, and at the same time remove requirements to consult with parents. This means the views of school governors, the teachers, the locally elected councillors and the parents will count for nothing. Instead, orders to convert to an academy will be made by the Secretary of State for Education.
The government’s aim is to speed up conversion of schools to academies, claiming this is the best way to deal with under-performing schools. What’s more, by introducing the concept of a coasting school, many more schools will be caught out and forced into academy conversion, therefore increasing the overall number of sponsored academies.
But as well as the anti-democratic nature of the Education and Adoption Bill, there is no evidence that it is actually needed.
Indeed, in their most recent report into Academies and Free schools, the House of Commons Education Committee, itself chaired by a Conservative MP, said, “Academisation is not always successful nor is it the only proven alternative for a struggling school,” adding, “Current evidence does not allow us to draw firm conclusions on whether academies are a positive force for change.”
What’s more, by pressing ahead with their plans, the government has completely overlooked the fact that academies themselves can also be described as coasting or inadequate. The number of academies and free schools not meeting the 60% five A – C benchmark has almost trebled in the past three years, whereas the number of local authority maintained schools failing to meet the threshold has halved.
Significantly, unions representing those who actually deliver our education service – teachers - are not supporters of academy conversion. As Dr. Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers points out, “Instead of a focus on CPD, on teaching quality, and on schools learning from each other, we have yet more structural solutions with only one structure: academies.”
A spokesperson for Harborough Greens said:
“This proposed new law is based on ideology rather than evidence. Ignoring local community views on academy conversion not only alienates parents, staff and pupils, it also sets a worrying precedent for undermining democracy and accountability.”
Green Party education policy pledges to bring all schools under Local Authority control in order to protect local democratic accountability, and to create a collaborative system that supports teachers and enables pupils to achieve the best possible educational outcomes.
Blog by David Green
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