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Ask the union
NUT experts answer your questions on legal, professional, and health and safety matters.
My head teacher has expressed an interest in our school becoming an academy and I’m concerned. Is it true that some ‘outstanding’ schools could become academies from as early as September 2010? If so, what can I do to challenge this?
The new government is inviting all ‘outstanding’ schools in England to apply for academy status and has said it will fast track their applications to get as many as possible up and running by September 2010.
You are right to be concerned. Academies are not required to abide by national agreements on pay, working hours and other conditions of employment. Although staff transferring from an existing school have protection under TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings [Protection of Employment]) regulations, many academy employers have tried to worsen conditions over time.
The NUT is concerned that the government’s Academies Bill contains no requirement for any consultation before a school becomes an academy. The school’s governing body simply passes a resolution and makes a request to the Secretary of State for Education. He has already said all ‘outstanding’ schools will be pre-approved.
The union considers it vital that any decision to transfer the assets and control of a school should involve proper consultation with parents, pupils, staff and the local authority. We are pushing for amendments to the Bill that would enshrine full consultation in law and encompass the need for consultation with staff under TUPE.
The Bill will not complete its progress through Parliament before the summer break. A number of amendments have been tabled, which will radically change it before it becomes an Act. The NUT believes it would be imprudent for governing bodies to pass a resolution to move to academy status now, as they don’t know what they will be signing up for!
Academy status is likely to place additional administrative burdens on schools, as they will have to take responsibility for functions currently carried out by the local authority. This will be a particular issue for primary academies. Instead of admissions, special needs provision, transport and other important functions being coordinated across the local authority, individual schools will have to make their own arrangements.
Take action
If your head teacher has registered an interest in becoming an academy, act now! Ask your school representative to inform your local NUT association/division secretary and convene a meeting. Invite any teacher not in a union to join the NUT.
Get NUT colleagues and those in other unions to sign a joint letter to the chair of governors, expressing your concerns – in particular about the lack of consultation. Send the letter, with the joint unions’ model resolution, to your chair of governors. Involve parent governors and parents too – use our parent/carer petition, joint union letter to parents and FAQ for parents.
If your school doesn’t have an NUT rep, you and your colleagues should get together to discuss the threat posed by any possible transfer to academy status and elect someone to be the rep or main contact. This person should then get in touch with their local NUT association/division secretary and also email their contact details to
academies@nut.org.uk to ensure they receive support and vital updates.
The campaign materials mentioned above, and many more, are available from
www.teachers.org.uk/academies. Alternatively, email
academies@nut.org.uk to request a campaign pack.
See pages 4-5 and 12-13 for more on the threats posed by transferring to academy status.
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