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Save Our Schools


 


Defending state education


The coalition Government’s proposals for education are worrying, with creeping privatisation of the state system in the form of academies and free schools, proposed cuts to education funding, and attacks on teachers’ pay and pensions. The NUT is joining forces with other unions to defend state education and protect teachers’ rights – and has already had some successes. Chris Brown, NUT Parliamentary Officer, reports.






Every new government likes to make its mark on the education system, and the current coalition is no exception. Since being appointed Secretary of State for Education in June, Michael Gove has wasted no time in imposing his vision for education – a vision that encompasses a massive expansion of the academies programme and the introduction of so-called ‘free schools’, but slashes funding that had already been allocated for rebuilding and refurbishing decaying and inadequate school buildings.


The Academies Act – a travesty


Despite all efforts by the NUT and others to delay the Academies Bill’s progress through Parliament, it became an Act on 28 July. The Government rushed the Bill through with indecent haste, bypassing the usual democratic processes in a way normally reserved for times of war or emergency.


As well as allowing all schools – including primary and special schools – to apply for academy status, the act gives pre-approval for ‘outstanding’ schools so they can become academies as quickly as possible. The act also paves the way for free schools, which, although ostensibly led by parents, may be run for profit by private companies. Already there have been reports of a ‘gold rush’ involving opportunistic organisations leafleting families about the prospect of setting up a school, in an attempt to get their hands on some of the funding available.


The NUT believes academies and free schools will fragment education, making it harder for local authorities to plan and deliver resources and services to schools and communities in an equitable way. When a school goes down the one-way route of becoming an academy, it has to source independently all of the support and services it previously received from the local authority. Meanwhile, the local authority loses that school’s funding allocation.


The result will be less money in the authority’s budget for essential services such as support for children with special needs or English as an additional language. Damaged, too, will be the local authority’s coordinated approach to issues such as school admissions, transport and extended hours provision.


Funding for free schools will come from the overall education budget, leaving less for existing schools – at a time when public finances have seldom been tighter. Opening free schools without proper planning and consultation could also have a detrimental effect on, or even lead to the closure of, other local schools.


NUT wins concessions


The Academies Bill, as originally published, did not oblige schools to consult staff, parents, pupils or the local community before making the decision to become an academy. As a direct result of NUT members lobbying and emailing their MPs, the Government was forced to allow for consultation before an academy is established. The legislation, however, still allows for ‘consultation’ to take place after an Academy Order has been made. This is not ‘consultation’ but rather ‘information after the event’.


To get the Bill through Parliament, the Government also made the following significant concessions, which the NUT and many others in the education and political worlds campaigned for:


• Academies must admit a child if the school is named in that child’s special educational needs statement.


• Special educational needs coordinators in academies must be qualified teachers and properly trained.


• The Freedom of Information Act 2000 will apply to academies.


• Before proposals for a free school are approved, the Secretary of State must take into account the impact on other local schools and colleges.


• The Secretary of State must make an annual report to Parliament on academy arrangements and their performance.


Now the legislation has been enacted, the focus turns to individual schools. We are working with sister teaching unions ATL and NASUWT, and support staff unions GMB, Unison and Unite. Together we’ve produced materials to help teachers campaign against conversion to academy status, answer frequently asked questions and provide guidance if your school has made the decision to become an academy. Find them at www.teachers.org.uk/academies.


The Government announced at the end of July that 153 schools had applied for academy status – a fraction of the “more than 1,100 schools” which the Secretary of State told Parliament had applied only one month previously. Despite the Academies Bill being rushed through Parliament, only 32 schools had converted under the new legislation by September, and not a single free school has opened so far.


 


Continued on page 5.

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