TEACHERS and heads yesterday condemned Cameron’s announcement that 400 ‘failing’ state primary schools will be forced to become privately-run academies.
National Union of Teachers General Secretary, Christine Blower said: ‘There is no evidence to show that academy status in primary schools will bring any educational benefits.
‘Despite this the coalition government is pressing ahead regardless, removing schools from their local authority and handing them over to unelected sponsors.
‘These decisions are being taken over the heads of local authorities, teachers, head teachers and parents.
‘Despite direct threats and reproaches from (education secretary) Michael Gove and his department, many local authorities remain unconvinced of the merits of the government’s vision for education.
‘It is quite extraordinary that at a time of such huge spending cuts the Prime Minister is announcing that he is happy to spend £10 million to find sponsors for this project.
‘This is such irresponsible and rash behaviour from a coalition whose motivation appears ever clearer to be the privatisation of our education system.’
Russell Hobby, the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) said: ‘One thing in the Prime Minister’s announcement which is conspicuous by its absence is the evidence that primary academies work.
‘There is no silver bullet. We know that academies sometimes succeed and sometimes they don’t. What works for a large secondary is not guaranteed to help a small primary.
‘Nor is this initiative reliably targeting failing schools.
‘Some of those schools which have been forcibly converted so far were among the fastest-improving schools in the country before conversion.
‘In many ways, academisation is the wrong priority for the primary sector, with its thousands of small schools who rely on their local connections. The government should be focusing on tighter collaboration.
‘There is excellent work going on in primary education, in both maintained and academy schools, to provide children with the best possible start in life.
‘We do not want to see any young person hindered in their education as a result of government-led structural changes which do not suit a particular school.’
Cameron made his announcement at a Bristol academy school where, to make the point, he held the Cabinet meeting.
He said 400 alleged ‘failing’ primary schools would be paired with a sponsor or be in the process of being reopened as an academy by the end of next year.
He boasted that some 200 ‘poor’ primaries are already on the way to becoming academies adding that, like these, the next 400 schools will be selected on the basis of their Ofsted reports and Sats test results.
Academies are state funded but privately-run schools which operate independently of their local education authority.
They do not have to follow the national curriculum. and are not required to employ qualified teacher.
