A public meeting of 70 people on Tuesday night showed that parents and staff are united in their opposition to Colley Lane Primary School in Cradley becoming an Academy. Called by the three councillors for the local ward, Tim Crumpton, Gaye Partridge and Richard Body, many people spoke about their concerns, including widespread worries as to the real agenda of the Headteacher and Chair of Governors in pushing this proposal. Many copies of a petition to the Governing Body and individual response forms were taken away.
The following day campaigners organised ballot boxes for parents outside the gates of the school and the end of the day, with ballot papers asking whether parents were in favour of the school becoming an Academy. These were counted immediately afterwards in a school office in the presence of school governors. The result was a resounding 176 parents against the proposal with only 9 in favour. This now shows conclusively that not only are the staff unanimously opposed to the school becoming an academy but so too are the parents. A letter will be sent to every member of the governing body underlining this and pointing to the importance of their role as representatives of the community.
Even under the Grant Maintained Schools provisions introduced after the 88 Education Reform Act there was a duty on schools to ballot parents to decide if they wanted the school to opt out of the LEA and be funded by central government instead. The Academies Act does not even retain this democratic courtesy. It should be a requirement on all schools to do this as it enables us to provide them with a balance of information to make a rational choice.