In 2010 the newly elected coalition government rushed through a law to allow the Secretary of State to force schools to become academies. In 2011 Michael Gove announced that there were 200 ‘underperforming’ primary schools in England which he would convert. Early in 2013 he raised the bar, so hundreds more could be deemed as ‘underperforming’ and eligible for forced conversion. Just the threat of forced conversion is being used by Department for Education (DfE) brokers to coerce many more schools into converting ‘voluntarily’.
So what is wrong with forced academies?
Click here to download Forced Academies Briefing
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Local Authorities services are being run down and I’m not aware of any new services taking their place. I’m actually pleased to be part of agroup that was given liaison with the council officers ,ward councillors and partners in a large development. Plans since outline planning on 16-01-03 have gone completely pair shaped, the planning department reduced.Case officers down 30% and enforcement officers 50%. I am now informed when breaches of conditions occur and I ask what’s going on the main case officer tells me he doesn’t know but he will ask the applicants
The process of forcing schools to become academies has begun to make me wonder whether I actually live in a democracy any more. There is no doubt that this is the privatisation of state education through the back door, using unaccountable, corrupt and predatory brokers deploying unscrupulous tactics including lies and intimidation. Education is far too important to the whole of society to be put at the mercy of those driven by the profit motive. What will happen to the education of countless children if and when the organisations running the new academies mess things up? Privatisation is a process which is extremely hard to undo and we should resist this shameful and alarming rapid programme in all possible ways.