Labour is calling on the government to drop its plan to force schools to become academies, amid increasing resistance to the idea from Tory as well as Labour councils. Somerset county council is the latest to oppose the government’s idea – branding it deplorable.
George Osborne announced in the budget that all schools in England now under local authority control would become academies, whether they want to or not. The policy has been reiterated by the education secretary, Nicky Morgan. But many Tories agree with Labour that schools are better under the democratic control of local education authorities.
Councillor Frances Nicholson is the portfolio holder for children and young people in Somerset. She has written to Morgan saying: “It is as champion of the child that Somerset County Council deplores the ‘forced’ academisation policy.
“We welcome wholeheartedly any evidence-based initiatives that support and enable teachers and schools to achieve the task they are committed to – of enabling all children to achieve their potential irrespective of social background or individual need. We do not welcome initiatives not so based: children deserve better.
“There is no evidence that the structural change of academisation improves the outcomes for children and this is certainly not reflected in our experience of the academy programme in Somerset.”
‘Forced Academy programme is wrong’ says West Somerset Labour
Nicholson represents Dulverton and Exmoor – where students attend West Somerset College which has struggled since becoming an academy.
West Somerset Labour Party secretary Andy Lewis said: “Labour believes that, particularly in rural areas, it is better for schools to be run by an education authority that can ensure a good outcome for all pupils. It is wrong to try to force schools into a precarious state of independence as academies.
“We welcome the intervention of Frances Nicholson and other Conservatives who seem to have far more knowledge and understanding about schools than the education secretary. We hope the government will see sense and abandon a policy that would cause great damage to education.”