Volunteers doing LEA jobs & Welfare

Pam Field's picture
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One of my many concerns about the transition happening in our education system at the moment, is the loss of the specialist services LEAs provide. I fear that it will be the vulnerable children who will miss out.

Academies will focus on publicised league tables and profits for companies, what of the child with leukaemia or chronic fatigue? Will schools send outreach teachers to their homes as LEAs do?

I am sending off for Melissa's book and look forward to reading.
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Comments

JimC's picture
Sun, 02/10/2011 - 15:51

One of the things the LSN bangs on about is scaremongering by the government on behalf of academies and free schools. Until you provide evidence that these children are not going to be catered for then this is also scaremongering.


Janet Downs's picture
Sun, 02/10/2011 - 16:30

Below is evidence from a Council document in Lincolnshire, which has just advised all schools to become academies whether schools want to or not because of funding implications. The Council makes it clear it will decommission services if they become unviable even though it could lead to “loss of support” for any remaining Lincolnshire maintained schools:

"There are potential significant funding implications for the local authority as more schools convert to academy status … If all schools converted, the LA … could see a reduced revenue grant of £28m from the core revenue budget from 2012/13…” and “The Authority has sought to trade with academies for those services they receive funding for. If not viable, the Council has stated its intention to decommission these services. This could lead to a loss of a support infrastructure for schools that continue to be within the maintained sector.”

http://62.172.185.189:8080/minicms/CommRecDisplay.do;jsessionid=A2458494...

And a Lincolnshire paper reported a Council representative as saying the education welfare services could be at risk:

“The budget for education welfare, which includes meetings, interventions and work programmes to get children back in school, as well as mental wellbeing in pupils and other care services in schools could be affected by the decision [how to fund academies].”

http://www.thisislincolnshire.co.uk/Academy-switch-cuts-Lincolnshire-Cou...

And in August the TES reported a reduction in funding to local authorities because of academy conversions. Even LAs without academies face a reduction which threatens other services.

"Local authorities are due to see their funding slashed by £1 billion over the next two years, after the Government massively underestimated the number of schools expected to convert to academy status."

http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6109950

Adrian Elliott's picture
Tue, 04/10/2011 - 10:45

One of the issues facing schools at the moment when they decide to apply for academy status is that their local authorities not providing the level of service they were ten or even two years ago, in some cases. I've spoken to a number of heads who are now seriously converting who have no real stomach for it but feel they are being forced into it.


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