Stories + Views: Academies

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Sarah Dodds: Academies : from a Tory Council Leader’s Perspective

Just wanted to share this radio interview I took part in today with the portfolio holder for Children's Services at Lincolnshire County Council. Nobody could in any way interpret this as an endorsement of the policy from her , and I am fascinated to hear her talk about how it represents centralisation and control back to government, as opposed to it ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Alan Gurbutt: "I agree, I refer to OECD via email subscription and did pick up this thread. Transport costs do affect education choice in our area. Some choose schools several miles away that teach GCSEs as an alternative to BTEC (not knocking ......"

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Henry Stewart: Hackney’s Learning Trust: An Example of What a Local Authority Can Do

Three weeks ago Toby Young challenged Local Schools Network writers to set out the conditions that academies and free schools needed to fulfill to be acceptable. It was an interesting discussion. I argued that they should be co-ordinated by their local authority, to whom they should be accountable for the quality of their education and who should organise admissions. Toby ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Ric Euteneuer: "To be honest, I'm never sure it's worth engaging people like Toby Young. What he effectively wants is a return to a mythical golden age of education that is neither relevant today, nor was effective when it supposedly existed in ......"

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Sarah Dodds: “Sharper axes, lower taxes”

Clearly, Gove is just not right wing enough. This report has been welcomed by Tory MPs. Chilling. These are its conclusions:   Government spending is over 50 per cent of national income. Spending grew steadily in the twentieth century and then experienced very rapid growth from the beginning of the 21st century. • Much government spending discourages economic activity and prevents innovation and competition in crucial sectors such as health ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Janet Downs: "The report was written by the Institute of Economic Affairs who is a free market think tank. The IEA claimed that an opinion poll conducted by ComRes for the IEA shows “overwhelming public support for a much deeper programme ......"

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Allan Beavis: What Katherine Birbalsingh has in common with George Bush

Katherine Birbalsingh has posted a bizarre Telegraph blog in response to Fiona Millar’s piece on Academy chains in Monday’s Guardian Firstly, the comparison between a US President giving reasons to launch a war of terror and a journalist writing about the very real possibility of for-profit making companies running schools is so far-fetched and fabricated that it would be merely ridiculous ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Allan Beavis: "The debate on profit-making companies running schools and the impact this will have on influencing and exerting education policy is a very important one. The issue has been hinted at by Michael Gove, raised on a number of posts here ......"

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Francis Gilbert: The governors at my local secondary vote to convert it to an Academy

Last night, the governors at my local secondary school, Bethnal Green Technology College, backed the headteacher to turn the school into an Academy. The whole issue has caused considerable disquiet in the Borough with councilors speaking out against the conversion. As I've said before, I'm supporting the headteacher because the school is determined to remain a genuine local school in ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Francis Gilbert: "You've got a point Kate. It could change with a change in leadership, but this would be true if it stayed within local authority control, it could opt for a specialism and select that way. The whole arena of admissions ......"

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Janet Downs: Socio-economic disadvantage has negative impact on pupil performance – what can be done?

There is a strong relationship between a school’s socio-economic background and the achievement of pupils says data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). This is what the OECD discovered about the UK: “The proportion of students in disadvantage is much lower in the UK than that of OECD countries in general.” Nevertheless, “socio-economic disadvantage has ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Keith Turvey: "No Janet I agree. It would take a strong government to do this but maybe in this new era of discredited media moguls????? I know I'm an idealist. Labour I feel got close with their code on admissions. It was ......"

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sarah: Whatever happened to the James Review?

On 8 April Sebastian James produced his extremely overdue report on schools capital (having originally promised an interim report in September 2010 and final report in December. So far the government have made absolutely no response to it - nor undertaken any consultation with local authorities or schools about its contents. Here we are in July 2010 with absolutely no ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Janet Downs: "Toby Young was the most entertaining speaker at the Policy Exchange conference although for most of the time only his shoulder and one whirring hand were visible. His description of his attempt to lease a school from the Saudis ......"

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Claire: Mike Harwood’s poem, to be published in the collection ‘KJV Old Text New Poetry’, is a moving riposte to the free school policy.

Ode to Free Schools (after Frank O’Hara) The education charity ARK, founded by a financier, is spearheading the proposed academy in Wandsworth. In the City We shall have everything we want multitudinous nannies in our nappy valley and no more paying private school fees for the symbol of our new Academy will acknowledge vulgar materialism and we will fill our insatiable privileged classrooms with pupils from Honeywell High View Belleview we ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Janet Downs: "A Clerihew: The Secretary of State for Ed Vigorously nodded his head “I’ll turn the lot into fools, With my radical reforms for schools!”..."

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Sarah Dodds: Academy Implications for Local Authorities.

Thought this was a really interesting insight into the chaos resulting because of academy growth. Again, it highlights the dangerous territory that Gove is taking our education system.   read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Janet Downs: "The article conveyed the annoyance felt by Lincolnshire Councillor Stephen Williams (Conservative): "Everything is in a state of flux at the moment, which is very frustrating when we are trying the provide the best for the children of Lincolnshire. The Academies ......"

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Ros Coffey: A Sept 2010 Academy in Financial Difficulties

I spotted this in the local press about a primary school which is looking at 17 redundancy due to a shortfall in budget. Unusually this is a primary school which is in one of the most densely populated wards in the country but has done amazing work in extending the opportunities of its pupils. Three years ago they had a ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Paul Atherton: "@Ros, This just sounds like surplus funding has been cut back. "Mrs Davies said the staff affected were on a year-long contract to help provide certain schemes, for example help provide regular outdoor learning sessions where classes are taken at the beach ......"

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