Schools already have considerable freedoms, says Academies Commission. Why, then, do schools need to convert to gain “freedom”?

Janet Downs's picture
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The Government’s said it again and again: schools need to become academies in order to gain “autonomy” and “freedom from local authority control”.

But the Academies Commission admitted that UK schools already have considerable freedoms. Among other evidence they cite the findings of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 2009 before the Coalition took power*.

“The reality is that the increased freedoms are not nearly as substantial as is often suggested,” says the Commission.

This was the Commission’s conclusion about so-called academy freedoms.

The Commission’s conclusion came shortly after this statement by Secretary of State, Michael Gove, when he described what he thought academy heads were doing:

“Longer school days; better paid teachers; remedial classes; more personalised learning; improved discipline; innovative curricula…”

Much of Gove’s statement was debunked here. And being innovative isn’t confined to academies. Gove’s words are just so much hot air.

The Academy Commission has admitted what many of us knew all along: it isn’t necessary to become an academy to gain freedom. The Academies Commission has exposed the propaganda.

 

Academies Commission report downloadable here.

*See faq above Is it true that schools with more autonomy tend to achieve better results?

 
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