NUT: Academies project in 'total disarray'

Wednesday, 17 November 2010 12:00 AM

Chritine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers (NUT), comments on the government's new proposals for academies:

"The academies project is quite obviously in total disarray. The various announcements and mixed messages coming from Michael Gove about who can and cannot apply for academy status is both bewildering and of great concern. If the government has no clear idea of how schools can convert to academy status then how on earth can the public, governors or parents have any confidence in the programme?

"Only in May, Michael Gove announced that he would be inviting all schools to become academies and indeed has even issued a thinly veiled threat to use his statutory powers to overrule any local Authorities who did not voluntarily convert so called failing schools into academies.

"There are already many good examples of schools working together within their local authority to support one another, share best practice, innovate and maximise best use of resources. This is common practice amongst schools and does not require academy conversion to facilitate it.

"For a government who continuously say they want to do away with bureaucracy it would appear there are now additional criteria to be met and no doubt more paperwork. The academies programme has quite clearly lost direction. The government needs to acknowledge that what was a bad idea to start with is degenerating into farce and needs to end."

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