SOMETHING TO BE SAID ABOUT OFSTED ...

 Firstly, outstanding schools will still be inspected, they will have 'health checks' and inspections as a result of parental complaints. There is a reason they announced this at the same time the letter came out, and this was to entice headteachers in. What they didn't make clear was the impact assessment. It will cost schools up to £78,000 to convert. 

Raising Standards?

 To say  that academies are raising standards and that their results are improving faster than in other schools is not proven because the data is kept secret. Furthermore, such data that it has been possible to acquire indicates that the government’s claim is wide open to critical challenge.

Selective Admissions

Covert and overt admissions and exclusion practices enable academies to skew their intakes in favour of those from higher-achieving backgrounds.  Local authorities can ‘direct’ maintained schools to accept special needs and looked-after children but can only ‘ask’ academies.

Increased Exclusions

There is increasing evidence of academies excluding more children than maintained schools.

Evading Education Law

Academies are not covered by general education law which means that their students and parents have fewer rights than those of schools in the maintained sector. Academies should be brought under the umbrella of general education law and the recently published education and skills bill should be the vehicle used to achieve this.

No Democracy

Rushed, flawed and manipulated consultation processes show a complete disregard of the views of local people. There is no democratic ballot for parents and teachers within the consultation process.

Governance Arrangements

The sponsor has the power to appoint the majority of governors. Academies are only required to appoint one parent and one staff governor and they are rarely representative of the communities they are supposed to serve.

Staff Terms and Conditions

Academies have high staff turnover rates, and staff in academies can be prey to discriminatory employment practices. Teachers and support staff working in academies deserve the same protection as those working in the maintained sector.

The Power of the Sponsor

The sponsor gains almost absolute power once a school acquires academy status. They take control of public assets - the buildings and the land.

Social Segregation

OECD research suggests that where schools systems have a greater diversity of types of school, there is a greater tendency towards more social segregation.

An Unproven Experiment