Wyvern Community School is due to become the Hans Price Academy on 1st May, under the old Academy Rules. But now there seems to be a rush of schools wanting to convert to Academies by 1st September. These so far include: Backwell, Priory, Churchill and Gordano.
If a community school decides to become an academy it means big changes – with no way back and huge implications for school staff:
- Academies though state funded are in the independent sector – the tax payer pays but academies are unaccountable to the local community.
- Academies are divorced from the local authority – they undermine an integrated approach to schooling
- Academies can determine pay and conditions – they can change, for example, your pay, holiday and the length of the school day
- Academies can set their own curriculum – this could mean that they reflect commercial interests
- Academy sponsors can be governors – there could be a conflict of interest, especially if the sponsor comes from a private company
No comments:
Post a Comment