Wednesday, 15 May 2013

Butt and Pavey refuse to back Copland teachers' action against forced academy status

Well that didn't take long! Brent Council released this statement a few minutes ago:
Cllr Muhammed Butt, leader of Brent Council has today urged teachers at Copland school not to go on strike, after they announced their intention to take action at a Governors meeting last night. Copland was placed in special measures by the Department of education earlier this month after it received a ‘failing’ Ofsted report. Under DfE rules, the School most now become an Academy.

Cllr Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent Council said:
“Nothing is more important than our children’s education. I am a trade unionist myself and hugely supportive of workers’ rights but our children’s education is at risk at Copland and strike action can only make things worse. I strongly urge all teachers at Copland to reconsider and to work together with me, children's parents and the Government to deliver the best possible outcome for the school.”

 Cllr Michael Pavey, Lead Member for Children and Families said:
“I am opposed to forcing Schools which are not failing to become academies, but this is simply not the situation at Copland. Our children deserve a better education than they are currently receiving there and no governance arrangement is more important than that. I urge teachers to stay at work and be part of the solution.”

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4 comments:

  1. Anonymous15 May 2013 at 16:49

    There must be a better way to fight back against Academies than striking and impacting the education of the school's children

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  2. Anonymous15 May 2013 at 17:34

    Is the typo on the press release ("most now become an Academy")?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Martin Francis15 May 2013 at 17:51

      yes. copy and paste job as I was quoting directly.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous15 May 2013 at 20:02

    A deeply disappointing statement by Michael Pavey.
    Unfortunately he seems to have swallowed Micheal Gove's mantra that 'failing' schools can only be 'turned around' by putting them in private hands and forcing them to become academies. So according to Pavey, the reason that Copland is struggling is because it's a community school. Nothing to do with the years of corruption, the £2 million 'allegedly' stolen, the appalling state of the buildings, the difficulty in recruiting staff after such a scandal...
    I expected slightly more intelligence from the new lead member for Children and Families.

    ReplyDelete