Brent Central CLP urge support for anti-academisation strike at The Village School

Brent Central Constituency Labour Party has sent the following message to members. Also see the report on page 10 of the current Kilburn Times LINK

The Village School, currently a Local Authority school, provides an excellent education for pupils in Brent with complex special educational needs, receiving 'outstanding' in all areas in its last Ofsted inpsection last year. It has a high staff-to-child ratio with highly experienced staff who are committed to ensuring that every child reaches their full potential.

That philosophy is under threat, as the school management has decided the school should become an academy as part of a Multi Academy Trust (MAT). An academy is run as a private business using taxpayers money. This Tory Government wants to privatise all of education. The staff and parents at the school oppose this move, but the management are pressing ahead with their plans and asking the Department for Education to approve this privatisation in the New Year.

Now the staff need your support to make the management put the needs of the children first. Around 100 staff will be taking strike action next Thursday 14th December, and there will be a protest outside the school gates in the morning to show the level of support in the community for keeping the school in the local authority.

Come along on Thursday 14th December to join the protestors any time from 07:30 to 09:30 at the Stag Lane pedestrian entrance (Kingsbury, London NW9 0JY). Brent Central Labour Party’s Executive Committee supports this strike action and we hope to see many of you there too!

The Village School MAT proposal was discussed at the Teachers Joint Consultative Committee on November 29th and although Minutes are not published for this committee I expect that strong opposition to academisation was voiced by teacher representatives.