David Laws today increases the primary floor target in KS2 SATS English and Maths for 2014 from 60% to 65% of Year 6 pupils achieving Level 4. Failure to meet these targets will result in the schools being forced to become sponsored academies.
Moving the goal posts in this way will be another step in the Coalition's aim of increasing the number of schools converting to academy status to meet their aim of making academies 'the norm'.
476 primary schools are below the current floor target of 60% but this increases to 866 with the 65% target.
The Coalition argue that this number will reduce as schools 'up their game' but this will of course lead to more stress for children, teachers and headteachers and a narrow test-centred curriculum for pupils in their last year of primary school.
Some commentators also expect that the policy may lead to some schools 'voluntarily' converting to academy status, choosing their own sponsor, rather than face the risk of having one imposed on them at a later date. There is an added incentive for headteachers because they are usually removed by the sponsor when a school is forced to become an academy.
Clearly Gove is taking no notice of the current resistance to forced academies and is tightening the screw on schools. He is hoping that under the guise of raising standards and making children 'secondary school ready' he will be able to escalate the privatisation of the school system.
In turn we must up our resistance with a united campaign of teachers, governors and parents to the forced academy strategy.
Moving the goal posts in this way will be another step in the Coalition's aim of increasing the number of schools converting to academy status to meet their aim of making academies 'the norm'.
476 primary schools are below the current floor target of 60% but this increases to 866 with the 65% target.
The Coalition argue that this number will reduce as schools 'up their game' but this will of course lead to more stress for children, teachers and headteachers and a narrow test-centred curriculum for pupils in their last year of primary school.
Some commentators also expect that the policy may lead to some schools 'voluntarily' converting to academy status, choosing their own sponsor, rather than face the risk of having one imposed on them at a later date. There is an added incentive for headteachers because they are usually removed by the sponsor when a school is forced to become an academy.
Clearly Gove is taking no notice of the current resistance to forced academies and is tightening the screw on schools. He is hoping that under the guise of raising standards and making children 'secondary school ready' he will be able to escalate the privatisation of the school system.
In turn we must up our resistance with a united campaign of teachers, governors and parents to the forced academy strategy.
