Labour's Annual Women's Conference calls for future Labour Government to re-establish community control of schools through LAs

 A welcome development given Labour's ambivalence over academisation but we can't afford to wait for implementation by a Labour Government - the campaign must begin now.

The Socialist Educational Association (SEA) won a stunning victory at Labour’s Annual Women’s Conference on 27^th June when the Conference agreed that a future Labour government should end the academisation of schools in England and re-establish community control of schools through local authorities and the involvement  of parents, education staff and students.

The SEA’s motion, tabled with Thirsk and Malton Constituency Labour Party, also called for co-ordinated action and resources to challenge sexism and gender-stereotyping in schools and colleges which research from UK Feminista and Ofsted have confirmed is widespread.

Composite Motion: Early Years and EducationDownload

Pam Tatlow, the SEA’s delegate to the Conference, said ‘A fractured, fragmented school system dominated by Multi-Academy Trusts and edicts from the Department of Education will not deliver the progressive agenda that students deserve or the collaborative framework that schools need to tackle the deep-seated and historic problem of sexism in schools.’

James Whiting, General Secretary of the SEA which is the Labour Party’s only education affiliate, said ‘We warmly welcome the support of the Women’s Conference for our “Give us back our Schools” campaign.

The long-standing issues of disadvantage and discrimination that impact on opportunities and life chances of women will not be resolved by the marketisation and privatisation of education or the unaccountable academy system which have been features of the Conservative government’s education agenda for the last decade.

Our call for the return of local authorities and an end to sexism in schools was supported by over 96% of Labour women at the Conference but also by trade unions such as Unison, Unite and GMB which represent thousands of education staff, many of them women.

We hope that Labour ‘s shadow front bench team will now commit to bring schools in England into an integrated, cooperative, transparent and non-selective education system under the aegis of accountable local authorities.’

Time for Brent Council's political leadership to take a stand on the wider re-opening of schools

With some local authorities advising schools not to adopt wider re-opening pressure is mounting on Brent Council's political leadership to take a stand. The wider re-opening of schools is not even on the agenda for the May 28th Cabinet Meeting - the day when the government will announce whether its 5 tests have been met for school wider re-opening.

Although local authorities do not have powers to instruct schools on the issue the National Governors' Association  have said that local schools should take note of LA advice.

I draw Labour councillors attention to this resolution adopted by the Socialist Education Association, an affiliate of the Labour Party:

This resolution comes from the Socialist Educational Association, Labour’s affiiated education organisation. 

Schools only to fully re-open when safe

Since the government partially shut school buildings on March 20th, schools across the country have worked hard to continue providing an education for students via distance learning, support vulnerable students and provide a safe place for the children of key workers. Some school buildings were closed but education hasn't stopped. Returning to school is vital for young people – especially those from less advantaged backgrounds – but it is imperative that this is safe, carefully planned, and that students return to an appropriate, supportive curriculum to help them respond to the strange circumstances they have been in.

Teachers, support staff, pupils and their families must not be used as an experiment and it would be reckless for any Government to ignore the independent scientific advice, which is at best uncertain, and thereby endanger lives. The British Medical Association has stated that opening schools at the moment would risk a second spike and increase the spread of this virus in a dangerous fashion.

The SEA are clear that school buildings cannot fully reopen until the following has been met:

1. Much lower numbers of Covid-19 cases (with a sustained downward trend).
2. A national plan for social distancing, including clear parameters and appropriate PPE in schools.
3. Comprehensive access to regular testing for students and staff to ensure that schools do not become spreading spots for Covid-19.
4. Protocols put in place to test whole schools or colleges when cases occur and to strictly isolate cases.
5. Protection for vulnerable students and staff, and those who live with vulnerable people. This should include the ability of staff to work from home to fulfil their professional duties as far as possible, and provision for students with vulnerable home situations to learn remotely.

We call on the UK Government to establish an Education Task Force comprised of education Trade Unions, epidemiologists, and other stakeholders; they should be tasked with producing a short, medium and long term plan for reopening schools during the continued threat of Covid-19, including the criteria that will be used for making decisions, and to be widely shared as soon as possible.

We encourage Local Authorities and Academy Trusts to follow the example of LAs such as Liverpool, Haringey, North of Tyne, Hartlepool, and Brighton – and devolved governments in Wales, Scotland, and NI - in making it clear that they will not reopen schools until it is safe.