Teachers will be strking again on Tuesday March 24th and Wednesday Match 25th at St Andrew and St Francis Cof E Primary School in Willesden. This time parents ahve issued their own letter supporting the action against forced academisation.
The teachers' letter to parents says:
The teachers' letter to parents says:
How much does the IEB presently running St Andrew and St Francis school care about parents and what they think? The answer is not at all.
We offered to call off further strike action if they were prepared to have a proper democratic ballot of parents to find out if they wanted the school to be forced to become an academy OR NOT. But the IEB refused. We again said the unions would pay for the ballot. The IEB still refused.
Parents have told us that the reason most parents did not take part in the original IEB so called consultation is because they did not get enough information to make a decision one way or the other. They were given no arguments why a forced academy was a bad idea. It was not made clear that the Government was forcing St Andrew and St Francis to become an academy.
Parents are now more aware as they have been given the arguments against and so have heard both sides of the argument. Well over 300 parents so far have signed the petition against an academy. If you haven’t yet signed please do.
Further reasons to say NO to an academy are:
. 1) “Parents are sidelined from all important decisions from saying whether the school should convert to the running of the academy”. (All Party Select Committee Jan 2015)
. 2) “Nearly half academy trusts have paid millions of pounds in public money towards the private businesses of directors, trustees and relatives”. (Nat: Audit Office 2014)
. 3) Despite the government promoting academies only 20% of schools have converted. That’s why the government is forcing schools to become academies.
The next strike will be for two days on Tuesday 24th March and Wednesday 25th March. We deeply regret the disruption to your child’s education but strike action is not undertaken lightly and, as we said in our last leaflet, is very much the last resort.
Teachers have the future of your child’s education at heart. The IEB clearly does not, as otherwise they would have agreed to a staff and parents’ ballot.
We still demand an independently overseen secret ballot of parents so that you are given a proper say in the future of your child’s education. We also demand that they include an elected staff and parent representative on the IEB. So far they have said NO.
Please join us on Tuesday 24th outside the school in Belton Rd between 8.15 and 8.45
Bring your own placards, whistles, drums etc.
This is the letter from the parents to other parents at the school:
LET’S MAKE A NOISE AND SAY NO TO AN ACADEMY!
