Rescue Our Schools: Focus on free schools and grammar schools

From Rescue Our Schools

Rescue Our Schools - Families & communities standing up for state education

Dear Supporters,

For this, our 5th newsletter, we have decided to focus on Free Schools.

Did you know that local authorities are no longer permitted to open new schools maintained by them?
All new schools must either be academies (often set up by chains or MATs) or so-called "Free Schools". It seems they are costing us tax payers rather a lot...

http://schoolsweek.co.uk/2bn-fund-revealed-for-dfe-free-school-property-company/

Free Schools

Free schools have been hitting the headlines again, and not for good reasons. Last week the founder and former head of Kings Science Academy Bradford (one of the first wave of free schools in 2011), along with two staff, was convicted of fraudulently obtaining £150,000 from grants relating to the set up of the school. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-36943526

Then it was revealed that the Michaela Free School  have a policy of putting pupils into lunchtime isolation if their parents have not paid their (compulsory) lunch bill. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3713583/Superhead-claimed-Britain-s-education-broken-puts-pupils-detention-lunch-restricts-food-parents-failed-pay-school-meals.html

Add to these clear examples of poor practice growing concerns about how much these additional free schools cost and that the whole programme is not living up to the claims that were made for it.

If there is a free school planned in your area, please look carefully at what is proposed, whether it is really needed, and what impact it might have on existing schools. Rescue Our Schools would like more focus on meeting the needs of existing schools than on extending choice for some at the expense of the system overall.

For more information about free schools and some of the problems associated with them, have a look at the Local Schools Network (www.localschoolsnetwork.org.uk) or SchoolsWeek (www.schoolsweek.co.uk )

Will it be back-to-academy rather than back-to-school for your kids?

One of our followers has written a piece for our website about how she feels following the conversion of her children's primary school to an academy.

http://www.rescueourschools.co.uk/news/2016/8/9/my-kids-school-is-converting-so-how-does-this-make-me-feel

If you have a state education story that you'd like to share with us and/or our followers, please do drop us a line: info@rescueourschools.co.uk.

Grammar Schools

By all accounts our new Prime Minister, Teresa May, is now considering lifting the long-standing ban on new grammar schools. This is a controversial issue, already triggering much debate. Read Rescue Our School's press release on the subject here: http://www.rescueourschools.co.uk/

What do you think? Do you agree with us that selection means rejection for most pupils? We'd love to hear from you.

Calling all fundraisers and creatives !

Rescue Our Schools is looking for an experienced fundraiser and creatives to volunteer to help raise money so that we can launch some exciting new projects.

Please get in touch if you'd like to join our team! info@rescueourschools.co.uk

Keep spreading the word

We are keen for as many people as possible to know about what's happening to our state education system. If you are on social media, our Facebook and Twitter feeds are full of updates. Why not sign up, like our page or follow us? And if you have already, maybe you could ask your friends to do the same and subscribe to these newsletters? Or you could spark up a conversation with other parents you know? The more people who know about the peril are schools are in, the better.

Twitter: @RescueSchools

Government's backdown on forced academies welcome but not quite what it seems

Yesterday the government announced a modification of its forced academies policy.  It is not quite the u-turn that some called it on first sight. Forced academisation is still kept as an option and academisation of all schools remain a government aim.

It is clear that the change of policy is largely to appease the Tory shires who protested at the policy as well as those seeking to protect small rural schools. Non Tory LAs will remain a target and the new 'impossible' performance targets will be used to penalise 'under-performing' local authorities.
 
The government adds to its armoury the power to convert all schools in a local authority to academy status if 'it is clear that the local authority can no longer viably support its remaining schools because a critical mass of schools in that area has converted.'

In addition it can convert all schools if 'the local authority consistently fails to meet minimum performance threshold across its schools, demonstrating an ability to bring about meaningful school improvement.'

As with many government decisions it is not clear who will make the decisions on viability and performance but the continuing voluntary conversion of schools to academy status in some LAs, particularly where the government has cut funding and LA support is minimal, and forced conversion of schools in a category, will mean the academisation process will continue albeit at a slower pace until it reaches the trigger point for academisation of remaining LA schools.

The performance threshold will put pressure on local authorities, mainly Labour, in deprived areas and high mobility areas where funding is due to be cut. Even high performing schools, or those that do well taking into account contextual factors, will be caught if their LA is deemed to be failing overall.

As someone put it on Twitter yesterday: the government is closing one trap door but opening several new ones.

The Parents Defending Education Campaign said:

We have won a partial retreat - it is an important victory. But piecemeal academy conversion will continue unless parents and teachers fight every attempt to convert. It shows clearly that this government has lost the plot on education. The White Paper and other aspects of government policy remain deeply unpopular.

Now we know Nicky Morgan really does have a reverse gear, we should use this as an opportunity to launch an all out assault on the testing regime. No more SATS; No exam factories; No more funding cuts and good school place for every child.

It is clear that the campaign against academies and free schools and for the retention  of properly funded and democratically accountable local authorities must  continue.

This change of policy was a victory for parent campaigners, teachers, headteachers and councillors and we must learn form that unity to continue our campaign.

This is the DfE press release

The government is committed to ensuring every child has an excellent education which allows them to achieve their full potential. The reforms of the past 6 years have led to 1.4 million more children being taught in ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’ schools. Central to this improvement has been the academy programme. 

The academy programme puts control of running schools in the hands of teachers and school leaders - the people who know best how to run their schools. That’s why the government is committed to every school becoming an academy. This system will allow us to tackle underperformance far more swiftly than in a local-authority-maintained system where many schools have been allowed to languish in failure for years. At the same time, it will allow our most successful and popular schools to expand their reach to even more children. 

Since launching our proposals in the education white paper, the government has listened to feedback from MPs, teachers, school leaders and parents. 

It is clear from those conversations that the impact academies have in transforming young people’s life chances is widely accepted and that more and more schools are keen to embrace academy status. 

As a result of these conversations, the government has decided, while reaffirming our continued determination to see all schools to become academies in the next 6 years, that it is not necessary to bring legislation to bring about blanket conversion of all schools to achieve this goal. 

The government will continue to require underperforming schools to convert to academy status where they can benefit from the support of a strong sponsor. One hundred and four directive academy orders have already been issued to underperforming schools in the last month since the new legislation came into force.

We will also continue to support ‘good’ schools to convert and to take the lead in supporting other schools as part of multi-academy trusts. In the last monthly figures 227 schools put in applications to convert, the highest monthly figure since the programme began, and we expect this rate to increase.

In addition, the government will bring forward legislation which will trigger conversion of all schools within a local authority in 2 specific circumstances: 

firstly, where it is clear that the local authority can no longer viably support its remaining schools because a critical mass of schools in that area has converted. Under this mechanism a local authority will also be able to request the Department for Education converts all of its remaining schools

secondly, where the local authority consistently fails to meet a minimum performance threshold across its schools, demonstrating an inability to bring about meaningful school improvement 

These measures will target those schools where the need to move to academy status is most pressing. For other high-performing schools in strong local authorities the choice of whether to convert will remain the decision of the individual schools and governing bodies in question.  
 

Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said:

Making every school an academy is the best way to ensure every child, regardless of birth or background, has access to a world-class education.

I am today reaffirming our determination to see all schools to become academies. However, having listened to the feedback from Parliamentary colleagues and the education sector we will now change the path to reaching that goal.

By focusing our efforts on those schools most at risk of failing young people, and encouraging ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’ schools to seize the opportunities of conversion, we will ensure the continued growth of the academy programme, empowering frontline heads and school leads, and transforming even more children’s education.

The government is also announcing a package of measures to guarantee the continued success of small rural schools. 

Hundreds of small rural schools that currently receive no top-up funding to address the unique pressures they face will benefit from landmark changes made to school ‘sparsity funding’. This means over 1,200 small rural schools will receive specific targeted support. For more than 700 of those schools, their local authority currently chooses not to provide the top up, but the new national funding formula will provide sparsity funding for every single one.

Alongside the existing statutory presumption against closure of rural schools, the government will go further, introducing a new ‘double lock’ so that when small rural schools convert to academy status both local and national government have to agree to a school closing before a decision can be made. 

No small successful schools will be forced to join a national academy chain - most small schools will choose to join multi-academy trusts made up of other local schools, though small sustainable schools will be able to convert alone if they wish. To support them there will be dedicated support from experts in the Department for Education to help primary schools through the process of conversion and a £10 million fund for small schools to secure expert support and advice.

The government has allocated £300 million that will be available to support schools to convert and, in particular, support sponsors to turn around failing schools. A further £300 million will support strong and effective multi-academy trusts to grow and improve. And, in recognition of the costs that local authorities and church dioceses face, funding will also be provided to them.

This funding comes on top of the government’s protection to the core schools budget which will be over £40 billion next year, including the pupil premium - funding worth £2.5 billion a year targeted at the most disadvantaged pupils. This is the highest-ever level of funding for schools of any government.

'Almost overnight our school became a brutal exam factory' - Rescue Our Schools speaker

This passionate speech was made by a parent at the Parents Defending Education conference at the weekend. It sums up the limitations of the academy model which the government wants to impose on all schools.

Thanks to Rescue Our Schools for this video:  http://www.rescueourschools.co.uk/

Michael Rosen speaking at Parents Defending Education

SOS: SAVE OUR SCHOOLS Westminster Cathedral 5.30pm tonight - we can defeat these plans

I hear teachers will be joined by some head teachers and governors, as well as hundreds concerned that their schools are being stolen, at this evening's protest against government plans to force all schools to become academies. Unfortunately a Brent Council briefing meeting for head teachers and chairs of governors is being held at the same time so I won't be able to go.  I hope thousands turn out to show the government that their plans will be met with resistance - not only to defend democratic oversight of education but also to prevent privatisation of our schools.

It is important to stress that the plans are only at White Paper stage, they are not legislation, so heads and governors should not be panicked into premature action. The proposals are being opposed by the Local Government Association, Tory shire counties, the NAHT and parent groups, and (see below) the Financial Times and even David Cameron's own Tory local lead on schools. It is a battle that can be won.

A petition calling for a public inquiry and referendum on the plans has already gained 130,000 signatures and organisers hope for even more. 100,000 earns the possibility of a House of Commons debate on the issue. Please sign LINK

Meanwhile the Financial Times has raised doubts about the plans:

Even the Tory lead for schools in David Cameron's home country has denounced the plans as 'Big Brother Gone Mad':

The last word goes to cartoonist Ros Asquith:

NUT calls on governors, teachers, councillor and students to challenge government plans

Ofsted and Academy Trusts

I am grateful to 'Reclaiming Education' for this. CfBT took over Gladstone Park Primary School following forced academisation, despite a strong parent campaign to keep it as a local authority school. E-Act runs the Crest academies.

Chris Dunne's letter, "We will come to regret not having defended our education system",  in the Financial Times can be seen here

Henry Stewart's piece looking at the progress of academies against maintained schools can be read here.

And, in case you missed these pieces on where the money is being wasted and who benefits, there is this piece in localgov.uk and this piece in Schoolsweek

Ofsted condemns Academy Trusts:  The Government has announced that it plans to force all schools to become academies.  The major problem is going to be who will run these schools, given that Ofsted has some major criticisms of at least 8 of the large academy trusts.

Ofsted Inspections of Academy Trusts

Ofsted has carried out focused inspections of academies within 9 multi academy trusts.  Significantly, only one, the last and smallest one, is positive.  The full reports can be found on the Government website here.   A map of where the academies are can be found here.

CfBT:  11 primary/8 Secondary

“CfBT took on too many academies too quickly. The trust did not have a clear rationale for the selection of schools, a strategy for creating geographical clusters or a plan to meet academies’ different needs. As a result, standards are too low. The trust relied heavily on external consultants but did not ensure their accountability in securing rapid and secure improvement. Headteachers were unable to provide each other with the much needed mutual support or share available expertise. Current CST leaders openly acknowledge these errors.”  Full report

Academies Enterprise Trust:  32 primary/30 secondary/5 special

"After operating for nearly eight years, the Trust is failing too many pupils. Almost 40% of the pupils attend AET primary academies that do not provide a good standard of education. It is even worse in secondary, where 47% of pupils attend academies that are less than good......
"Children from poor backgrounds do particularly badly in this Trust. The attainment and progress of disadvantaged pupils, in both the primary and secondary academies, still lags behind that of other pupils, and gaps in performance are not narrowing quickly enough......
"The outcomes of the focused inspections failed to demonstrate that the Trust is consistently improving its academies.  Full report

Collaborative Academies Trust: 9 schools

“Collaborative Academies Trust was set up in 2012 by EdisonLearning ......
.........Too many academies have not improved since joining the trust. Of the five academies that have had a full inspection since joining the trust, only one has improved its inspection grade compared with its predecessor school. Two have remained the same and two have declined. This means that, at the time of the focused inspection, there were not yet any good or outstanding academies in the trust. “  Full report

E-Act (formerly Edutrust): 23 academies (was more)

“...Nevertheless, the quality of provision for too many pupils in E-ACT academies is not good enough.
......Standards in the secondary academies are too low. Previous interventions by the Trust to raise attainment and accelerate progress have not had enough impact and any improvements have been slow.
....Pupils from poor backgrounds do not do well enough. These pupils make less progress than other pupils nationally. This is an area of serious concern. “  Full report

Kemnal Academies Trust: 15 secondary/26 primary

“Less than half of your academies were good or better and there are no longer any outstanding academies in your chain. .........

.. an overwhelming proportion of pupils attending one of the academies inspected are not receiving a good education. “  Full report

Oasis Community Learning Trust: 50? Schools – DfE list and Oasis website appear to disagree.

The academy trust has grown rapidly, taking on 30 new academies in the last three years ...
Across the trust, some groups of pupils do not achieve well. Disadvantaged pupils, particularly boys, make significantly less progress than their peers nationally.......... there is no evidence of an overall strategy or plan that focuses on these particular issues.  Full report

School Partnership Trust:  41 schools

“The impact of the Trust’s work in bringing about improvement where it is most needed has been too slow. Where standards have been intractably low for some time, the Trust is not driving significant, sustained improvement. ...

......The standard of education provided by the Trust is not good enough in around 40% of its academies inspected so far. “ Full report

The Education Fellowship: 12 schools

“There is no clear record of improvement in the trust’s academies and standards across the trust are unacceptably variable. In around three quarters of the academies, standards are poor.
Standards declined in five of the eight primary academies in 2014. In the majority of the trust’s 12 academies, the gap in attainment between disadvantaged pupils and their better off peers, both within the academies and compared with pupils nationally, remains unacceptably wide.”  Full Report

Wakefield City Academies Trust – the only positive one!

“Two years into its development, WCAT is making a positive difference to the quality of provision and outcomes for pupils within its academies. “ Full report

Caroline Lucas: We need to bring our schools back under local democratic oversight, not erode democracy further through forced academisation

As teachers leave in droves as a result of  workload stress and unachievable changes in pupil targets the government has deepened the crisis its policies have caused with the decision to force all LA schools to become schools academies by 2022.

Caroline Lucas, the Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion, today slammed Government proposals to force all schools to become academies. 

She labelled the proposed changes as 'deeply undemocratic' and said that she fears that forced academisation could 'lead us down the path of privatisation of education.'

Caroline Lucas said:

Forcing schools to become academies – and leaving them unaccountable to local communities – is the wrong approach. Local authorities are needed to ensure good planning and fairness across a local area. They can provide for the efficient pooling of resources, including legal help and support services for pupils with special educational needs.

From a Government that bangs the ‘localism’ drum this attack on local authorities is particularly shameful. People in my own city, Brighton and Hove, have resolutely opposed academies. Forcing parents, teachers and pupils into accepting these changes by Government dictat is deeply undemocratic.

This is part of a sustained attack on local government.  Funding has been slashed, services have been cut and now they are seeing this outrageous attack on their vital role in local education. I fear the Government want to lead us down the path of the privatisation of education.

There's no evidence to suggest that academisation solves problems in education and there are concerns raised by Oftsed that academy chains have serious weaknesses.

You have to ask just how much of the funding for academy conversion will be paid to lawyers rather than invested in schools?   As well as continuing the fight against cuts in school budgets and the shortages of school places and teachers, we need to stand up for local education.  Properly supported and funded local authority schools can best help meet our young people's educational needs and deliver school improvement and social justice.

The Chancellor is careering forward in entirely the wrong direction and against the interests of children and communities.  We need to bring our schools back under local democratic oversight, not erode it further.

Brent Labour urges school governing bodies not to convert to academy status

Cllr Muhammed Butt, leader of Brent Council and Cllr Ruth Moher, lead member for Children and Families have written to Brent primary school governing bodies, on behalf of the Labour Group,  putting the case against academisation. This is at a time when Sudbury Primary School Academy is experiencing difficulties and the  Oakington Manor Primary/Furness Primary Federation governing body is moving to convert to an academy.  At the same time in policy adopted last year the Council is looking to academies and free schools to provide additional secondary school places.

Dear Governors,

We are writing to you on behalf of Brent Labour's leadership, following the announcement on the future of schooling by the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Without any regard to the wishes of local parents and communities,m the government has announced that it intends to see an end to schools operating within local authorities and become academies.

We urge you to ensure your school remains part of the local council.

While it is critical that schools teach the academic basics to our children, we know that they do so much more.

They are places where young people learn the meaning of being a friend, a team-mate and a citizen; where they find out more about their fellow pupils and themselves than they ever realised there was to know; where they discover the interests and develop the skills that will make them happy, well-rounded an, fulfilled human beings. In short, they prepare our young people for life in the broadest sense,

Such a broad preparation for life requires not a business, but a community. A community of teachers, parents and pupils can go beyond their contractual commitments, to provide the activities that help broaden our children's horizons: After school activities, appropriate extra support for some pupils and teaching beyond the test.

But a community cannot be run for profit. Hours of volunteering can not be given, if they will be exploited for the bottom lines. Currently academies in the borough are not for profit, and collaborate well within the Brent Schools Partnership. They work hard to give their pupils the roundest possible education.

But once out of local authority control there is no guarantee that a school will not eventually become for profit. Michael Gove, the former Education Secretary who promoted much of the academy agenda, has gone on record as saying that he is 'open' to businesses running schools. This Conservative majority government is at liberty to make that happen. A current academy headteacher can be against a school being run for profit, but there is no guarantee what the stance of their successor will be.

The only way to ensure that our schools remain communities, and do not becomes businesses, is for them to remain under the control of Brent Council. On behalf of Brent Labour's leadership, I urge you to do all you can to ensure that they do.

Cllr Muhammed Butt
Cllr Ruth Moher

Note: I have not edited this letter (MF)

UPDATE: Sudbury School situation raises wider issues

Unions at Sudbury Primary School report that there was standing room only when they held a meeting last week for parents to discuss the way forward for the school after the suspension of its headteacher. They say that Sudbury teachers attended despite the threat of disciplinary action if they did so.

The unions said:

Several staff made it clear that, through all of this, their priority was the education and care of the children. Parent and union speakers said that without the staff the children would not be doing as well as they are.

The meeting was reminded by an emotional parent that it was the children who were the reason there was a school and we had to get to the bottom of what was going on for them. It was pointed out that if the school had still been with the local authority instead of being an academy, Brent would have stepped in and taken prompt action to deal with the situation.

Parents were angry that it had to be down to the unions to call such a meeting and felt the governors had kept them in the dark. It was revealed that a new Chair of Governors Ian Phillips, had just been put in place. The Ofsted report is due imminently after the inspection which took place after the Headteacher was suspended. The section on management of the school should make interesting reading.

The headteacher remains suspended while an independent investigation takes place. As stated in earlier coverage suspension this a neutral act to allow the investigation of allegations to proceed. 

However, the unions say that a petition for parents calling on the headteacher to 'do the right thing and resign' has been started: 'Staff remain united and determined but if this does not happen they will be taking action in the Spring term.'

 The situation is complicated by the fact that the Sudbury Primary School Academy Trust is a company limited by guarantee under the Companies Act 2006.  A large school with a budget of £9m plus it comes under the Education Funding Agency/DfE rather than the local authority, Brent Council. The Regional Schools Commissioner acts for the Secretary of State regarding academies and free schools but he does not appear to have intervened in this case so far, although there are provisions for intervention in the funding agreement LINK and the powers of the RSC.

The headteacher of Sudbury Primary School is the company's Chief Executive Officer and it appears from the last company report that all the governors are also Trustees of the company. The company secretary is Irfan Khan. LINK

At the time of the last annual report that I can find (for the period ending August 2014) in addition to the headteacher, chair and vice chair, there were 8 parent governors, 4 community governors and 3 staff governors on the Board of Trustees.

The case clearly raises wider issues regarding academies (and free schools) of accountability, local democratic representation, powers of intervention and governance.

UPDATE


The Kilburn Times LINK is reporting that Ian Phillips, Chair of Govers at Finchley's Woodhouse College has been appointed to the Sudbury governors on the recoemmndation of the DfE.

Chair of Governors, Bob Wharton, a former Lead Member for Children and Schools when Lib Dems formed a coalition with Brent Tories to run Brent Council, welcomed the appointment and said Phillips had made a good impression on staff.

The DfE said, 'We take very seriously any allegationb that children's education is being put at risk. We are continuing to work with the academy trust to strengthem governance. We recommended they (the school)  request support from other experienced governors.'

Jean Roberts, NUT, pointed out that if Sudbury had been an LA school they would have come in and taken control of the situation. It had only got to ths stage because it was an academy and being dealt with by the DfE. She added that this was why the education unions are against academies.
 

Meet the man who is taking over our schools

The situation at Sudbury Primary school LINK where the local authority has limited powers of intervention because the school converted to academy status in 2012, reveals, whatever the outcome of the independent investigation, problems of democratic accountability for academies and free schools.

With all non-faith Brent secondary schools now academies, Oakington Manor and Furness  primarydiscussing academisation, and the Brent Schools Partnership holding meetings for headteachers and chairs of governors in January 2016 on academy conversion, this is clearly a crucial issue.

So let's introduce you to Martin Post, who is responsible for academies and free schools, in Brent. Never heard of him? Well, he is the ex Headmaster of Watford Grammar School for Boys, and has rather a lot on his plate. He is the Regional School Commissioner for South-Central England and North West London and was appointed in 2014. He bridges the gap between academies and free schools and the Secretary of State for Education. This is the original announcement:

From September 2014, 8 regional schools commissioners will be responsible for taking important decisions about the academies in their area. The commissioners will make decisions on applications from schools wanting to become academies and organisations wanting to sponsor an academy.

They will also be responsible for taking action when an academy is underperforming.

The commissioners will not be involved with academies that are performing well or with local authority-maintained schools. (MF latter no longer the case as you will see below)

Each commissioner will be supported by a board of 5 or 6 outstanding academy headteachers, who will be elected by other academy headteachers in the region.

From being in charge of one boys' school Post is now responsible for academies and free schools in the following areas:

• Barnet
• Bedford
• Bracknell Forest
• Brent
• Buckinghamshire
• Camden
• Central Bedfordshire
• City of London
• Ealing
• Enfield
• Hammersmith and Fulham
• Harrow
• Hertfordshire
• Hillingdon
• Hounslow
• Islington
• Kensington and Chelsea
• Luton
• Milton Keynes
• Northamptonshire
• Oxfordshire
• Reading
• Slough
• West Berkshire
• Westminster
• Windsor and Maidenhead
• Wokingham

Keeping tabs on all those schools is clearly a formidable task and it is hard to see how Sudbury Primary will come to the top of Post's in-tray.  Undaunted Post will be adding to their number under draft guidance for RSCs and local authorities  for schools 'causing concern':

1. Schools that have been judged inadequate by Ofsted – An academy order will be issued for all such schools, requiring them to become sponsored academies. To minimise delays and ensure swift action, there will be a new duty on governing bodies and local authorities to facilitate academy conversion. The process for schools judged as inadequate by Ofsted is described in more detail in Chapter 2 of this guidance.
2. Schools that are coasting – Schools which fall within our definition of coasting will become eligible for intervention. Where a coasting school does not have a sufficient plan and the necessary capacity to bring about improvement, the RSC will use the powers of the Secretary of State to intervene. In many cases this intervention will be to ensure that the school receives the support and challenge it needs, but where necessary the RSC will be able to convert the school into an academy with the support of a sponsor. The process for schools falling within the coasting definition is described in more detail in Chapter 3 of this guidance.
3. Schools that have failed to comply with a warning notice – Local authorities and RSCs, acting on behalf of the Secretary of State, have powers to give warning notices to schools where they have concerns about unacceptable performance (e.g. below floor standards, or a sudden fall in performance), a breakdown in leadership and governance, or the safety of pupils or staff may be being threatened. Where a school does not comply with a warning notice it will become eligible for intervention. The warning notice process is described in more detail in Chapter 4 of this guidance.

In other words the RSCs will be extending their powers into the local authority maintained sector even though there is no clear evidence that academisation improves performance. Meanwhile academies and free schools will operate under a different framework:

·       RSCs will scrutinise academies’ performance and will require academies to take particular action or face termination of their funding agreement where they are in breach of it and such action is necessary.

We have to remember of course that the RSC, Martin Post, will be advised by a board of academy headteachers and is charged with converting schools to academies. Will objectivity be an issue?

As Brent Council has committed itself to work with academies and free schools to provide the additional secondary school places it claims are needed, it appears that the local authority will be losing any influence over secondary schools. Parents and staff will have to look to the remote RSC who is not democratically elected or accountable, for any redress when things go wrong.

In fact the LA becomes subservient to the RSC  regarding local authority schools designated as 'causing concern' under the wider DfE definition of schools 'eligible for intervention':

Where the school is the subject of an academy order because it is eligible for intervention, the governing body and the local authority will be under a duty to work towards the school’s successful conversion into an academy by taking all reasonable steps towards that end. RSCs can also use the Secretary of State’s power to give the governing body or local authority a direction, or directions, to take specified steps for this purpose. If the RSC has identified a sponsor to run the school, and has notified the school of this, then the governing body and the local authority must take all reasonable steps to facilitate that sponsor taking responsibility for the school.In other words LAs and governing bodies have to hand over their schools to academy sponsors.

Meanwhile the RSC will also be working with free schools. The neutral sounding New Schools Networking (actually an agency for promoting free schools and therefore the privatisation of education) is advertising a meeting with Martin Post that will take place on January 29th:

Join NSN and free schools near you for a networking event with Martin Post the new Regional Schools Commissioner for North West London and South Central.
This event offers a chance to meet other free schools which are open or due to open, share experiences with them and hear from the Regional Schools Commissioner about his role and how it will affect your school. 
If you would like to attend please email open@newschoolsnetwork.org
Please note this event is for free schools in this region only. 
- See more at: http://www.newschoolsnetwork.org/academy-resource-hub/events-and-opportunities/rsc-free-school-networking-event-north-west-london-and#sthash.DqhgSQdb.dpuf

Join NSN and free schools near you for a networking event with Martin Post the new Regional Schools Commissioner for North West London and South Central.
This event offers a chance to meet other free schools which are open or due to open, share experiences with them and hear from the Regional Schools Commissioner about his role and how it will affect your school. 
If you would like to attend please email open@newschoolsnetwork.org
Please note this event is for free schools in this region only. 
- See more at: http://www.newschoolsnetwork.org/academy-resource-hub/events-and-opportunities/rsc-free-school-networking-event-north-west-london-and#sthash.DqhgSQdb.dpuf

·       Join NSN and free schools near you for a networking event with Martin Post the new Regional Schools Commissioner for North West London and South Central.

·       This event offers a chance to meet other free schools which are open or due to open, share experiences with them and hear from the Regional Schools Commissioner about his role and how it will affect your school. 

·       If you would like to attend please email open@newschoolsnetwork.org

·       Please note this event is for free schools in this region only. 

There has been little publicity about these proposals and it is important that they become a matter for public debate.