红桃影视

The loss of academy freedoms proposed by government risks making it 鈥渕ore difficult for trusts to do the hard work of improving schools in the most challenging circumstances鈥�, a sector leader has warned.

Confederation of School Trusts chief executive Leora Cruddas also said the government 鈥渕ust help us put a stop to all attempts by those who seek to undermine academy trusts鈥�.

There is a risk that the loss of these freedoms makes it more difficult for trusts to do the hard work of improving schools in the most challenging circumstances

The government has announced today that its children鈥檚 wellbeing and schools bill will allow councils to open schools again, end automatic academisation of failing maintained schools and make academies follow national teacher pay and conditions.

Academies will also have to cooperate with councils on admissions and pupil place planning, follow the national curriculum and ensure all teachers have or are working towards qualified teacher status.

‘This set of provisions feels very difficult’

In a briefing for CST members, seen by Schools Week, Cruddas said seeing the detail of the bill would be 鈥渆ssential鈥�, but 鈥渢aken with the loss of the conversion grant and the trust capacity funds“, the set of schools provisions in the bill “feels very difficult鈥�.

鈥淭he government鈥檚 narrative is that they are trying to create a core set of expectations and standards across all schools 鈥� but also bring some of the flexibility that has previously been reserved for trusts to the maintained sector.鈥�

For example, the government has said it will ask the School Teachers鈥� Review Body to 鈥渃onsider additional flexibilities to make the statutory framework most effective for all schools鈥�, before requiring academies to comply with national rules.

Cruddas said it would be 鈥渁bsolutely crucial for the government to work with employers to get this right. We do not underestimate how difficult this will be”.

‘There is a risk’

But she added that 鈥渋n doing all of this, there is a risk that the loss of these freedoms makes it more difficult for trusts to do the hard work of improving schools in the most challenging circumstances in parts of the country where failure was previously endemic鈥�.

Cruddas advised members to 鈥渇ocus not on the headlines that will inevitably come, but on securing the best possible outcome鈥�.

鈥淚f this is truly about bringing the freedoms and flexibilities to all types of employers in a more mature school sector, a sector that works together, then we could get the provisions in to a better place.

鈥淏ut if this is to be the case, then the government must help us put a stop to all attempts by those who seek to undermine academy trusts.鈥�

‘We must end anti-academy rhetoric’

She said academies were 鈥渘ow the majority of the state school system鈥�, and 鈥渁ttempts to undermine or cast aspersion on academy trusts bring the state school system into disrepute.

鈥淭his is harmful not just to state education in England, but to our collective attempts to redress the crisis in recruitment and retention of our teachers and support staff.

鈥淚t is only by finally ending the anti-academy rhetoric that we will be able to build a schooling system in England that works together for the benefit of children.鈥�

Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the ASCL school leaders’ union, has also warned that “work will be needed to get these measures right, and the government must bring all parts of the sector 鈥� academies, other types of schools, and local authorities 鈥� with them on these changes in a positive way.

鈥淭he education sector has been through very significant structural changes over the past decade, and leaders and their staff have worked incredibly hard to make those structures work well in the best interests of children and young people. 

鈥淔urther changes must be done with care and must not seem ideological.鈥�

‘Ambition and action’

But Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, called it a 鈥渟ignificant, decisive bill with an exciting set of announcements..It鈥檚 got ambition but also action”.

Having the same pay and conditions framework would enable 鈥渢eacher mobility across the school system and is obviously fairer, by making sure all teachers work under the same protections鈥�.

Ending the presumption that all new schools need to be academies 鈥渟hows a willingness to set a new and better direction. This is particularly welcome because it鈥檚 the first step in responding to the SEND funding crisis.

鈥淟ocal authorities need the power and ability to open special schools, so we can break the unaffordable reliance on independent special schools. It鈥檚 much more cost effective to let local authorities play this fuller role.鈥�

Kebede welcomed the end to the academisation duty, but also said the NEU would 鈥減ush during the passage of the bill for the option for schools to leave MATs so that schools can join local rather than national 鈥榞roups鈥�.鈥�