Tag Archives: free schools

Academies and local authorities: what a Labour government should do

Posted on April 30, 2019 by reclaimschools

by Richard Hatcher, Birmingham City University We know that the policy of academies been a disaster for education. The question is what should be done about them? Angela Rayner’s speech at Labour Party Conference in September was mainly about academies. … Continue reading →

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The crisis in secondary schools: where is it leading?

Posted on April 15, 2017 by reclaimschools

All kinds of schools in England are facing damaging budget cuts. Large meetings are being held all over the country where parents and teachers together are showing their opposition to Government cuts. Every concerned teacher or parent should join the … Continue reading →

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New research exposes grammar school myth

Posted on March 10, 2017 by reclaimschools

New research by expert statisticians from the Universities of Bristol and Warwick, and the Institute of Education (UCL), demonstrates the dishonesty of Theresa May’s claim that grammar schools will benefit families that are “just about managing”. Simon Burgess, Claire Crawford and … Continue reading →

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Academy law jettisoned but pressure still on

Posted on November 2, 2016 by reclaimschools

A few days ago the Government formally dropped legislation that would have forced all schools to become academies. This is clearly still the ongoing aim of this Government, but the overt pursuit of this strategy has become untenable given one … Continue reading →

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NUT strike: the only way to stop a shipwreck

Posted on July 4, 2016 by reclaimschools

Schools in England are heading for the rocks. They are dealing concurrently with: forced academies and free schools a school places crisis because Local Authorities are forbidden from building schools an impossible curriculum tests and exams designed so that children … Continue reading →

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Primary schools responding to diversity

Posted on May 26, 2016 by reclaimschools

New research by inclusion and SEN experts Mel Ainscow and Alan Dyson, in partnership with Lisa Hopwood and Stephanie Thomson, shows how a fragmented school system is affecting vulnerable children. It raises issues about the way diversity is understood primarily in … Continue reading →

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Academies: autonomy or asset stripping?

Posted on April 27, 2016 by reclaimschools

One of the main reasons Nicky Morgan gives for closing local authorities and turning all schools into academies is ‘autonomy’. To quote her recent statement to Parliament: “Test scores are higher when schools manage their budgets and recruit and select … Continue reading →

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Bullying by numbers – its roots in neoliberalism

Posted on February 4, 2016 by reclaimschools

by Terry Wrigley, Visiting Professor, Northumbria University There is relentless pressure to raise standards – or rather scores – and it’s driving thousands of teachers to quit. The insatiable demands amount to bullying – bullying by numbers, reinforced by a … Continue reading →

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What business do universities have in academy schools?

Posted on January 31, 2016 by reclaimschools

by Nadia Edmond, University of Brighton first published in The Conversation (4 Jan 2016) There has been a transformation in English education in the last decade – the academies programme has brought private trusts and corporate sponsors into the schools system. … Continue reading →

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Children deserve more than slums in the sky

Posted on October 30, 2015 by reclaimschools

by Terry Wrigley School provision now in England is built on the dreams of Conservative thinkers of the 1970s and 1980s, but the dream is fast becoming a nightmare. Neoliberal ideologists in the Conservative Party thought they could dispense with … Continue reading →

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