Tag Archives: privatisation

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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Tower block tenants – the people who didn’t matter

Posted on July 2, 2017 by reclaimschools

The possibility of a tower block catching fire and burning out within the hour was a nightmare never to be contemplated. And now it has happened. Words cannot describe the experience of Grenfell Tower residents, living and dead, as they … 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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Remove the figurehead… and change direction

Posted on July 9, 2016 by reclaimschools

The NUT has called for the resignation of Nicky Morgan as Secretary of State for Education. We expect that other organisations of teachers and parents will soon follow. Morgan’s position is now untenable. She was appointed to calm the storms … 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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Comment: A budget of dispossession

Posted on March 23, 2016 by reclaimschools

It’s time we stopped talking about ‘Austerity’. What we are really living through is a ruthless process of dispossession. Behind the pretence of ‘balancing the books’ (endlessly deferred), Osborne’s real project is to boost the wealth of the hyper-rich. Public services have been … 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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