Essex academy schools: Are they working? (From Echo)

Essex academy schools: Are they working?

1:00am Wednesday 24th February 2010 in

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THE growth of school academies has been a hallmark of the New Labour years.

If the Conservatives come into power in May, there could be lots more on the way.

By placing complete control of finances in the hands of the school itself, rather than the council, advocates say the academy gives the school more freedom to run its own affairs.

In Essex, there are now five academies, two in the south of the county and three in the north, and plans for several more.

Critics say academies are unaccountable to local councils, lack transparency and can be unduly influenced by their sponsors, which could be private individuals or religious groups.

Trouble flared at the Chalvedon and Barstable schools last year, before they became the £45million Basildon Academy, when teachers staged a one-day strike in protest at changes to their working conditions.

And an Essex MP has raised concerns about the growth of academies in the county, in particular those run by the Academies Enterprise Trust.

The trust runs Maltings and New Rickstones Academies in Witham, Clacton Coastal Academy, which opened in September 2009 and Greensward Academy, in Hockley.

There are plans for the trust to create a further six academies in the next few years – three in London, two on the Isle of Wight and one in Felixstowe – as well as take over four primary schools in Hockley and Rochford.

Colchester MP Bob Russell is concerned about the “part-privatisation” of state schools and their lack of control by local councils.

He said: “Academies are not democratically accountable to the communities which they serve, yet are funded from the public purse.”

Mr Russell recently asked questions in Parliament trying to find out how many people work at the academies trust and how much they are paid.

In response to Mr Russell’s concerns, Ian Foster, chairman of the trust, said the MP had not approached the school for any answers. He said: “It is disappointing he has not made any attempt, which we are aware of, to ask the questions of anyone at the Academies Enterprise Trust.

“Had he done so, we would have invited him to our office in Hockley and answered his questions.

“The main measure of success in any academy programme is in the standards of education achieved by students.

“In their first full academic year, our three Essex Academies achieved, between them, their best A-level results, best GCSE results and one had not only the most improved GCSE results in Essex, but the top 5 per cent most improved in England.”

Mr Foster pointed out the trust is a non profit-making charity, accountable to the Charity Commission, the Government’s Department for Children, Schools and Families and Companies House.

The trust is run by David Triggs, who has spent 40 years working in education and is now its chief executive. He points to the success of the academies by citing vastly improved exam results, attendance and discipline at the two Witham schools, which were plagued with problems before they made the change.

Both schools experienced a substantial rebuilding and refurbishing programme and got new uniforms when they were taken over. Mr Triggs also said Greensward, always a high-achieving school, continues to get excellent results.

Things are less rosy at Basildon Academy, which opened last September and is sponsored by Martin Finegold, the American hedge fund financier, who has pumped £4million into the school.

About 120 teachers from Chalvedon and Barstable schools staged a strike in May over changes to their contracts, which included an increase in working hours, a policy to sack staff for long absences due to illness or accidents and six months notice to leave for senior staff.

The one-day strike involved 120 teachers and both schools were forced to close. After lengthy negotiations, academy chiefs backed down last July.

Jerry Glazier, Essex secretary of the National Union of Teachers, was heavily involved with the teacher protests at Chalvedon and Barstable schools last May.

He shares some of Mr Russell’s concerns about academies, but not specifically about the academies trust. He said: “The NUT are opposed to the creation of academies and trust schools.

“We don’t want to see the break-up of a democratically-accountable education service.

“When you have an individual who buys control of schools, they can stamp their ideology and ethos on the school, which is what we are really concerned about.

“It’s possible the NUT will try to campaign against academies in the future.”

Mr Glazier also pointed out that, when first set-up, the academies were meant to follow a “softer” model with Government assistance, not an individual sponsor.

Another planned academy run along these “softer”, state-assisted lines is the Sir Charles Lucas School in Colchester.

It will become an academy in September.