No Forced Academies

David Lammy MP has tabled an Early Day Motion that raises important concerns about forced academies. We hope many MPs will sign the Motion. Please can you help us publicise the problems with forced academies by emailing your MP about the EDM?

Click here to email your MP via our quick and easy to use electronic facility.

Haringey march

 

1,000 campaigners and supporters showed their determination and solidarity to resist Government attempts to force four Haringey primary schools to become sponsored academies in a magnificent march and rally through the borough on Saturday 28 January.

Children and parents from the affected schools – Downhills, Noel Park, Coleraine Park and Nightingale – led the demonstration, sending a clear message to Education Secretary Michael Gove that the community is committed to preventing its schools being privatised. Children carried home-made placards with messages such as “I learn a lot from my teacher” along with brightly coloured balloons and placards with the message “I love my community school”. Chants of: “No forced Academy – Save our School” were repeated in some of the 40 languages spoken in the schools.

NUT supporters came from all over London with banners from Barking and Dagenham, Camden, Ealing, Greenwich, Hackney, Haringey, Islington, Lambeth and Redbridge NUT branches and local Highgate Wood School NUT group. There were also banners from UNISON branches and Anti Academies Alliance groups.

NUT Deputy General Secretary Kevin Courtney and Haringey Division Secretary Julie Davies addressed the closing rally along with NUT reps and parents from the four schools. The event ended with a rousing rendition of the campaign song, “Save Our School”, written by Downhills campaigners.

Click here for a campaign video by the Downhills children.

More information about the campaign is available on the Haringey Against Academies Campaign website at: www.hcaa.org.uk

FORCED CONVERSION UNDER THE ACADEMIES ACT 2010

The Secretary of State for Education can now 'force' a maintained school to convert into an academy due to perceived poor performance at the school. This power of 'forced conversion' is the subject of this paper.

Academies Toolkit

Organising to win - Academies toolkit for school reps	Academies toolkit for school reps
Academies toolkit 3	Academies toolkit 2
This toolkits is for school representatives to use to campaign against academy conversion for their school. The NUT is campaigning to defend a unified state education system and believes the best way to do this is for schools to remain part of the local authority family of schools.	This toolkit is for NUT representatives in schools which are intending to convert, or have already converted to an academy. It covers the process of converting to an academy and provides information and guidance on how to promote members' interests in academies post-conversion.

Academy Transfers - NUT Guidance for School Representatives and Activists This guide explains the legal provisions that can be used to assist in protecting members’ rights when a school converts to become an academy. It is intended to supplement the Academies Toolkit “Protecting members in Academies” which is aimed at school reps in those academies which are in the process of converting or have converted already. Unions unite in the fight against academies All the TUC affiliated education unions are jointly campaigning to keep schools in the Local Authority family. To this end they have agreed a package of materials to aid members, reps and concerned parent/carers in campaigning against academy status. These materials can be downloaded below: FAQs for Parents Governors Model Resolution Letter to Members Letter to Parents Parent/Carer Petition to the Chair of Governors Letter to Governors (from School Reps) Letter to Chairs of Governors of Primary Schools If your school has already converted to academy status, below are materials to help in the fight to defend education, pay and conditions. Letter to Heads (from School Reps)

NUT school groups up and down the country have been passing resolutions against conversion to academy status. Even if there is currently no obvious threat of a move to academy status in your school, we would like as many school groups as possible to pass a resolution saying that they don’t wish to move to academy status, helping to influence public opinion. Available to support this process are: This Briefing is intended as a guide to NUT members, school reps and divisional secretaries on the requirement on governing bodies around consultation on the question of whether or not a school should convert to academy status. Fact sheets on key issues that members may ask about – pay and conditions, funding and the role of the local authority A list of questions to enable NUT representatives and members to challenge proposals to transfer a school to academy status. A model resolution for use in your school Powerpoint on academies for use in schools - This powerpoint is a resource for Division Secretaries or School Reps to use at school meetings to inform members about what academy school status means for teachers. Once this resolution or a similar resolution, has been passed, please let your division/association know. Please also inform your head teacher and governing body.

 

Building a bulwark against academies expansion

Our aim is to collect a very large number of resolutions that have been passed against a move to academy status. If, for example, every association/division passed 10 NUT resolutions, we would have over 2,000 resolutions from schools committed to opposing academy status. This would have a significant impact on the academies debate.

Material for school meetings

A template flyer for a school meeting – click here for a colour version and here for a black and white version.

A sign-in sheet for a school meeting – click here for a colour version and here for a black and white version.

Material for public meetings

A template flyer for a public meeting – click here for a colour version and here for a black and white version.

A sign-in sheet for a public meeting – click here for a colour version and here for a black and white version.

Academies General Campaign Materials For practical information on how an academy school is different to a maintained school, the process of becoming an academy, consultation requirements, information on academy chain sponsors and targeted leaflets for teachers, parents and governors click here

Schools Interested in Academy Status

The Department for Education has posted a list of outstanding and non-outstanding schools that have expressed an interest in becoming academies. This list is dynamic and will change over time, so check back regularly to see if your school is on it. If it is, see our links below for actions you can take to oppose the conversion. Click here for the link

The NUT will continue working with all the other education unions, with parents, governors, politicians and other allies inside and outside Parliament to reverse the damaging aspects of the Government’s Free Schools’ proposals.