Cameron: "Local authority running schools a thing of the past"

Well, can’t get more unequivocal than that.

I can’t say how pissed off this makes me – the privatisation of education provision is something that will take generations to show the full results of but I doubt they’ll be good.

So much for localism, they just want everything run direct from Whitehall…

yes this has been looming for some time.

Can someone please give me some examples of the “shackles of local council control”?

nonsense, allowing capitalists and religious nutters to manage the education of juvenile-production-units is a sensible step that will empower communities capitalists and religious nutters.

there’s absolutely no reason to think that bonuses will be paid according to league tables – leading to astronomic levels of exam fraud.

to suggest that amoral financial institutions will take on school management simply to exploit the charity status is incredulous commie conspiracy theorising.

To be fair David Cameron’s school was free of local council control and there are more ex-pupils of his former school in top jobs than any other school, so he has got a point.

You can see that he understands the problem.

In England only, local authority running schools a thing of the past

He cannot even get his own statements correct. Fool.

Paving the way for full scale privatisation. Once they’ve spent a load of taxpayers money on the Academies of course. Ready to hand those nice new facilities over to their mates.

We can’t have that pesky democratic accountability nonsense getting in the way of that now, can we?

The move from high schools to academies for me was a huge change. Any progress in enabling individual pupils make the best of their potential has been squashed by the emphasis placed on high achievers.

Thankfully we managed to move our daughter into a more forgiving school environment, rather than the grange hill style that seemingly is making a reappearance in academies.

Trouble is, there’s little of the old regulatary system meaning you can’t go to your local head of education for academies, you need to put your concerns via their own complaints procedure, or the EFA, or the secretary of state for education.

I stand corrected – a rant to a colleague means I am now informed about the Northern Irish arrangements.

Sadly up here we do still persist with PFI/PPP…

Honest q as views not settled; why intrinsically better for LA’s to run schools? Surely as long as regulation effective, then administration agnostic?

Same issue as private sector provision within the NHS?

So the OFSTED as a patsy technique isn’t working out quick enough.

Honest q as views not settled; why intrinsically better for LA’s to run schools? Surely as long as regulation effective, then administration agnostic?

In theory a good LA can offer benefits in:

-The shared resources and long term planning of those resources (physical, services provided and human). This can be anything from payroll to peripatetic specialist teachers, shared sports resources etc.

-The sharing of good practice, supporting, coaching, cajoling and b*ll*ck*ng by Development Officers and Quality Improvement Officers. Overall this is proven with struggling schools and excellent schools to narrow the attainment gap.

-Shared policies and back up in breaches of policy, practices or challenges.

Whether they achieve this (or more) as a ‘less efficient’ public body rather than uber efficient business is debatable.

Are schools meant to be there for profit, or the benefit of pupils? Are the two incompatible – many private schools would say ‘no’.

Thanks Matt

The other thing you don’t get with LA controlled schools is religion.

Why this country pays religions to indoctrinate the next generation of their followers is something that irritates and saddens me.

you get what you voted for. Be happy.

They were democratically elected. I hope none of you moaning now were any of the ones who “couldn’t see the point” or made a “protest vote”.

Only another 4.5 years till we get the chance to vote them out. Assuming elections still exist then!

Why this country pays religions to indoctrinate the next generation of their followers is something that irritates and saddens me.

We’ve always had church schools in fact the huge majority of faith schools in the UK are Christian. Having been to one I can’t get excited by religious schools, most kids will ignore it anyway and religion is taught in non-faith schools anyway. TBH I’d argue an understanding of religion is essential to understand where we have come from and are going as a western society.

The other thing you don’t get with LA controlled schools is religion

No idea where you get that from. Faith schools can be under local authority control.

dragon – Member
…I’d argue an understanding of religion is essential to…

agreed, but there’s a significant difference between religious schools, and RE lessons.

Dividing children on religious lines is also a ‘reasonably’ effective way of dividing children along racial lines.

Faith schools can be under local authority control.

sorry, I thought they were ‘maintained’ so set their own admission policies, curriculum etc?

I can’t say how pissed off this makes me – the privatisation of education provision is something that will take generations to show the full results of but I doubt they’ll be good.

The other thing you don’t get with LA controlled schools is religion.

Why this country pays religions to indoctrinate the next generation of their followers is something that irritates and saddens me.
OP, I havent read up or listened to the speech yet but there is nothing in your post which suggests the state school system is going to be privatised. If you don’t mind me saying you’re getting worked up similar to those who each time a reform of the NHS is discussed they wheel out the hysterical “privatisation” line

I think many observers me included would say private education in the UK is generally superior to that provided by the state. Class sizes of 20 instead of 30+ just for one ?

I am in favour of schools having a religious affiliation if they match British values, hundreds of years of CoE or Catholic schools have served us extremely well.

sorry, I thought they were ‘maintained’ so set their own admission policies, curriculum etc?

You lot in England don’t half make huge assumptions of Wales, NI and Scotland.

😐

They can still be under local authority control. All the catholic schools I attended were very much under the control of the Inner London Education Authority. There was no national curriculum then but I don’t see why it wouldn’t apply now. Admission had no separate control other than the obvious one relating to sharing the same faith as the school.

I don’t know how you can say that you don’t get religion in LA controlled schools.

jambalaya – Member

I think many observers me included would say private education in the UK is generally superior to that provided by the state. Class sizes of 20 instead of 30+ just for one ?

i’d suggest the first thing we should compare would be the funding:pupil between state/private schools.

As someone who works in school admissions in a English LA I can confirm that there are La controlled schools that use denominational criteria. We call them voluntary controlled.

So much for the Northern Powerhouse of the Socialist Soviet Republic of Greater Sheffield getting to run things such as business rates and local taxes! By the time Dave and Gideon devolve the power there will be nothing left to run!

I’d suggest the first thing we should compare would be the funding:pupil between state/private schools.

@ahwiles I think that would be interesting as when my kids where at state school the head claimed that funding in the state sector was comparable as the school doesn’t have to pay for the buildings and maintenance and the cost of state teachers pensions is hidden. I’m not sure I believe that but its what she said.

i’d suggest the first thing we should compare would be the funding:pupil between state/private schools.

and then compare the sorts of children they are educating

jambalaya: Acadamies and Free Schools are ‘private’.

The mechanism for moving schools out of LA control is to effectively privatise provision by handing over the school buildings, staff contracts and money to run it to organisations that are no longer in state control.

they’ve even just changed the Ofsted rules so that schools that convert to acedamy status will not be inspected for 3 years (even if they were in special measures prior to a forced conversion), anything to hide poorly performing schools and not allow facts get in the way of the privatisation program.

My wife’s a headteacher this: funding in the state sector was comparable as the school doesn’t have to pay for the buildings and maintenance isn’t true.

You lot elected them, stop whinging.

You lot elected them

see that red dot on the south coast under London? That’s me that is 🙂

My wife’s a headteacher

Understood, I didn’t believe it either. Education and health should be much better funded. I’d start by copying Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Holland, Belgium etc by having VAT on food.

@wasawas learn to love that map as unless Labour change direction the red bits are going to be a lot smaller in 2020

We’ll always keep the red flag flying in Hove 🙂

and the green one in Brighton, obvs.

and then compare the sorts families and the resources they have, of children they are educating

FTFY.

FTFY.

fair point..well made

My wife taught 4 year olds (in an age before tablets/phones/etc) who had never held a book and never had one read to them.

Some children start school so far behind their peers it’s no wonder that they aren’t achieving the same results at the other end of the process.

And what did the Tories do to counter this?

Shut down 600 sure start centres that they’d promised not to cut funding to.

From what I’ve heard (from various teachers and head teachers) Academy status seem tempting because the up front funding seems very good. But long term funding turns out to be less than LA funding. So you end up with more kids per class and lots of unqualified or newly qualified teachers.

I don’t really know how it all works though.

I don’t really know how it works though.

Much like that.

Shiney infrastructure, oppresive maintenance costs from private companies (often owned by governors of the school/academy group) no money to pay for decent staff.

There are successful academies but I don;t believe that being outside of LA control is the key to that, it is having inspirational leaders and dedicated staff.

<rubs hands together> I’m not a governor, but I know quite a few of them, I’m sure I could put together an advantageous tender for better IT facilities – maybe it is time our school became an academy…

(BTW it’s officially a C of E school, but under LA control and follows the standard LA admission procedure)

<rubs hands together> I’m not a governor, but I know quite a few of them, I’m sure I could put together an advantageous tender for better IT facilities – maybe it is time our school became an academy…

I am, and you have to declare pecuniary interest (and leave the room in discussions) if you are involved in supply. Not really a massive barrier to the ‘mates club’ I suppose, but I’m pretty objectionable so solved that dilemma 🙂

Can’t help but think the governor / head power balance would be distorted by another party, particularly one holding the cheque book.