News
Landmark ruling: academy order ‘irrational’ YEW Tree Primary School has won a landmark case in the High Court over Government attempts to force it to become an academy. Governors at the school in Sandwell, West Midlands, brought a judicial review against Education Secretary Gavin Williamson after he refused to consider revoking an academy order. In court, the school argued that the suspension of Ofsted inspections during the pandemic meant that it had been unable to obtain a grading to demonstrate it had made sustainable improvements and was now performing at a good level. The school had, however, offered other evidence of improvement to the Department for Education (DfE), including better results. It had also volunteered to take part in Ofsted’s programme of interim visits in September 2020, in order to have the academy order revoked. Judge Gavin Mansfield QC concluded that Williamson’s refusal to revoke the order
Small but significant victory for Moulsecoomb TAKEOVER of Moulsecoomb Primary School by an academy has been delayed thanks to members’ efforts. Despite overwhelming opposition from the local community, it was announced in May that The Pioneer Academy (TPA) would become the sponsor of the Brighton school, taking over from 1 September. But after union pressure the regional schools commissioner accepted there was insufficient time for the official transfer of employee rights (TUPE) process to be completed, so the date has been postponed until 1 November 2021. Staff and parents have been campaigning for more than two years against the forced academisation of the school and have held four rounds of strike action. NEU branch secretary Paul Shellard said: “A successful school has to have community support. The Pioneer Academy has not got this but seems determined to proceed, even when staff, parents, the council and the local MP are ranged against it.” 12
was “irrational” and that several aspects of the decision were of “grave concern”. He also said that there was clear evidence from the school “of both continued efforts to improve and success in achieving those improvements”, which had been disregarded by the DfE. ‘Huge step but not end of our journey’ Jamie Barry, head teacher at Yew Tree, told Educate: “We are delighted with the ruling. It is a huge step forward.” The ruling quashes the Education Secretary’s decision not to consider revocation, but does not revoke the academy order. “We recognise this is not the end of our journey,” said Jamie. “The academy order still exists, and we still have to convince the Education Secretary to remove it from our school. But we believe we have demonstrated significant and sustained improvement, so we would be disappointed if the decision still stood.” A DfE spokesperson said it was considering whether to appeal or assess a new application from Yew Tree to set aside its academy order.
Jenny Ermoyenous, NEU Sandwell district secretary, said: “This landmark victory will no doubt give hope to other schools in similar positions such as Rounds Green Primary School which we, along with other unions, are supporting in its opposition to a similar forced academisation order.” Hope to other schools fighting Parents and staff at Rounds Green Primary argue that Ofsted monitoring inspections, since the school was rated Inadequate in 2017, show “that the school has been on a trajectory of improvement”. The most recent inspection in April 2019 confirmed this as the school was moved to Requires Improvement. “Rounds Green has faced a number of difficulties but, like Yew Tree, it is addressing them effectively with the support of the whole school community – the same community that does not want to become an academy but wishes to remain a Sandwell school,” said Jenny.
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Members take action as trust slashes jobs THREE days of strike action were held by members at two Derby secondary schools where what they describe as a “brutal re-organisation” is being forced on them. Archway Learning Trust took over Lees Brook and Merrill schools in January 2021. It has since been carrying out a restructuring process which, members say, will endanger the schools’ future by slashing jobs, replacing qualified teachers with unqualified or less experienced staff, and making cuts that are likely to increase class sizes and harm pupil achievement. Kieran Picken from City of Derby NEU said: “Archway Trust has refused to budge from its position or to listen to staff at its schools. Our members have been left with no choice but to strike as the trust is intent on forcing through changes that staff believe will be detrimental to the future of their schools.” Staff say the changes will mean that some students will have less access to subjects such as languages and the arts than pupils in more affluent areas of Derby, creating a two-tier system between pupils from more disadvantaged areas of the city and their wealthier peers. Members state that they have been
educate Your magazine from the National Education Union (NEU)
On the picket line at Lees Brook Community School
“ignored and frozen out by a distant trust” and that parents and the local community were not properly consulted. As Educate went to press, the trust was yet to make any meaningful concessions. In the autumn term, members will decide how to carry on their campaign and warn that “further industrial action can’t be ruled out”.
