Time for Michael Gove to come clean on his schools policy
THE Government wants us to believe there is no money for repairing schools.
Today we reported how the government has rejected a plan B put together by the city to replace the axed Building Schools for the Future project.
Schools minister Nick Gibb might as well have suggested that Liverpool schools will have to put a bucket under a leaking roof, because the country is skint.
However, become an Academy or a "free-school" and his boss, education secretary Michael Gove, will pluck some money off his magical money tree.
No wonder that schools are milking the academy cash cow - who can blame them?
And, as for free-schools, we know one school is getting £15m.
If the target of opening 100 free-schools is hit - including expanding the private Maharishi School, in Ormskirk, which teaches Beatles-style meditation - the bill could top £1bn.
What we are witnessing is a systematic and ideologically driven attempt to break local authority stranglehold on education.
Allowing schools to become Academies and parents to open free-schools is all well and good.
But it should not come at the expense of sacrificing schools that choose to remain in the safety net of local authority control. It is time for a bit of honesty from Mr Gove.
9 Comments
Leave a comment
Dale Street Associates
David Bartlett
City editor of the Post and Echo covering politics, regeneration, and urban affairs.
Read My Posts »
And the Tories-and now the Fib Dems- wonder why they do not get any votes here in Liverpool. The article above is a perfect example of one of the reasons why they don't,(and will continue not to for the forseeable future), get any votes here. .
And the Tories-and their Fb Dem friends wonder why they get no votes around here.
Of course, the real outrage here is the Echo's totally bias coverage of any story relating to Coalition decisions, the fact Anderson has rejected Academies, the scurillous behaviour of certain cllrs on school governing boards and the total avoidance of giving a story coverage free of anything other than a coloured press release straight out of Prescott Road.
"What we are witnessing is a systematic and ideologically driven attempt to break local authority stranglehold on education".
Thank god, with that shambles nestled in the Town Hall. Good luck with the er..."honesty" drive at Old Hall St HQ.
Labour schools minister Jim Knight made it clear in public in October 2007 that Labour government policy was to "free" all schools of what was called local authority "control" by 2015. The coalition government are merely continuing this policy with which I profoundly disagree, as I did with the slightly different policy of the previous government which would have reached the same endgame. "Freedom" of this kind will create a two tier system which will in effect be set up to fail children with SEN and the admissions landscape will be a nightmare for parents. IF LAs no longer have a locus to defend the rights of parents and children, especially with regard to admissions and exclusions who will? Michael Gove? As if.
Labour schools minister Jim Knight made it clear in public in October 2007 that Labour government policy was to "free" all schools of what was called local authority "control" by 2015. The coalition government are merely continuing this policy with which I profoundly disagree, as I did with the slightly different policy of the previous government which would have reached the same endgame. "Freedom" of this kind will create a two tier system which will in effect be set up to fail children with SEN and the admissions landscape will be a nightmare for parents. IF LAs no longer have a locus to defend the rights of parents and children, especially with regard to admissions and exclusions who will? Michael Gove? As if.
David,
The government might have rejected Liverpool's plans to resurrect the school rebuild project across the city's whole schools estate.
However, the most delapidated schools such as St John Bosco in Croxteth and St Hilda's in Sefton Park may well qualify for funding under the new school rebuilding programme launched yesterday:
http://www.education.gov.uk/a00192488/michael-gove-announcement-on-education-funding
"This programme will focus on the school buildings in greatest need of repair."
The council, or individual schools or church bodies that run them, can register online from next week, then submit applications for funding in the first two weeks of October:
https://sharepoint.partnershipsforschools.org.uk/PSBP/SitePages/Home.aspx
David,
The government might have rejected Liverpool's plans to resurrect the school rebuild project across the city's whole schools estate.
However, the most delapidated schools such as St John Bosco in Croxteth and St Hilda's in Sefton Park may well qualify for funding under the new school rebuilding programme launched yesterday:
http://www.education.gov.uk/a00192488/michael-gove-announcement-on-education-funding
"This programme will focus on the school buildings in greatest need of repair." Although the new schools might be of a standard, off-the-shelf 'flat-pack' design according to the James Review, which doesn't take into account site-specific circumstances.
Anyway, the council, or individual schools or church bodies that run them, can register online from next week, then submit applications for funding in the first two weeks of October:
https://sharepoint.partnershipsforschools.org.uk/PSBP/SitePages/Home.aspx
David,
The government might have rejected Liverpool's plans to resurrect the school rebuild project across the city's whole schools estate.
However, the most delapidated schools such as St John Bosco in Croxteth and St Hilda's in Sefton Park may well qualify for funding under the new school rebuilding programme launched yesterday:
http://www.education.gov.uk/a00192488/michael-gove-announcement-on-education-funding
"This programme will focus on the school buildings in greatest need of repair." Although granted the new schools might be of a cheapo, standard, off-the-shelf 'flat-pack' design in accordance with the recommendations James Review, which doesn't take into account site-specific circumstances.
Anyway, the council, or individual schools or church bodies that run them, can register online from next week, then submit applications for funding in the first two weeks of October:
https://sharepoint.partnershipsforschools.org.uk/PSBP/SitePages/Home.aspx
Sorry about the repeat posts, I kept getting error messages and hadn't realised they'd got through okay.