Academies

[drogowoods]

Did you know that under the Academies Act in July this year, an Academy is completely independent of the LA to set their own pay scales, etc etc. They will have to buy back the time of any specialist (the average secondary would have over 100 students in need of a specialist assessment for access arrangements for external exams, for instance) and obtaining a statement of SEN would become more complex as they have to apply for a statutory assessment through the LA in law. This will cost the SCHOOL over £2500 to administer whereas in the past the bill rested on the shoulders of the LA.
Did you know that an ammendment to the Academy Bill was REJECTED which would have allowed school governors to consult with parents before pursuing Academy status. This was rejected, so schools do NOT have to consult with us, the parents if they wish to become an Academy.

Did you know that the academies set up by the last government also had the freedom to set their own pay scales, etc.?

The stuff you've said about SEN is rubbish. All schools have to apply for an assessment through the LA. The assessment is carried out by an Education Psychologist at no cost to the school. It makes no difference that they are an academy. The bill STILL rests on the shoulders of the LA.

The Academies Act requires the school to consult before converting, although it is up to the school who they consult and how they do it. DfE guidance suggests that parents should be consulted.

The Academies Act requires the school to consult before converting

my DC's school became an Academy 3 years ago .
94 % of the " stakeholders " who responded to the " consultation " said that they did not want the school to become an Academy .

So don't confuse consultation with paying attention to the wishes of the parents .

Same here, gingeroots. Parents were desperate to keep our local secondary under council control, meetings with the local community were extremely acrimonious- and with hindsight the parents were right; it has been a disastrous experience. We were the lucky ones as there was no provision, or plan, for dealing with disability- so we were able to get dd into another school on appeal.

Academies are publicly funded independent schools. Those established under the previous government were set up by sponsors from business, faith or voluntary groups in partnership with the (then) Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and the local authority. The new academies do not need sponsors and will get their funding directly from the Department for Education (DfE). The new government's academies programme is undemocratic because local authorities will no longer have any involvement in the establishment and planning of education provision. It would also have a detrimental and irreversible impact on pupils, parents, staff and governors.
An academy is a school with no local links to the community or the council, but funded by the taxpayer.

They will have to buy back the time of any specialist - that's why they get the funding the LEA used to get for themselves.

This will cost the SCHOOL over £2500 to administer whereas in the past the bill rested on the shoulders of the LA - not true

DFE Website

The following items do not become the responsibility of the academy and continue to rest with the LA. These are:

home to school transport (including SEN)

education psychology, SEN statementing and assessment

monitoring of SEN provision, parent partnerships, etc.

prosecution of parents for non-attendance

individually assigned SEN resources for pupils with rare conditions needing expensive tailored provision (this is usually a top-up to formula funding)
provision of pupil referral units or education otherwise for a pupil who is no longer registered at an academy.

An academy is a school with no local links to the community - in what way? They still teach all the same kids they did before? What on earth does the statement even mean?

Legally they have all the same responsibility's towards SEN kids (and every other kid) they did before. There are maintained schools and academies which are dreadful - and those which are brilliant. Their academy status doesn't change anything. The HT's attitude is the driving force behind whether or not SEN kids are treated properly.

I'm not really in favour of the academy programme in the wider sense, but I have to say that the school (Academy) my DS goes to is absolutely wonderful with their support for him (he as ASD). You couldn't ask for better. Maybe it comes down to the individual SENCO or head in each case.