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Original poster

Anyone's primary become (or about to become) an academy?

36 replies

BusterGut · 20/07/2011 22:18

If so, have you looked at advantages / disadvantages?

(We are looking at the possibility at the moment but no-one in the area committing themselves yet!)

OP posts:
juicychops · 26/07/2011 09:54

the junior school my son will be going to in a years time has become part of an academy school which i am hoping will bring the standards of the junior school up considerably before ds goes there. the secondary academy school it is being linked with is probably the best non grammar school in the area. There will be a direct feed from the junior school into the secondary school, so ds will automatically get a place there if he doesn't end up going to a grammar school.

BobbyWaring · 26/07/2011 20:20

Juicychops- please let us know how things go, I'd be interested.

BobbyWaring · 26/07/2011 20:47

IndigoBell, I'd be interested in your updates on progress at your school, I'm assuming that you consider your LEA to be ineffective.
As to whether I trust any headteachers.....? Yes I do! I trust them all implicitly. I have to, with my children.
And I agree that a bad HT can ruin a school whether or not it's maintained.

Thanks for letting me know what I'm afraid of, I always thought I had coulrophobia.

I agree many things will change over the next two/three years.
And yes each governing body will decide for itself whether to convert, not necessarily the school as a whole.

ElfHire · 04/11/2013 11:48

So how's it all going with the academies and freeschool programme?

straggle · 04/11/2013 16:24

Aside from financial irregularities reported at three chains, another chain investigated for exam fraud and two free schools in special measures?

rabbitstew · 04/11/2013 17:43

Well, some LAs have declared their intention for all schools under their control to become academies and have already made the requisite redundancies, so it isn't really a matter of school choice, but when you get pushed, given that there is virtually no LA support left for anything other than advising how to convert to academy status, even if you want it... Frankly, the result is a pile of crap.

WorrySighWorrySigh · 04/11/2013 18:43

As a former primary school governor I would have concern about so much power being in the hands of the governing body. My experience was that the governing body was quite weak and was effectively dominated by the Head and by the Chair of Governors.

ElfHire · 05/11/2013 22:20

Interesting stuff, looking at the previous posts from 18 months - going on 2 years ago compared with the "feeling" now.... some seemed to think it was going to be the saviour of education, but the stories emerging aren't quite so.

straggle · 05/11/2013 23:24

Curriculum freedoms are illusory with floor targets, SATS and phonics tests - that was a prescient comment.

Still no evidence that academies achieve more academically. Tons of evidence that a lot of money is being wasted - £1 billion overspend on converters, and the latest BBC story shows that ideology triumphs over value for money, and parental choice (i.e. to stay with an LA or have a new community school) has been completely removed.

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