Every school to be an academy?

[CamboricumMinor]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-35814215

Apparently this is expected in tomorrow's budget. I'm sure this isn't going to be a good move for school staff but what about the children? I'm not convinced at all.

I teach in an academy run by a multi academy trust. The man at the top earns £225k per year. In my school we have supply teachers in most departments as we can't attract full time staff. A recent DFE visit said the school looked "shabby". I run my dept on a £1200 yearly budget. We're at our wit's end. The academy trust has "helped" by sending in an executive head who is on over £100,000 per year but rarely leaves his office. It's a shambles. We were judged as Requires Improvement when we became an academy. Now we're in special measures.

Very worrying - for all of the reasons posted already especially SEN children. Special schools have already closed, the children put into mainstream with out the financial support to help them. Statements changed to EHC Plans which you have to jump through hoops for. Academies will bring with them even higher targets which will stress out children even more robbing them of their childhood.

Can anyone explain

1. why teachers will leave in droves
2. why small schools will close
3. what is meant by "privatisation" in this context

Not intending to be Grady, just don't know enough to know why these statements of doom are being made

Goady not Grady ffs

Academies do not have to use the teacher's pay scale which LA schools do. This means they can refuse to move teachers up the pay spine. Academies do not have to abide by the schoolteachers pay & conditions document and therefore can pretty much do what they like. That will likely be a reason teachers will leave. It's bad enough as it is.

TBH in practice it won't make much difference.

So teachers in state schools will be in the same position as their private sector colleagues with regard to pay? Is there any evidence that Academy employers will wilfully refuse to promote teachers according to performance and experience?

They don't, really. In theory they could offer a prospective teacher a post on a lower pay scale than they are already on, in practice I've never personally known this to happen although obviously I'm willing to be corrected.

More frequent seems to be that teachers are offered extra pay as a carrot particularly in schools where recruitment may be an issue.

HR do nothing very little. I don't see much has been lost there. Schools have always been a law unto themselves.

I feel so so so depressed about this. My friends work in academies and hate the petty rules (for the staff) and how unqualified cover teachers are widely used. Pay is depressed but principals and top managers do well.Tories are selling off education and health. There will be a few people who financially do very well out of this arrangement, several of whom are Conservative party donars. Who do you appeal to if you disagree with a school decision? Some academy chains are even getting rid of governing bodies. There will be no local accountability and I feel sorry for anyone who has a child with special needs. The government have no regard for the caring professions. I wish I could retire but still have 11 years left. I feel gutted tonight. I have given this job my all, often at the expense of my own children and family life.

justthetickets It doesn't make a difference at the moment because the vast majority of schools aren't academies and do use teachers pay and conditions so academies do too in order to compete with LA schools for staff. If no schools have to use TP&C then it'll be a free for all.

My worry is more about checks and balances. Who is monitoring the financial probity of these academy chains? Who is making sure there is adequate financial training, for example (just one of the things a LA will monitor in a school - and that's training for governors as well as relevant staff)? I can't imagine it will be the DfE - they're already out of their depth - understaffed and undertrained.

Read EvilTwins post above - it's easy to see where the money goes.

I'm lucky that my children are older, my youngest is in Y8, if they were younger I think I'd be looking at moving to Scotland. Mind you, with the NHS being torn apart too that's still a tempting option.

Possibly Gracies but unkikely. We have the advantage of the teacher shortage :)

homebythesea

"Is there any evidence that Academy employers will wilfully refuse to promote teachers according to performance and experience?"

You could always go and find some.

My school has an executive head (paid over £100,000) as well as a head and a deputy. At the other end, there are students being taught GCSE English by unqualified supply teachers. I have not had a pay rise for 3 years yet my results at KS4 & KS5 are consistently higher than targets.

Most of this would not have been able to happen pre this government.

Would it not bother you if your child was being taugh by an unqualified cover supervisor in a shabby classroom whilst the man who runs the MAT is earning £225k?

But in an academy, they can hire unqualified staff if they like - end of problem.

Do you mean teachers who don't have a teaching qualification, EvilTwins, or teachers who don't specialise in that subject?

Numbers of supply staff are a problem in all schools.

That was to justthetickets.

They can, but I've yet to meet one that does (again willing to be corrected, but I've yet to encounter a school or academy who do this.)

The only time I've encountered this was in an LA school.

For Homebythesea. Privatisation is by stealth. Private companies are given school land and buildings. The chains charge schools 'consultation fees' and a charge for using maintainence services and for using particular chain curriculums, so that is how they make money from schools. There have been reports recently about some chains hoarding large amounts of money, this is tax payers money meant to be spent on children.
www.theguardian.com/education/2015/jan/18/academy-schools-stockpile-education-funding-england

Cover supervisors have no teaching qualifications at all, justtheticket.

I know that Feenie, thanks, but someone said 'unqualified supply teachers'

Are you joking? Cover supervisors are all over the place!

Only just heard about this on radio 4, and am very shocked as have had no glimpses of this before now..
As a mum of a Dyspraxic DS (thankfully now 18) i am very concerned about future provision for pupils with SEN.
Even more of a concern, while he was at school i had a lot of involvement with the LEA, because his school were not fulfilling their role re.recommended action plans etc.
To whom will these new schools and heads be answerable if not overseen by a LEA? Presumably no-one with regard to childrens actual education , as it will be all about profit!