Nicky Morgan's thread continued (MNers calling for Lucy Powell to do webchat)

[Mner]

Following on from Nicky Morgan MP's one sided "webchat" see here...

Active petitions against academisation are here:
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/124702
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/124747

Guardian article is here

You can write to your MP: www.writetothem.com/

Good luck to everyone at the demonstrations today. I can't attend

I was at that azana

If parents and grandparents vote to leave, they'll be voting to gamble with their children and grandchildren's future

wholesale forced academisation and all the disruption that entails, a shambles of education policies driven almost entirely by hunch/political whim, a dull as dust curriculum that has had the joy rinsed out of it, ever increasing demands on teachers and resulting haemorrhage of trained and experienced staff looks like a pretty enormous gamble with my children's future from where I'm sitting

I am SO ANGRY

A parents group has been set up called Rescue Our Schools:
m.facebook.com/RescueOurSchools/
I think it's really important parents and teachers unite on this. The right wing press will try and make out its just the teachers having a moan.

Also a group of Year 2 parents have set up a strike day on 3 May in protest at SATS:
you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/parents-support-sats-boycott-kids-strike-3rd-may?bucket&source=facebook-share-button&time=1459413466

Thanks MNHQ

Today, Radio 4's More or Less did what the very first poster (lljkk) requested and checked the 'facts' that Nicky Morgan's presented in her guest post. Do I need to add that Radio 4 concluded that her 'facts' were at best 'cherry picked' and at worst not actually true at all.

I was pleased but did anyone even hear it?

There's a different petition run by 38 degrees, which directly targets individual MPs and includes a letter that you can send to them:

Save Our Schools petition here

Thanks EnglishTeacher I didn't hear it but will see if it's on catch-up.
I do think it's worth writing to MPs, I got a response from mine quite quickly.

I haven't had anything back from mine. I've written twice and she's normally quite good... I might write again

I wrote to mine last week. He usually replies telling me he's spoken to Nick Gibb who says 'everything is fine' and there's 'never been a better time to be in teaching'

It looks like those letters can have an impact as Tory back benchers are starting to join council leaders in voicing criticism:

www.theguardian.com/education/2016/apr/02/backbench-pressure-on-osborne-academy-scheme

Good to hear!

That is good to read! Come on the backbenchers!

www.theguardian.com/education/2016/apr/02/backbench-pressure-on-osborne-academy-scheme?CMP=twt_gu

This.

My MP has not replied yet - usual he is quite prompt and cut and pastes from Tory central office guff. Always toes the party line. The fact he has not replied I take as a good sign - perhaps even he can't quite believe the rhetoric and the backbenchers are getting restless. Although of course he could just be on holiday. I think I am going to write again this week and ask him to make a public statement about his position on this.

@EnglishTeacher1

Well , at lease for a while it will be on iPlayer.

How to find it?

The link is contained in this blog posting on the Local Schools Network here

www.localschoolsnetwork.org.uk/2016/04/no-evidence-for-academy-success-mumsnet-inspired-check-reveals-empty-rhetoric

Which is a summary of the broadcast's finding and provides some other useful links, also.

Just listened into the Radio 4 programme. It's good to listen to someone knowledgeable interrogate the stats and a shame Nicky Morgan doesn't want to hear any of this.

MNHQ - any update?

Another Guardian article to throw into the mix: www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/apr/04/europe-academies-tory-rebel-school-reform-eu-splits-party-discipline

An interesting Conservative point of view here:

www.conservativehome.com/platform/2016/03/roger-gough-why-the-governments-academisation-plan-is-flawed.html?utm_content=buffer8c638&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

There's a bit in this article that just made my brain hurt...

www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/schools-minister-heckled-by-teachers-over-proposed-changes-a6967611.html

"Mr Gibb then argued that the Government had to move towards academisation because a number of local authorities now had so few schools under their oversight that it was impossible for them to have the resources to look after them."

Any news MNHQ?

Hello MNHQ

Have you been able to get response from anyone so far? No response from anyone is still an update so kindly inform us.
Also, considering the influence of Mumsnet, I think it shouldn't be that hard to get people involved socially as majority in this country are flabbergasted at the sheer cheek of Cameron and Co in the last few weeks.

Considering the response from the mainstream opposition politicians, the shadow education minister etc, the government knows full well now that their plan is unacceptable.
BUT until they announce that the academisation won't go through, we MUST consider this an ongoing threat and keep the pressure ON.

So, we DO need a discussion here and keep it going .

What say you MNHQ??

Hello

We put in the request to Professor McNally but she actually thinks the webchat would be better done by her colleague Professor Stephen Machin (the researcher who was featured on More or Less). We're just waiting to hear back from him about whether he can do it - we'll give him a little nudge.

Thanks
MNHQ

Yes-a nudge would be good!

The government have backtracked on the Reception baseline assessment now-they simply haven't got a clue!

petition

I wonder when they will respond to this as well?!