fighting conversion to MAT - help?

[Jumpingshipquick]

My children's school is pushing for conversion to MAT. It's a school considered 'good' with a governing body considered 'effective' by OFSTED, within a local authority that performs well. It's a single form entry school, and has no good reason to convert - it won't give them anything they can't already do. I have my suspicions why, but the argument so far is that it is better to lead rather than be forced. Whilst I don't doubt the good intentions of the people currently running the school, I have serious concerns about the implications of the change of structure. I would really appreciate someone looking over my points to see whether I am right for now.

• My school will legally cease to exist.
• Funding will go to the MAT, not individual schools within the MAT and the Board of Directors is required to make spending decisions based on the MAT priorities, not individual (ex)school priorities.
• The Board of Directors of the MAT can be paid for their roles.
• Teachers are employed by the MAT, not the individual schools (and can therefore be deployed anywhere within the MAT)
• There is no legal requirement to keep the individual school’s board of governors, and as it will have no power beyond what the Board happen to devolve, it will only be a talking shop anyway.
• The MAT will be run by a board of governors, akin to the board of directors in a business. This board will consist purely of co-opted members, no requirement for parent governors, no teachers, not necessary local people. Appointments are neither required to be advertised, nor elected and members can only be removed by the Secretary of State, from London.
• The only form of public scrutiny is the published accounts.
• The only way parents can hold the MAT board to account is via the Regional Schools Commissioner. (There are going to be 8 for the whole country) The RSC will be appointed by the Secretary of State.
• The Secretary of State retains the right to remove, or force schools/ MATs to join other MATs.

Thanks

Does anyone actually understand the logic behind forcing high performing schools through the academisation process?

Yes. The gvt want an adaptaptable dynamic school system controlled by a combination of market and strategic government intervention. It can only achieve that through total academisation.

They have already persuaded many successful maintained schools to convert voluntarily, but they only have 5 years in power and need to speed things up.

Schools that don't accept the carrots on offer will soon feel the force of the stick.

OP, it is likely that small rural schools will become increasingly financially unviable if they're not part of a MAT.Your governing body will know that but if they're used to a parent body that don't ask many questions they will be keeping the full detail out of parent comms. Asking more questions is definitely wise to satisfy yourself that the decision is being based on sound judgement. It probably is though.

dlacey Wed 30-Mar-16 10:46:10 It can only achieve that through total academisation.

There is no evidence to suggest that this is actually the case, is there?

dlacey I don't think anyone can claim there is logic in moving to an unproven business model, at huge expense without first demonstrating that simply diverting the money into improving the existing model won't work. Is there evidence to suggest this?

I think what you have posted is pure play marketing speil, not logic.

Small rural schools are already financially unviable but are subsidised because education of children has in the past been seen as more of a priority. Surely they will be more at risk under a mat system? What's to stop the mat just shutting them and taking the children along with their funding?

Do you realise how dispiriting that corporate double think speak sounds when we are talking about education?

I don't know what to cry about first. The nhs being gobbled up by corporate world or our children's education.

It seems to me that there there is a fundamental problem with introducing business practices into the spheres of health and education- competition depends on failure. We can't afford failure in either. Maybe in the long run you could argue it might drive up standards. But the cost is a lot of disruption along the way. And I remain unconvinced that the costs match the benefits.

Sorry, slightly at a tangent to this - if a school is already a stand-alone converter academy (one that was good / outstanding and converted a few years ago due to the financial incentives offered at the time), can it remain a stand-alone academy under the new initiative? Or will there be a requirement to become part of a MAT?

Locally, there are a number of stand-alone academies, at both primary and secondary level, and a number of LA schools, all tbh equally successful. I was wondering whether there would be a push to MAT formation - e.g. for the existing academies to join together into a 4-18 MAT, or for the current LA schools to partner with existing converter academies to form MATs? Can the existing LA schools - quite large primaries (at least 1 full form entry, often 2, sometimes 3) - become stand-alone academies or can they ONLY academise by joining / forming a MAT?

On the small rural schools front - I have taught in a number of these, some very small. In the past, it has been viewed as better to fund such schools 'above the going rate' because it was seen as better for rural communities and their children for younger children to attend school within a couple of miles of their house, rather than for 4 year olds to be bused 6-10 miles each way every day - and then to undertake these longer bus journeys for secondary.

In many areas there are NO primary schools that are NOT small and rural - so who decides which 'stay and are doubled in size' and which are closed? They are all equally financially unviable, but there are no larger schools for them to attend?

There is no evidence to suggest that this is actually the case, is there?

If there is a Conservative gvt it can't control schools in Labour authorities and vice versa. The academy system gives them control which is what they want. There's no evidence it will be better until it happens.

Do you realise how dispiriting that corporate double think speak sounds when we are talking about education?

Yep. Depressing. I didn't vote for them, just trying to understand them.

I was wondering whether there would be a push to MAT formation

Yes, that's exactly the plan.

Can I just challenge the statement by diacey What do you mean by many?

"They have already persuaded many successful maintained schools to convert voluntarily, but they only have 5 years in power and need to speed things up."

Just over 50% of Secondary schools have converted to academy status - some will be previously good/o/s schools that are standalone converter academies, some will be forced conversion. Does anyone know the actual data or split between the two categories?

Of the 15,000+ Primary schools only about 1500 have converted to academy status. Again, some will be converters but ? most will be forced conversion. Anyone know the precise numbers.

In no way can you state that the Govt has persuaded many successful schools to convert. 80% of the non-converted primary schools (approx 11,0000) are currently deemed good/o/s.

Fundamentally the numbers are only one aspect of this debate. I can see that the 'Do it, you have no real choice' is a more honest statement than the govt trying to skew the data to support this policy. Where is the evidence/data that demonstrates that converting to academy status will improve the outcomes for all children in state schools.

dlacey There's no evidence it will be better until it happens.

Really, so no conclusions can be made from those schools that have already converted? You don't need to have every school in the country converted to the same business model to know if the model is actually fit for purpose i.e. improve the education system and standards.

The huge problem of needing every school to run under the same business model to know if it will bring about the desired results - which in itself is a problem as some people are not entirely sure what exactly the true desired results are - is that if it doesn't work, there will be a huge, expensive mess to clean up.

Really, so no conclusions can be made from those schools that have already converted?

It's not about individual schools , it's about the system as a whole. For the market to operate they need a critical mass of schools to have converted. Otherwise it's like planting a few trees here and there and wondering why it's not working well as a woodland ecosystem. You can't prove the ecosystem works till it's complete and mature.

So we will conduct an experiment where the outcomes for a generation (4-16 years old) of children (be that positive or negative) will be on the basis of 'just do as we say' and don't ask for evidence.

As you both seem to take a positive or, at the very least, it's going to happen so suck it up, approach diacey and pretty do you have any children in your immediate or wider family that would be subject to forced change to academy status, where all is currently going well? I.e. not already passed through education, not in good/o/s schools that are already adacemies, not in private education?

Do you see that the OP and other parents want their children to have a secure education and they are seeking reasonable assurances that the statements made are founded on good, proper data/research? Not just the imposition of an unproven ideology. For parents it is about what happens in their school not the 'bigger picture', without evidence that that 'bigger picture' has positive outcomes for their school.

dlacey Wed 30-Mar-16 13:23:03 For the market to operate they need a critical mass of schools to have converted.

So approx 50% of secondary schools have converted yet that is not enough to make any conclusions?

For the market to operate they need a critical mass of schools to have converted.

And it just so happens that the critical mass needed is 100%?

Otherwise it's like planting a few trees here and there and wondering why it's not working well as a woodland ecosystem. You can't prove the ecosystem works till it's complete and mature.

Using the same analogy, you don't need to ensure that the entire surface of the Earth is covered in trees to gage the effectiveness of such a project.

This all or nothing argument is not really credible.

JWIM not in private education?

Interesting point. Wasn't Nicky Morgan poking around a private school earlier this year.

At least if they are going to push forward with these ill thought out plans, the least they could do is lead by example. Oh, hold on a minute, maybe that is exactly what she is doing ;-)

JWIM yes it's an experiment, driven by market ideology, as it was for other industries that have been privatised. Also like those industries it's a one way street. Labour are unlikely to reverse the changes.

To answer your question I have 2 at a secondary MAT school where I'm a governor. I also have 1 at a VA primary that will go down whatever road the diocese advises - likely to be a diocesan-led MAT.

Nobody here is unsympathetic to the OP. It will help her to feed into her school consultation if she understands the bigger picture though.

JWIM One has already been subject to forced Academisation, and yes, other DCs in the family will be subjected to it.

My perspective as a parent is based on my DDs appalling educational experience overseen by a dreadful LA, an improving experience overseen by an outstanding LA, and a good experience overseen by a Good MAT.

Is there really any point in the OP taking the time and trouble to grasp the benefits and risks of academy conversion as she is unlikely to hold back the tide of change at her DC's , or anyone else's, school?

So we should all just 'suck it up then' because the forcing of all schools into academy status is ?right/better than the current system even if you have an o/s school/happening anyway whether it is good for children or not. Whether the change will actually deliver 'education excellence everywhere' is neither here nor there.

The outcome will be much as pretty describes her experience of education - dreadful, improving, good - depending on where you are and 'who' is responsible for delivering a child's education and why they are in the business of education. I would put money on all schools as academies not being the answer to improved education even for some children.

I do understand the bigger picture. I just don't much like it. I like it even less now.

I wonder whether mass academisation is still inevitable now the Tory shires are waking up to realise what it means for their village schools.

Playing devil's advocate, this thread has been about weighing up the pros and cons of academies/MAT's but they have to be compared to the pros and cons of being a LA school in the future. What is the risk to the LA school if the council increased its top slice, or if it reduced spend on education resources, or if there was an influx of migrants to the area and the school had to double in size. We can complain its the changes that are destroying the school or accept the world is changing and you have to adapt or die. How many bureaucrats are there in a councils education department and why does noone ever talk about their salaries?

I just read in the news that our country's steel industry could end losing tens of thousands of jobs. Maybe we really do have to rush through education changes or we just admit we can't afford to do everything our country currently does and give up. I remember a lot of money being spent on schools in the past, it all seemed great at the time. Turns out it was off the books PFI and the interest rates are crippling some councils now. My local council is desperate to force families into using a massively undersubscribed failing school no one wants to go to because of how much debt it's in, where is the fairness to the children in that?

Jumpingshipquick You have mentioned that you like the parental input to the board and the local elected representation but a lot of your posts seem frustrated that you aren't getting that representation. Why aren't you supportive of the board's democratic decision, is it because it's right for the school's future but just not for your childrens? How much is your locally elected council supporting you in this issue? We would all love a small single form entry school our DC's can walk to but is it fair to say we all should have it, or just some of us?

urbanfox1337 accept the world is changing and you have to adapt or die

And then we can look forward to being told that we got exactly what we asked for. After all look how many people jumped onboard and embraced the wonderfully different, equally flawed, hugely expensive education system.

We can also look forward to being told to stop complaining when it all goes wrong. After all, it's what we wanted, look how many people welcomed the changes with open arms (there will be no mention of duress mind you).

The politicians are certainly very clever. They really can't loose with this one. By the time the s**t storm hits they will all be out the picture. They will be able to blame whoever is at the helm - we left everything in perfect order, it is their fault for not getting their act together when they took it all over. If it all goes well (I suspect highly unlikely) - look what a wonderful legacy we left, vote for us for more of the same. Win, win situation really.

There is an excellent blog post by Alison Critchley on the Royal Society of Arts blog. The whole thing worth reading but I have quoted the bits most relevant to this thread:

"The phrase ‘marry in haste, repent at leisure’ springs to mind, but joining a multi-academy trust (MAT) means making a commitment that is permanent and irreversible in a way that marriage is not. When two or more schools join together in a MAT they become a single legal entity. The only way a school can leave a MAT is where this is brokered by the DFE, usually because a school’s performance, or that of the sponsor Trust, is considered so poor that they need to be moved to another MAT. This isn’t a divorce – it is more like having a limb chopped off!....

Similarly, don’t be overly preoccupied with being ‘taken over’ by a big chain. Well-meaning commentators are encouraging schools to choose their future now rather than having it forced upon them. This, presumably, is exactly what Ministers are banking on happening, relying on a culture of fear that sadly permeates so much of today’s education system. An alternative way of looking at it would be to ask what might happen if the majority of those schools that have rejected previous inducements to Academy status made the decision to remain where they were. Could the government really force thousands upon thousands of schools to convert to Academy status against their will?

OK, so now that you have stopped panicking, should you look seriously at taking your school down the Academy route, which for new Academy convertors means setting up or joining a MAT? The answer today is the same as it was on Monday: yes, but only if it is going to help you to tackle the real challenges that are currently facing schools in England. You may want to ask yourself:

Will it help you with the challenging financial situation your school is likely to be facing (exacerbated by another hike in schools’ contributions to teachers’ pensions, also included in this week’s Budget announcements)?

Is it likely to assist you with the recruitment, retention, and development of teaching and non-teaching staff who will help secure the very best outcomes for your pupils?

Might it enable you to ensure pupils at your school have access to a broad and enriching curriculum, despite the upheaval currently in primary schools, and the narrowing of arts and vocational options implicit in the compulsory ebacc? 

Or will it prove a distraction from all of these things?"

Thanks to chrisceque on

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/education/2598463-Forced-Academies-Nicky-Morgan-Guest-Post-Continuation

for pointing this blog post out.

MumTryingHerBest, isn't it a catch 22 situation we can blame them for messing it up, or just as equally blame them for letting it stagnate and fall further and further down international comparisons. Damned if you do and damned if you don't.

The phrase ‘ You may delay, but time will not.’ springs to mind. The world is changing faster now than at any time in human history. Being committed to a MAT is no different than saying a school was previously committed to a council, which you couldn't leave even if the school or council was failing.

Could the government really force thousands of schools to convert to Academy status against their will? Didn't they do that with Grammar schools?

urbanfox1337 Didn't they do that with Grammar schools?

I would suspect not given that Grammar Schools still exist, albe it in much smaller numbers.

MumTryingHerBest I would suspect not given that Grammar Schools still exist, albe it in much smaller numbers 163 out of how many schools? Hardly enough to say the conversions were successfully resisted.

urbanfox1337 by all means feel free to roll over and play dead. I prefer to stand my ground and fight for what I believe in. I never was much of a wimp.

I will buy into the concept of forced blanket academisation when someone, anyone, demonstrates that there are benfits to be gained. I will not however, sign up for something on the basis of it being "something, anything, it's got to be better".

I will never take the side of a bully. I am even less likely to back someone who shows so little respect for those they are supposed to be representing.

I do, however, agree with the stance of "only if it is going to help you to tackle the real challenges that are currently facing schools in England" Thank you nlondondad for that nugget. I don't believe for one minute that forced blanket academisation is going to do this. Please urbanfox1337 provide me with some facts/figures that will convince me otherwise. I'll be happy to fall in line and follow the sheep in front if you do.

*urbanfox1337 Wed 30-Mar-16 19:22:56 163 out of how many schools?

Feel free to enlighten me.

This might make for an interesting point for you to consider:

www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/11plus/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=44209