City council denies claims it doesn’t care about academies

[dutchman]

Coventry Council is hitting back at a union’s claims it isn’t bothered either way whether local schools become academies.



Bosses have responded after members of teaching union the NUT made the accusations during yesterday’s rally in the city centre as part of a 3-day action over the proposals for Tile Hill Wood School and Language College and Woodlands.

The latter is today holding the second of two 24-hour strikes.

They claim the council is being “politically neutral” over the issue.

But Councillor Lynnette Kelly, Coventry City Council’s Cabinet Member for Education, said the claim could not be further from the truth.

“The NUT has misunderstood – Coventry’s administration is not neutral over whether schools in the city should become academies.

“Whenever I have spoken about the government’s academies programme I have always made it quite clear that we are opposed to it.

“This government’s academies programme risks dismantling the comprehensive education system in general and the fragmentation of Coventry’s family of schools in particular.

“We have grave concerns about what this means for the future of our schools and the education of our children.

“It is important to stress that Coventry City Council does not have any say over whether an individual school should become an academy.

7 schools in the city have so far applied to the government to become academies.

The union says it is worried about the standard of education as well as teacher’s pay and conditions if schools change status.

Both Tile Hill Wood and Woodlands have recently been given permission to become academies and governors say the plans will give them greater freedom, more cash and will improve lessons.