National Union of Teachers’ blasts shock plan to make all Hackney schools academies

Anne Canning, the head of Hackney Learning Trust

Every single school in the borough could be turned into an academy under plans announced by the council’s education department – despite the government’s apparent U-turn on its controversial forced academisation drive.

Jamie Duff of the local branch of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) said proposals for a multi-academy trust had been set out in a letter from Hackney Learning Trust, which is part of the council.

Though it is unlikely schools could be compelled to become academies, under such a scheme they would almost certainly be pressured to do so. New Mayor of Hackney Philip Glanville has indicated he is opposed to forced academisation.

In an interview with the Hackney Citizen he said it was linked to an “ideological” agenda being pushed by the Conservatives.

The NUT believes the plans will weaken local accountability by removing the necessity of having one governing body per school, as well as undermining teachers’ pay and conditions.

Duff said: “Rather than pushing forward with the government’s attempt to fragment our education system, we feel that the Learning Trust should be working with us to defend local democracy and maintain proper community and parental accountability for all Hackney schools.”

Alan Gibbons, a children’s fiction writer, was earlier this year one of several speakers who addressed a packed meeting of Hackney parents opposed to forced academisation.

Speaking about why he is against such schemes, the former teacher said: “To most local parents, academisation is a move away from democratic control of schools.”

He said state schools “do at least as well and probably better than academies”, which receive funds direct from central government and can opt out of the national curriculum.

The council said any response had to be cleared by Anne Canning, who is head of the Learning Trust but was unavailable at the time of publication.

It is understood she regards forming a multi-academy trust to be a pragmatic move to try and retain some form of local oversight of schools and stop a national chain from taking them over.