NUT: Michael Gove’s inspection plans “fundamentally flawed”
Commenting on Sir Michael Wilshaw’s proposed inspection of local authority support for schools, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union, said:
“It is of course important that, if needed, schools are given the support to ensure that they are performing to the best of their abilities. The point that Sir Michael Wilshaw is missing is that the Government’s academies and free school programme means that Local Authorities (LA) no longer have the right to intervene in many schools.
“Academies and free schools have been specifically set up to be independent of the LA so any legislation relating to their school improvement and intervention powers are not valid. LAs cannot issue them with a warning notice about performance standards, appoint to or replace the governing body, or require the school to undertake any kind of improvement work. Instead they are ultimately answerable to the Education Secretary.
“This is a fundamental flaw in Michael Gove’s plans. It is quite inconceivable that he will be able to oversee all schools in England, let alone deal with issues that parents and pupils may raise with individual academy chains or free schools.
“Sir Michael Wilshaw’s latest announcement seems to be yet another way of forcing schools out of the LA family and into the hands of academy chains and the Education Secretary himself”.
END pr06-2013
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