Kent leader: are academy schools worth it?
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by political editor Paul
Francis
School academies have come under the spotlight after the leader
of Kent County Council said he was concerned about their
admissions, high level of exclusions and standards.
Cllr Paul Carter flagged up his misgivings as the authority,
which is already a co-sponsor of several academies, agreed to move
ahead with the development of a further batch of five.
They include academies for secondary schools in Dover, Ashford,
Maidstone and Sevenoaks.
Speaking at a cabinet meeting on Monday Cllr Carter (Con) said
he was concerned the Government’s academy programme could be as
divisive as the former Conservative policy of allowing schools to
opt out of council control.
While he said academies remained an important part of Kent’s
"mixed economy" of schools, he questioned whether the huge
investment was delivering the results.
Why doubts have surfaced over academies:
read our political editor's blog here>>>
He also said Kent was unlikely to approve more academy plans
because the authority lost money needed to maintain crucial support
services for all its schools.
"I have a concern about the rate of exclusions, the failure to
admit vulnerable people and the attainment level of academies," he
said.
It was "extraordinary" that "academies can refuse to admit some
of the most vulnerable young people under the current
admissions."
"I do have some concerns with some of the rules and regulations
that surround academies. We have to be very careful that we do not
[end up] with the very worst of the grant maintained system, which
was extraordinarily divisive between community and grant maintained
schools," added Cllr Carter.
That was a reference to the former Conservative policy in the
1980s of allowing schools to opt out of council control and be
directly funded by Government, much like the academy programme.
Mr Carter added it was "very regrettable" that KCC lost money it
would otherwise have to pay for support services because academies
were funded directly by the Government and it was top-sliced from
the council’s budget.
"We are going to have to suggest that 14 academies [is enough]
otherwise we would be really hard pressed to provide the
essentially needed support services."
On standards, he said: "I do not want to be bitchy but the vast
majority of our National Challenge schools have improved but under
50 per cent of academies have not delivered."
Kent has 33 schools identified by the Government as
under-performing although many have already reached or are close to
the target for 30 per cent of pupils to achieve five or more good
GCSEs.
A study published by experts at the London School of Economics
last year said the results of academies were statistically
indistinguishable from comprehensives.
The next five academies planned for Kent are: The Skinners’ Kent
Academy at Tunbridge Wells, which opened in September 2009
(formerly Tunbridge Wells High School); Knole Academy, Sevenoaks;
Archers Court Academy, Dover; Christchurch Academy, Ashford; Astor
of Hever, Maidstone.
Tuesday, January 12 2010
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