General strike/protest

[Clint Planet]

https://twitter.com/hashtag/handsoffourschools

 

[roydo]

Confused me.

My local comprehensive, that I and my son both went to, went academy a few years back. Think the then head proposed it, and it was agreed.

And it is a terrific school. Really brilliant teachers, great exam results, and it seems to deliver rounded, well behaved, (mainly), well educated kids.

Why is that bad?

 

[Mrk]

What about sympathy for those directly effected by a horrible budget. Is it important that any politician reflecting their voice is allowed to do so without contrived sideshows?

My point was Labour are allowing themselves to be become a laughing stock by making stupid decisions. Had a someone from Cameron's team produced a similar 'list', the Mirror/Guardian et al would be all over it and I suspect many on here would be too. That's politics. If you do stupid things, don't be surprised when the media make you look stupid for it.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Confused me.

My local comprehensive, that I and my son both went to, went academy a few years back. Think the then head proposed it, and it was agreed.

And it is a terrific school. Really brilliant teachers, great exam results, and it seems to deliver rounded, well behaved, (mainly), well educated kids.

Why is that bad?

It's something I don't really get either. The hashtag is hands off our schools, yet academies seem to give the power of running the school to the school themselves rather than an LEA or someone in Whitehall. So they're effectively taking their hands off the school, and people seem to be protesting for hands to be put back on them. Or something.

If I was a cynic, which of course I'm not, I would say it's the unions driving things because they know they can drive a much harder bargain negotiating with a single employer than lots of individual academies. Like I say, I'm not a cynic though

 

[daylightrobber]

Confused me.

My local comprehensive, that I and my son both went to, went academy a few years back. Think the then head proposed it, and it was agreed.

And it is a terrific school. Really brilliant teachers, great exam results, and it seems to deliver rounded, well behaved, (mainly), well educated kids.

Why is that bad?

It isn't. But what is happening is that we're being told non academies arent performing as well as acadamies are which is an outright lie. Meanwhile school assets, property and land is being transferred from schools, local authorities and government to corporations and sponsors etc. MATs are replacing LAs and effectively doing the same job but with an increasing focus on profitability rather than results. It won't end well.

 

[roydo]

It's something I don't really get either. The hashtag is hands off our schools, yet academies seem to give the power of running the school to the school themselves rather than an LEA or someone in Whitehall. So they're effectively taking their hands off the school, and people seem to be protesting for hands to be put back on them. Or something.

If I was a cynic, which of course I'm not, I would say it's the unions driving things because they know they can drive a much harder bargain negotiating with a single employer than lots of individual academies. Like I say, I'm not a cynic though

Well my natural inclination is to always let people who know about stuff actually decide what to do. And how best to do it. Within reason obvs. But yeah, my local school is not just an ace school, it is also a community asset, like every weekend the sports facilities are used, think the VIth form library is open to the public as well.

Dont get why that is bad.

 

[roydo]

It isn't. But what is happening is that we're being told non academies arent performing as well as acadamies are which is an outright lie. Meanwhile school assets, property and land is being transferred from schools, local authorities and government to corporations and sponsors etc. MATs are replacing LAs and effectively doing the same job but with an increasing focus on profitability rather than results. It won't end well.

How can a school make a profit?

 

[oldblue]

My point was Labour are allowing themselves to be become a laughing stock by making stupid decisions. Had a someone from Cameron's team produced a similar 'list', the Mirror/Guardian et al would be all over it and I suspect many on here would be too. That's politics. If you do stupid things, don't be surprised when the media make you look stupid for it.

If any decision was taken, and it's an if as this list has no confirmed source or confirmed validity, then it is only deemed stupid as it has been leaked at a time when a distraction was needed and the media have chosen to see it as a valid distraction. That's their decision but a logical approach would seem to me to see it as unverified troublemaking that even if true is almost certainly in keeping with any party's ongoing analysis of the strengths of their leadership.
It's your decision to see it as something that's worth distracting people from policies that actually effect us. I couldn't care less

 

[Bruce Wayne]

How can a school make a profit?

More to the point, should it matter if it did? Forgive me a Milton Freidman moment, but lets say each child (or parent in all likelihood) was given £x,xxx to spend on schooling by the state each year, and they could spend that however they wanted. I suspect schools like the one you mention would have parents clamouring to go there, and may even make a profit in doing so.

In such a scenario, each child gets a free, state paid for education at a school they've chosen because it's the bees knees. If the school can be awesome whilst making a profit then what does it matter?

Utterly hypothetical of course as education vouchers don't exist, and probably won't exist.

 

[Mrk]

If any decision was taken, and it's an if as this list has no confirmed source or even validity, then it is only deemed stupid as it has been leaked at a time when a distraction was needed. And in some eyes it is a valid distraction. That's their decision to portray it as such when a normal logical approach would be to see it as unverified troublemaking that even if true is almost certainly in keeping with any party's ongoing analysis of the strengths of their leadership.
It's your decision to see it as something that's worth distracting people from policies that actually effect us. I couldn't care less

I think that is the only think we're going to agree on.

 

[oldblue]

I think that is the only think we're going to agree on.

Cool. So we agree to focus on the issues

 

[roydo]

More to the point, should it matter if it did? Forgive me a Milton Freidman moment, but lets say each child (or parent in all likelihood) was given £x,xxx to spend on schooling by the state each year, and they could spend that however they wanted. I suspect schools like the one you mention would have parents clamouring to go there, and may even make a profit in doing so.

In such a scenario, each child gets a free, state paid for education at a school they've chosen because it's the bees knees. If the school can be awesome whilst making a profit then what does it matter?

Utterly hypothetical of course as education vouchers don't exist, and probably won't exist.

Its not a million miles away from what does happen I think. In that each school does get a £ per pupil, just from Government. My Dad, (the one on a christmas card list), was a governor at another (primary) school is town. He used to fume that the £ per pupil in his school was tons less than others in other areas controlled by the then LEA.

Sure it was nothing to do with the MPs that were routinely returned to Westminster mind.

 

[Mrk]

Cool. So we agree to focus on the issues

I don't think that was in question.

 

[neil999]

wasn't the problem with academies being that the evidence was they made things worse? obviously there will be success stories and maybe we need to use the plus points in the success stories

 

[roydo]

wasn't the problem with academies being that the evidence was they made things worse? obviously there will be success stories and maybe we need to use the plus points in the success stories

I guess folk who dont like them will jump on ones that are crap as proof, and vice versa.

But as an observer, why cant we just fund and support both? Let a school who wants to try it, try it, and also support ones that what to stay in the LEA likewise.

Making them compulsory kind of renders the term Academy pointless. They will all just be Schools. Or Academies.

Unless I have missed something.