After the all the protests about school reorganisation between 2004-2008, something far more dangerous in my view could be about to take place for our school system with little disturbance.
The Conservative leadership of the IW Council last year decided not to seek to run the newly-designated Secondary Schools at Carisbrooke, Cowes, Medina-Fairlee, Ryde and Sandown. Instead they decided to invite applications to run the schools as either arms-length Trusts or (far more worryingly) independent Academies using taxpayers money.
In June the Council received at least two applications from such organisations to run each of the planned Secondary Schools from September 2010. A decision will be made between the bidders for each school at a full meeting of the IW Council on 30 September; then to be confirmed at a Cabinet meeting the following evening. The Council could decide that none of the bids are what they want and to re-run the competition, but that is hardly likely given the now tight timetable for reorganisation.
We all had a chance to hear from the bidders at public meetings last July, with the closing date for comments now passed. These will hopefully inform the decison-making process, though most of the meetings were sparsely attended.
Having looked at the bids in detail myself and heard presentations from each of the bidders to councillors today, I have no doubt in my mind that I do not want our Secondary Schools run as unaccountable Academies using our taxes. Particularly (but not exclusively) when the bidder who wants to run all five Secondary Schools as academies (Academies Enterprise Trust) is partnered with a company who have shown in my opinion such contempt for the Isle of Wight community in recent months - Vestas Technology.
I also oppose in general the idea of Trust schools. Indeed I resigned as a governor of Medina High last year when it chose to create its Trust in readiness for this competition. However, Trusts would be immensely more preferable to the academy bids because at least they are rooted in our Island community rather than in Essex, Guildford or London.
Between now and 30 September I want to urge everyone who is concerned about the future of our Secondary Schools to contact their local IW councillor and urge them to oppose the academy bids, and to support the trust bids. That way we can be sure that our secondary schools are in some degree locally managed and accountable.
If we don't do this it undermines all our arguments to keep other public services, such as the Fire Service, managed on the Island.
Finally the legislation that allows for this schools competition for our 'new' Secondary Schools was brought in by the current Government. It only secured a majority in Parliament thanks to the votes of Conservative MPs in the face of a rebellion by 52 Labour MPs. As you can guess I supported the rebels....
3 comments:
Yes, I think I might have guessed that...
Just remember what happened to council housing: first it went to "local" housing associations, with tenants and people in search of homes assured that it would be no less locally controlled than before. Then the housing associations discovered, for different reasons in both cases but basically because of the money, that they couldn't survive in the market-place alone, and sought or were forced into merger. Now, the annual general meeting of one of those associations is being held this month in Christchurch, and there is talk of merging boards together within the controlling group. Local influence gets weaker and weaker, "control" goes off the island, and could just as easily go out of the country.
Look at the public utilities, too; not that they ever were truly under the control of local people, but they are now completely unreachable and untouchable other than by the limp-wristed slap of government regulation.
At the same time as government talks of involving people in their local services through this moribund Local Involvement Network nonsense, public services are being dismantled and sold off in front of our eyes so that we have no chance at all of actually influencing anything. So we have the illusion of involvement, with none of that pesky reality.
And all this will be even worse if Cameron smoothes his way into power.
It seems to me a whole generation of politicians have decided that what really matters is their own interests and income, and that they want direct responsibility for less and less: a collective washing of hands while still managing to claw in the cash.
We need to fight this before we all become totally disenfranchised and disempowered, "engaged and involved" in nothing more than our own impotence.
Geoff,
What's the opinion in the blue rooms? Any rumours? TIA
hope people are listening to you and that you can carry the vote/any response yet
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