|
|
Richmond upon Thames Liberal Democrats:Covering the constituencies of Twickenham and Richmond Park |
Council using ‘timeshare sales tactics’ to push local schools into Academy status
March 13, 2011 10:37 AM
• [Feb 18]: IN a time of cuts the Conservative-run Council is hiring the luxurious Lensbury Conference Centre on the Thames by Teddington Lock for a seminar aimed at persuading local schools to become independent Academies. The seminar for head teachers and chairs of school governing bodies will consist of a series of presentations from those promoting Academy status, including the Department for Education's director of the Academies programme, a head teacher of an Academy and the Council's Cabinet Member for Education.
Cllr Malcolm Eady, the Liberal Democrat education spokesperson said: "Heads and governors are astute enough to see through this one-sided sales pitch from a Council desperate for all local schools to become Academies . They are busy examining the pros and cons to present to their governing bodies, and what they need is balanced information, not one-sided pressure tactics, more the preserve of Timeshare salesmen. At a time of cuts, the Council seems to be able to spend money on luxury conference venues, when schools halls or council facilities could have been used. What is not being discussed is why the Conservative party is embarked on such a reckless timescale to remove local democratic input into our state schools. They had initially pushed for Governing bodies to apply for Academy status by the end of May, but hopefully Governors will resist this pressure and take as long as necessary to decide what is best for local children."
What would you like to do next?
-
Subscribe for updates
Follow the party's activity on...
- Twitter:
- Liberal Democrats
- Facebook:
- Liberal Democrats
- YouTube:
- Liberal Democrats