Councillors urge schools to pause academy process

Governors of two primary schools will be asked to pause the process of joining an academy trust to allow more time for public engagement.

Benfield Primary School and Hangleton Primary School, which make up the Orchard Schools Partnership, started a consultation about joining the Eko Trust last month.

At a Brighton and Hove City Council meeting on Thursday (19 October), Labour councillor Jacob Taylor said that the consultation, which was due to finish yesterday (Friday 20 October), had been extended for two weeks.

Labour and Green councillors separately proposed motions at the meeting of the full council, asking for a pause in the process.

And the Greens called for a ballot of parents to establish whether they supported the proposals.

Green councillor Sue Shanks recalled how parents and the council opposed plans to convert Hove Park secondary school into an academy.

She said: “One of the proudest moments of our (Green) first administration, when I chaired the children’s committee, was supporting an impressive community campaign at Hove Park School where the governors were proposing an academy.

“I’ve still got the t-shirt with ‘Gove Must Go’ on it. We ran a parental ballot through the local authority which was overwhelmingly against – and the governors dropped the proposal.”

Councillor Taylor, who chairs the council’s Children, Families and Schools Committee, said that Labour had a number of concerns.

They did not believe that the proposals were in the best interest of staff, parents or children at the two schools, with his party focused on “strengthening the family of schools across the city”.

One of the problems facing primary schools in Brighton and Hove is the large number of unfilled places which have hit budgets.

Councillor Taylor said: “Schools leaving to become academies will not solve this issue – only co-ordinated action by a strong local authority can do that.

“Indeed, a fragmented system, with more schools outside of the local authority, makes it harder to properly co-ordinate a city-wide approach for school place planning.”

Councillor Taylor said that the Local Government Association concluded last year that academies did not perform better than council-run schools.

He said that he had asked the schools to hold a ballot but they had refused. He said that he would continue to ask.

Labour councillor Faiza Baghoth also backed a pause in the process of joining the London trust.

She said that people had contacted her about the consultation process, saying that the meetings were poorly attended as they were held during the day when most people were at work.

Councillor Baghoth said: “The consultations themselves have been described as short and brief and that they were unable to have a proper discussion because they were not well informed in good time.

“The consultations were said to be more of feeding them with information that everything will be wonderful after the trust takes over.”

Conservative councillors voted against both Green and Labour motions, with Councillor Emma Hogan saying that the schools were already part of a federation and urging the council to await the consultation outcome.

She said: “It seems that these (motions) are based on ideological opposition to academies and schools not being under the control of the local authority.

“Academies are still state-funded and still inspected by Ofsted. Indeed, the Eko Trust is made up of good and outstanding schools.”

Brighton and Hove Independent councillor Bridget Fishleigh said that her group would vote for the Labour motion along with the Hangleton and Knoll ward’s three :abour councillors.

Labour, Green and Independent councillors voted to ask for a pause to allow officials the chance to work with the schools on keeping them with the council’s “family of schools”.

The successful motion also called for reports about help for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and emotional and mental health needs and strengthening partnerships between the council and schools.

Outside the meeting, the Orchard Schools Partnership said: “We are considering joining the Eko Trust for a number of very positive reasons, which all centre around ensuring we are always providing a continually high-quality education for our pupils so that they get the best possible start in their lives.

“These reasons include opportunities around enhanced teaching and learning and curriculum provision, greater access to resources, strengthened pastoral support, improved provision for SEND and vulnerable pupils and better professional development and support for staff.

“Throughout the consultation period, we have meticulously followed the robust processes in place and worked closely with all stakeholders to ensure they have had the chance to discuss the proposals in detail and ask any questions.”