Parents know incompetence when they see it

So the Venerable Christine Allsopp gives her apologies that the process is so difficult for the parents to understand "I am always sorry if the communication was not clear enough for people to understand the consultation process”. Did she understand the unanimous anti academy vote on 7th Dec? Parents are no mugs, they may not be education 'professionals' but they can spot incompetence, ignorance and a proposal without real content with no problem at all. When are the Church of England and Local Authority going to open their ears and start listening? It's very sad the Church of England are so happy to bully the community and treat parents like halfwits.

Academies are exempt from the Freedom of Information Act

Facts and figures on academies are very difficult to obtain. Unlike all other schools maintained by the taxpayer, academies are exempt from the Freedom of Information Act, so the only information available is what they choose to publish or that which is published by the government, and is often misleading. Parents of pupils at academies have no represention on the board of governors and no means of influencing the educational policies and practices of the school. They do not even have the right to be told what these policies and practices are. What is the reason for such secrecy?

The following GCSE performance data for all academies was prised from the DfES by means of the Freedom of Information Act. The department is still refusing to provide subject-based results for individual academies. The percentage of pupils entered for GCSE/GNVQ who obtained A*-C grades in 2005 were: English and maths: 17%; English and maths and science: 11%; English and maths and science and a modern language: 5%. Any comprehensive school with results like these would be at risk of being replaced by an academy.
The Guardian -
http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2006/jun/16/mainsection.guardianletters1

Academies can fail without accountability

"The funding agreement between a sponsor and the DCSF is a seven-year rolling contract which could in theory be terminated at any time. But David Wolfe, a barrister at Matrix Chambers and an expert on academies, says the grounds for doing this are very limited. A sponsor couldn't, for example, be removed if an academy failed to meet Ed Balls's National Challenge of getting at least 30 per cent of pupils five A*-C GCSEs, including English and maths."
The Guardian Aug 2008

The Venerable Christine Allsopp says...

“I hope people will take the time to get involved and give us our views on the proposals.”
Quote: The Venerable Christine Allsopp. Sponsors website.

Never a truer word spoken!

Rumours abound in the Church of England

It is alleged that the appointment of Vanessa Ray as principal designate is sending shockwaves through the Church of England throughout the UK. It is alleged that even Bishops are asking about the suitability of Mrs Ray as the Principal of a Church of England Academy, is she or has she been a regular practising christian? Did the people who appointed her do their homework?

Academies do not get any more money than other schools!

Excerpt from the Department for Schools and Families website on Academies.

Do Academies receive more funding than maintained schools?
Ministers are very clear that there must be parity of funding with schools in the maintained sector that operate in similar circumstances. Otherwise, those schools could justifiably argue that they are being treated inequitably. We want to ensure that funding will allow Academy innovations to be replicated in other schools.

We say - ‘so we still get the same money if we stay as Unity College!’

Academy Sponsors tell DCSF one date and parents another.

Sponsors have told the Department for Children, Schools and Families that the consultation period for the proposed Academy replacing Unity College began on 25th November 2008. 

The earliest public notice we know of was newspaper advert on 11th December. Most parents did not receive any information until 19th/20th December. The consultation period gives only 7 school (working) days between meetings for parents to discuss the proposal. This is because the consultation period, which was set by the sponsors, falls across the christmas break. 

Many parents were completely unaware of the first meeting.