BGTC COLLEGE GOVERNORS VOTE FOR ACADEMY STATUS

James Frankcom: On Wednesday night the Board of Governors of Bethnal Green Technology College voted to apply for Academy Status.The vote was far from unanimous with four voting against the measure and three abstaining.The decision is set to divide the already fractious Labour Party in Tower Hamlets because the chairman of the college governors (Graham Taylor), who is strongly in favour of the transition, also happens to be the chairman of the local Tower Hamlets Labour Party which is officially opposed to academies.Academies are publicly funded schools which operate outside of local authority control. The government describes them as independent state-funded schools. Essentially, academies have more freedom than other state schools over their finances, the curriculum, and teachers’ pay and conditions.

Apart from Graham Taylor and the head teacher other local supporters of the changes at the college include Cllr.Peter Golds, the leader of the Conservative Group on the council. Cllr. Golds told us in a statement he supported the move and that academies were “overwhelmingly successful and popular with parents and pupils.”

Opponents of the plan include the main teaching unions at the school, a number of head teachers from other schools in the borough as well as most, if not all, of the Labour councillors at Tower Hamlets Council.

The NUT (National Union of Teachers) has said academies could spell the end of state-provided education. The NASUWT (National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers) also claimed they could “segregate and fragment communities”.

Alex Kenny of the East London Teachers Association told us that many of their members were concerned because the school had recently been completely refurbished using public (council) money and that it was only right that it therefore stays in public ownership.

He added that they were very concerned that staff had not been given enough information about what the proposals would mean for them and did not believe enough time had been provided for both sides to be heard in what was a “complicated debate”. He went on, “at the start of this process the head teacher informed the NUT that he wanted to win hearts and  minds on this issue and was not interested in forcing something through.”

His union’s members were yet to be convinced that the change to an academy would benefit teaching and learning. They were also concerned that the college would set its own admissions policy and start selecting students in such a way that many local children could be excluded, adding “current pupil admission arrangements need to be protected and enhanced, not dismantled.”

The independent Mayor of Tower Hamlets, Lutfur Rahman, issued a statement through his office saying, “I believe existing schools supported by the council best serve the interests of the community. I am fully embedded in the comprehensive education system.

“I am proud of the achievements of our schools. We’re widely seen as one of the most improved education authorities in the whole country. We achieved our best ever GCSE results last year and are providing children with some of the best facilities around thanks to the Building Schools for the Future programme.  I want this partnership between the local authority and our schools to continue.” 
His sentiments were echoed by many Labour and formerly Labour councillors.

Cllr. Kabir Ahmed, who has since resigned the Labour whip, told us he had personally appealed for more time and believed staff and parents deserved to be balloted on the issue. Former mayoral candidate Cllr. Helal Abbas joined the chorus of disapproval telling one of our journalists he believed it was “a great shame” that a local community asset which had received millions in council money would now break away as a private company outside of local authority control.

The Labour Group at Tower Hamlets voted on a resolution condemning the move and re-affirmed their long-standing commitment to the principle of non-selective comprehensive education which, they said, “must be defended to ensure all our children in Tower Hamlets have free and equal access to high quality education, regardless of background or income.” Their resolution also warned that the move could “undermine collective agreements between schools” in the borough and “result in a two tier education system” in the borough.

Cllr. Josh Peck, the leader of the Labour Group told us, “Over the past decade under a Labour council, Tower Hamlets schools improved faster than anywhere else in the country. They did this by working together with the Council and I don’t think that Bethnal Green Technology College going off on its own is the best way to improve the educational chances of its young people or those at other schools in the borough.”

The Labour Group had urged the head-teacher and the governors to reconsider their application and stay within the Local Authority family of schools.

However, their appeal appears to have been rejected by the school governors, led, bizarrely by their own party chairman. It remains to be seen whether he can retain both positions.

Graham Taylor chose not to respond to our emails on this matter.