100 signatures reached
To: The Secretary of State for Education
Abandon plans to force Academy status on all local schools in England
We call upon the Secretary of State for Education to abandon plans for the abolition of Local Education Authorities in England and the enforced conversion of all local primary and secondary schools into Academies regardless of the wishes of parents, teachers and the educational needs of the local community.
Why is this important?
These proposals will undermine local democracy and parental rights and choice and will turn local education into an uncontrolled 'free market' of dog-eat-dog competition for school places and will inevitably lead to the rise of more selective schools and the end of comprehensive education for all. As teachers in Academy schools are not required to have Qualified Teacher Status, these proposals will also lead to a further erosion of a qualified graduate teaching profession and a lowering of educational standards and diminution of life chances for our children. This nationalisation of our local schools and the centralisation of powers in the hands of the Secretary of State for Education also undermines generations of social investment in our local schools and, these grounds alone, these plans should also be abandoned.
How it will be delivered
Email or I will organise a delegation to deliver the petition to the Dept of Education with a press conference and attendant publicity if the petition receives enough signatures.
