EPI Report: “local authorities should be able to take over schools which are in struggling academy trusts” – Newham Teachers
EPI Report: “local authorities should be able to take over schools which are in struggling academy trusts”
Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, has commented on the latest report by the Education Policy Institute.
“Without doubt the most significant aspect of this report is its recommendation that local authorities should be able to take over schools which are in struggling academy trusts. This is simple common sense and would be welcomed by many communities who have seen their local schools taken over by unaccountable and negligent academy chains. Indeed it’s a demand that has already been made, many times. Notably in the case of the collapse of the Wakefield City Academies Trust where parents were forced to watch in dismay as their schools were then transferred to another set of unaccountable academy trusts without proper consultation or consideration for the needs and priorities of the community.
“This report is also the final nail in the coffin of the idea that coercing schools into academy status has been worth it, either financially or in terms of improving outcomes. It is worth remembering the huge sums that have been spent on the programme – £745 million on converting maintained schools to academies since 2010-11 according to the NAO. This is not to mention the vastly inflated salaries of academy CEOs and the numerous financial scandals the programme has engendered.
“It’s now time for a proper debate on what we want from our schools system. The academies programme has not delivered on its promised outcomes. But it has also produced a fractured and incoherent schools system in which the voices of parents, pupils and staff are diminished.”
TRAGICALLY, MANY STOP short of a divine encounter because they’re satisfied with good theology. Once a concept is seen in Scripture, it can be shared with others even though there’s no personal experience to back it up. Often we can become guilty of only looking for something to happen to us that is on our list of what constitutes a “biblical” encounter with God. The lists of various experiences discovered in Scripture do not contain God; they reveal Him. In other words, He is bigger than His book, and is not limited to doing something for us the exact same way He did for someone else. He continues to be creative, each time revealing the wonder of who He is.
TEARS BEGAN TO soak my pillowcase as I remembered the prayers of the previous months. At the forefront was the realization that God wanted to make an exchange—His increased Presence for my dignity. It’s difficult to explain how you know the purpose of such an encounter. All I can say is you just know. You know His purpose so clearly that every other reality fades into the shadows as God puts His finger on the one thing that matters to Him. The power surges didn’t stop. They continued throughout the night, with me weeping and praying, More, Lord, more, please give me more of You. It all stopped at 6: 38 a.m., at which time I got out of bed completely refreshed. This experience continued the following two nights, beginning moments after getting into bed. In the midst of the tears came a point of no return. I gladly yielded, crying, More, God. More! I must have more of You at any cost! 1 CORINTHIANS 3: 18-23
You change me from glory to glory in Your Presence. It does not come from my working, striving, or religious efforts. It is not the result of how much of the Bible I read, memorize, know, or study. Help me to approach Your Word as the blueprint for what is available in Your Presence. Your Word is alive. It is living. It causes my heart to burn. Time after time, Your Word shows me what is available in my relationship with You and causes me to pursue You with renewed passion. Lord, I will gladly give anything, knowing that I get more of You in return. Whatever this means—respectability, reputation. If people call me foolish for going after You, I gladly embrace it knowing that foolishness is wisdom to You. Any price that I pay is more than worth it. Your Presence is my treasure.
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