Council fear over academy threat
Concerns raised over damage to state-run schools as fourth West Berkshire school applies for academy status
COUNCILLORS have raised fears that schools in West Berkshire that convert to academy status could be damaging to others in the district.
West Berkshire Council has asked to meet with Department for Education officials to discuss the concerns it has over the process which sees it relinquish control of any school that becomes an academy.
It has emerged that those schools that made the leap at an early stage receive more funding than those that wait, causing disadvantages across the system, as well as reducing the amount of cash the council receives from the Government for other schools under its jurisdiction.
Since the Government passed the Academies Act last July, three schools in West Berkshire have successfully applied for academy status and another is in the pipeline.
Aside from a financial boost, academy status gives schools complete control of their own affairs, enabling them to set wages and diverge from the national curriculum, and giving them free reign to exclude any under-performing or badly behaved pupil without having to answer to the LEA.
It could also mean the academies could refuse to take on pupils from another school for any number of reasons.
West Berkshire's shadow councillor for education, Alan Macro (Lib Dem, Theale) said that this was a serious problem.
“If there is an issue with staff or pupils, the council can't manage the situation or step in,” he said. “It is down to the council to sort out many of the problems in schools now. If there is a problem with an underperforming school that has got itself into difficulties who is going to get it out of trouble?”
He added that any school becoming an academy would result in less money for the council to go towards state-run schools.
“There will be a pot with so much money being taken out of it each time; that is where non-academy schools may suffer,” he said.
Kennet School, Thatcham, converted to an academy on April 1, Park House, Newbury, followed suit on May 1, and St Barts, Newbury, on September 1. Last month, Denefield (pictured), in Tilehurst, became the latest school in the area to apply for academy status.
A report which was passed by the council's executive on Tuesday, October 25, highlighted the worries the authority had over losing control of a large number of schools.
The council receives no financial incentive as part of the process, whereas schools are entitled to £25,000 to help meet legal fees.
With a tight timescale to be met outside its control, the report states that West Berkshire Council could find itself up to £25,000 out of pocket each time after having to employ extra solicitors to aid transfers. The report also states that the minimal amount of consultation with parents has also been a source of concern, as more secondary schools express an interest.
As some secondary schools in the district have other leisure facilities at their sites, such as Kennet School, duel use arrangements would have to be set up to ensure that the public can continue to use the facilities, adding another costly layer of bureaucracy to the process which, in the case of Kennet, has already become a complex process.
The council's portfolio holder for education, Irene Neill (Con, Aldermaston), has written to Education Minister Michael Gove to address a number of concerns including to the financial impact of the conversions.
She said: “We are monitoring the situation closely but we feel the tipping point where too many schools become academies and it does upset the apple cart is a long way down the line.”
