Labour is committing ‘education vandalism’ with an attack on academy school freedoms that paves the way for pay cuts for top performing teachers, MPs warned last night.
In a move that critics said could abolish academies in ‘all but name’, the Government is proposing sweeping changes to restrict their independence.
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which will be debated by MPs today, will end academy freedoms over teachers’ pay, recruitment and the curriculum.
It will also restrict the ability of good schools to expand – and even give Whitehall powers to regulate school uniforms.
The Tories warned the Bill was a ‘highly ideological, un-evidenced onslaught on school freedoms’ that would drive down school standards.
Writing in today’s Mail, shadow education secretary Laura Trott warns that the proposals – designed to make the education system more consistent – will make more schools ‘consistently bad’.
And she accuses Labour of wanting to keep their union barons happy ‘at the expense of pupils receiving a good education’.
Ms Trott writes that Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson ‘is our very own Miley Cyrus, swinging in on her wrecking ball, and undermining the consensus built over two decades – between successive governments of all parties – that has driven improvements in our schools’.
Writing in today’s Mail, shadow education secretary Laura Trott warns that the proposals – designed to make the education system more consistent – will make more schools ‘consistently bad’
Bridget Phillipson, Secretary of State for Education, is seen in Downing Street today as cabinet meet
‘It will be a return to mediocracy: taking away school freedoms over pay, curriculum and staffing, and no solution for failing schools. It is nothing less than vandalism of our world-leading education system.’
Academies – which are independent of local authorities – currently have the freedom to set their own pay and conditions for staff, and some academies exceed the national pay scales for teachers. Around 80 per cent of secondary schools and 40 per cent of primary schools are academies or free schools.
But under the new legislation, all teachers will be part of the same core pay and conditions framework whether they work in a local authority-run school or an academy.
Tens of thousands of teachers who work in academies which exceed the national pay scales could have their benefits and remuneration put at risk by the new law when it comes into effect, the Tories said.
The Bill will also require all state schools – including academies – to teach the national curriculum, and also end academies’ ability to hire teachers – such as from overseas – who do not have Qualified Teacher Status.
It will also allow councils to open new schools which are not academies, and it will end the forced academisation of schools run by local authorities which are identified as a concern by Ofsted.
Tory MP Neil O’Brien, the shadow education minister, branded the Bill ‘a disaster’.
He said: ‘I have worked in politics for 25 years and it is one of the most dumb and tragic things I can remember. It’s an act of pure vandalism, abolishing academies in all but name.’
Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson speak with children at Perry Hall Primary school in Orpington, during the first day of the new school year, on September 2, 2024 in London
The Conservatives will table a reasoned amendment to the Bill today, when MPs will debate it at second reading, rejecting the legislation.
Leora Cruddas, chief executive of the Confederation of School Trusts (CST), warned that ‘some of the proposals in this bill could reduce school trusts’ abilities to respond to local circumstances and keep on making the improvements needed so that children can get the best chance in life’.
‘The Bill potentially risks making it harder for schools to improve by tying the hands of teachers and school leaders,’ she said.
‘Instead we need to ensure that the Bill creates a system that enables teachers and leaders in all types of schools to do what is best for children.’
The measures on academies are contained among plans to require all councils to hold a register of children who are not in school. The Bill also contains measures to give every child a unique number and remove the automatic right for parents to educate children at home.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said last night: ‘Keeping children safe will always be my first duty as education secretary, but we can only truly do that if we know where our children are. The sad reality is that at the moment there are thousands of children hidden from sight.
‘This government will make no apologies for doing whatever is necessary to keep children out of harm’s way, and I will not stand by while some young people fall through the cracks, left without a good education and vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.
‘This landmark Bill is a crucial step forward in our mission to protect all children, while also supporting parents by putting more money in their pockets as we deliver our Plan for Change and give all children the best start in life.’
A Labour spokesman said: ‘It is appalling that the Conservatives are attempting to block this government’s plans to keep the most at-risk children in our country safe from harm.
‘On Wednesday, Conservative MPs have a choice to back our measures to protect children from grooming, exploitation and abuse, instead of playing politics with the safety of vulnerable children.’