Watch out for academies
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22 / 07 / 2008 | Author: dnorris
Watch out for academies.
Watch out for posts advertised in the newly created city academies next time you skim through the situations vacant columns of the educational press.
City academies have been introduces to combat failing schools and have been built mainly in inner cities. But here is the rub. They have been hived off to independent financiers who can then create their own semi independent schools.
Two million pounds contributed from donors and up to twenty three million from the state purse has meant that some very modern and well resourced schools are now recruiting staff.
To teachers looking for a new post this represents a very interesting trade off. The location might not be great. The intake of pupils could well be what is usually called challenging but on the plus side the facilities will be up to date and what’s more greater flexibility is allowed with the curriculum. It will still be made up predominantly along the lines of the national curriculum but there will be more scope for flexibility than in state schools.
City academies are a government initiative. The target is to create 200 such schools and the budget allocation is in the region of £5 billion of state funding. Alongside this private backers are expected to contribute £2 million to each school.
There is no doubt that having the likes of Norman Foster to design your school adds kudos to the building, and having a football club owner like John Medejski adds status to the scholars, but I for one can not help wondering just what these people have to do with education.
Stockbrokers, hedge fund managers and property developers thrive in the financial sector, but that does not mean that their skills automatically transfer to the academic field.
The colleges in Oxford and Cambridge had a similar beginning because they too were set up using private bequests so perhaps it is not appropriate to get too high-minded about where the money originated. But what does have to be considered is how much the policy affects the state sector. The initiative is in direct competition with the state sector which is asking for money from the same pot.
It all adds up to an odd hybrid that is difficult to quantify.
You can’t help wondering why the educational penny has not dropped. Good teachers make good schools. Good teachers and a good head teacher make a great school. Why then are city academies being flaunted.
The feeling is that it is a cute way to get some outside money into a school building fund. However the grand sum is not much in comparison to the overall budget.
From a teachers point of view it spells out two things. The location may not be good but the facilities will be. If that is your bag then keep an eye open for vacancies. However there is a word of warning. City academies do not need to take teachers who are registered with the General Teachers Union. In other words, you need to check the conditions of service quite carefully. There have been allegations that these schools expect their teachers to work longer hours than their state sector counterparts.
