The Schools Bill currently passing through Parliament will be the beginning of the end of any real sense of autonomy for our schools, says Dr Mary Bousted
The Schools Bill currently having its first reading in the House of Lords makes, in parts, for surprising reading. Some of its proposed measures have been well trailed – for example the government’s drive to have all schools in “families of trusts”.
In the White Paper which preceded the Bill, the drive to academise all schools by 2030 is framed as an invitation. In the Bill, however, a “you can if you want to” is transformed into a “we have powers to make you do so” through the introduction of radical new powers which will enable local authorities to request that their maintained schools are forced to join a multi-academy trust with only a nod to consultation which does not include staff at the school nor parents.
