April 2nd full council Non-strategic theme motion
Supporting Merton’s academy schools
Council notes that the academy and free-schools programme, which spanned the New Labour, Coalition, and Conservative governments has brought about huge improvements to educational standards in England.
The successes of the academy/ free-school model of education speak for themselves, especially when compared to Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, where socialist control over education was kept in the hands of regional governments and local authorities.
Due to the success of the academy/ free-school programme, between 2009 and 2022:
- In maths, England rose from 21st to seventh in the global PISA rankings; Wales stagnated at 27th.
- In reading, England climbed from 19th to ninth; Wales stayed at 28th.
- In science, England moved from 11th to ninth; Wales plummeted from 21st to 29th.
Additionally, due to the success of the reforms:
- England has the best primary school readers in the western world.
- In 2018, England's PISA scores surpassed the G7 average and were higher than those of Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and the wider OECD average.
This academic improvement was also felt in Merton, where the Harris Academy Merton, Harris Academy Morden, and St Mark’s Academy are all Ofsted- rated “outstanding”.
Therefore, council notes with concern that the Labour government’s Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will attack the freedoms used by academies in Merton and across the country to drive up standards. The bill will curtail many of the freedoms used by academies to raise standards and will remove their ability to set their own curriculum, freedom over admissions, the freedom to hire talented teachers who do not hold Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and will give the Secretary of State for Education new powers over their operations.
The Confederation of School Trusts has been clear about the negative effects of the proposed legislation:
“CST members are very concerned about the ‘schools’ part of the Bill and in particular the provisions which would remove academy freedoms ….if we are to create an improving education system, all types of schools should now have the freedoms and flexibilities that have hitherto been reserved for the academy trust system.”
This has been echoed by Dame Siobhain McDonagh MP, who said:
“According to Ofsted’s latest inspection report, one of the keys to the success of Harris Academy Merton is its “aspirational curriculum”—its version of our national curriculum that is flexible and tailored to pupils’ individual needs. That is a proven recipe for success, not just at Harris Academy Merton but in academies across England.
I struggle to see how removing the right to a carefully tailored education will benefit students who need the additional support that such an education provides. Forcing schools such as Harris academy to teach the national curriculum risks undermining one of the keys to their success.”
Council therefore:
- Calls upon the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Member for Jobs, Skills and Education to write to the Secretary of State for Education to ask the Labour government to drop its plans to remove the freedoms of academy schools.
Cllr Nick McLean Cllr Max Austin Cllr Andrew Howard
