Michael Gove announces plans for primary academies

Michael Gove's reputation for being the Mr Radical of the shadow cabinet is further enhanced today with the announcement that he would extend the Government's academy programme to primary schools.

The policy - which he will address when speaking to the Spring Forum in Cheltenham later today - is announced through an interview in The Guardian and he summarises it thus to the BBC:

"Academy freedoms for secondary schools have already helped thousands of disadvantaged children by driving up standards in the state sector. We want to allow the same thing to happen in primary schools. Making schools genuinely accountable to parents by freeing them from political interference and giving them control over budgets, curriculum and staff could make a real difference to the opportunities for some of the most deprived children."

In his Guardian interview he adds:

"This is the next logical stage in what we have been saying about reform... We are carrying forward the Blair agenda in education to where he would have wanted to take it."

Gordon Brown shuffled Lord Adonis - the godfather of the academies under Tony Blair - away from the schools brief last year, but Gove strongly believes that this is the direction in which Adonis would have wanted to develop the policy, had the Prime Minister allowed him to do so.

According to the Guardian report, a Conservative Government would introduce legislation to create the primary academies "within weeks of an election victory".

Jonathan Isaby

> Watch Michael Gove discuss the policy

Comments

[wonkotsane]

Only applies to England, why doesn't he say England?

[John Coles]

Why the hell is he commending the Blair agenda? Blair might have wanted to move in what Gove sees as the right direction but there's no need to add lustre to that dreadful poseur's reputation.
You're a Conservative politician, Mr Gove, so give us a break on the wonders of Blair.

[Dorothy Wilson]

But is this the only way to break the grip of the unions?

[Pink Tory]

Gove got in a muddle on Today about why it was okay for headteachers to "mess about" with the curriculum (his words) but not government.

[Richard Thorneycroft]

This sounds a waste of time. Education at primary school level hardly requires for control over curriculum or parent accountability. Focus should still be on secondary education.

[YMT]

I like this plan, Primary education is more important than people think, the environment and skills and enthusiasm you get for a subject can often be carried through secondary on to university.

It may be a continuation of Blairite ideals, but that shouldn't make people instantly dismiss it, doing so is being pig headed that because Blair did something it is bad. Many polices of Blair were conservative in nature, continuation of them is right as it builds on the few good things he did in office.

[Hawkeye]

"Why the hell is he commending the Blair agenda? Blair might have wanted to move in what Gove sees as the right direction but there's no need to add lustre to that dreadful poseur's reputation."

Blair is yesterdays man and he is not coming back, but I see no harm in using him to upset Brown. Also it plays well to those parts of the electorate who like Blair and detest Brown. It may just just swing them. To those who were going to vote tory it will make no difference.

"Bigging up" Blair will only stir up dissension in Labour ranks. Suits me!

[Ross Warren]

I also think this a good plan. However can we come up with a better name? I know there is a knee jerk hatred of any policy that Nu-labour may have pinched from us and then used. The fact is this is a decent policy that needs to be considered carefully. If it needs to be renamed then so be it, after all the public are used to spin by now.

"Making schools genuinely accountable to parents by freeing them from political interference and giving them control over budgets, curriculum and staff "

I would imagine most Conservatives would agree with this. So all it needs is a new name, any Ideas?

[joshuwahwah]

And how will you pay for this Mr. Gove?

[Peter Buss]

This is excellent hard work by Michael Gove. Just a thought, but isn't this the sort of hardwork that needs to be done in other public service areas in order to reshape delivery and standards ? I think this is one of the cornerstones that must be used when looking at approaches to reducing the horrendous deficit especially in those areas where we have rightly given a commitment not to cut such as Health. If the word "cut" was used only in relation to the quality of service, then the Gove approach would mean that we could cut the expenditure but not the actual quality of service.

[Ross Warren]

"And how will you pay for this Mr. Gove?"

If its done well it will cost less, and at worst it will cost the same amount. However it is a real opportunity to improve education provision for children who are currently not getting a fair deal. It will mean that the parent governors have real power over the day to day running of the school. Freeing them from the interference of the Education authority. Of course it will still have to be paid for, so I imagine money will be paid directly to the school rather than the Education authority. This removal of the middle man will ensure these schools are free from political interference, and will also save a whole lot of money. Of course as they say "the devil is in the detail" so I am going to do some reading before I give this scheme my whole hearted support.

[Hawkeye]

"And how will you pay for this Mr. Gove?"

At present money is given to local education authority who then pass some of it to the schools. This way you can give more to the schools by simply stopping the LEA siphoning off the cash for other projects. You could cut the budget and still give more money to the schools.

Private Eye used to report this sort of thing and as I recall, some city councils used to appear regularly for siphoning off school money for "Loony Left" schemes and major building projects.

[Cary]

Contrary to Michael Gove's assertion there is little evidence that Academies have improved standards. A Government review published in November 2008 concluded that there is insufficient evidence to make a definitive judgment about the academies as a model for school improvement.

The biggest challenges facing primary schools are the filtering down of discipline problems clearly evident in secondary schools and a significant minority of pupils failing to achieve minimum literacy and numeracy standards. Gove's proposal does nothing to address these matters.

[Freddy]

Gove is excellent.

[True Bred Pomponian]

Primaries would struggle to be be viable financial units. Do we really want the Head to be a part time accountant? Surely it would be better to move the secondary and feeder primaries out together and then they would be a viable economic unit with a bursar running the admin and the Head having full responsibility for standards right the way through.

[joshuwahwah]

Chris Woodhead the former chief inspector of schools has just slated this Tory announcement. He says that David Cameron is playing politics and that it wont work.

[Stuart Beamish]

Primary education needs to be freed of the shackles placed upon it by successive Labour ministers.

Let teachers teach, and take politics out of education.

[Haddock]

academy.... 'an institution of higher learning, research, or honorary membership.'

or a bloody silly pretentious name for a school....by bloody silly pretentious people trying to be clever.

[g.carter]

An excellent initiative. Congratuations to Michael Gove.
There are still far, far too many children who don't learn to read beyond an 8+ age. Efficient, pared-down synthetic phonics teaching for all 4-6 year olds; requesting Ofsted transparency; testing what children have learned; making sure that all leave primary school literate and numerate; freeing up schools to be creative; leaving computer studies until secondary school; abolishing the 3-5 tick box culture; pragmatic and creative solutions will save huge sums of money. And tracking undergraduate training courses will help to provide the professionalism that is so lacking in basic skills' literacy and numeracy teaching.