Despite the statement of Ed Balls, Minister for
Children, Schools and Families, that the government is
not imposing an academy on Barrow, this is exactly
what they are doing by, as expected, approving the
'Expression of Interest.
This means that that the Labour government and the
Conservative county council will now proceed to coerce
the people of Barrow to accept this flawed plan.
The response from the public, backed by OSANFS, will
be sustained and furious especially as the consequences of reducing
admissions to Parkview and Thorncliffe to 240 in 2009 become clear. We are
working on a new Judicial Review backed by a top
London law firm already involved in a series of legal
actions against academies, and with the support of the
nine anti-academy Borough councillors, we will oppose
every stage of the academy implementation plan by all
possible means. This could include contesting the
county council elections next May and ensuring that
the academy is a major issue for John Hutton in the
General Election.
Mr Hutton and the Minister are therefore at a
crossroads. They can persist with the present
discredited academy plan and reap a relentless
whirlwind of opposition, or they can bow to the wishes
of the people and scrap it. This need not mean no
academy for Barrow. It is a new 1200 strong school
replacing three existing schools, which is the only non-negotiable element
of the opposition of OSANFS and, we believe, parents.
By adopting an alternative academy scheme Barrow could
actually get its academy sooner
than under the present plan.
This is the timescale for what should now happen.
1. Scrap the current plan forthwith.
2. Begin consultation on a new plan immediately.
3. Involve OSANFS and the Borough Council in the
planning process.
4. New plan approved by the county council cabinet in
February 2009.
5 New collegiate academy comes into existence in
September 2010.
Note that the current plan does not envisage the new
1200 pupil building being ready until 2012, with
horrendous disruption to the education of thousands of
children in the intervening period.
There are numerous legal and procedural hurdles to be
overcome for this academy to come about. With the
support of the people of Barrow we will oppose every
stage. It is not if the plan will be scrapped but
when, and at what cost to the children of this town?