29 February 2008
Martin Johnson, acting deputy general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), said:
"A national roll-out of the London Challenge is far more interesting than hearing more from the Government about its discredited academy programme.
"The London Challenge has been the most successful recent policy to raise achievement, and is based on good old-fashioned local authority support for schools, with a useful dose of additional money.
"Ed Balls is trying to face both ways in backing school independence from local authorities while at the same time advocating more collaboration.
"The increasing evidence that academies have failed to benefit children’s education should persuade the Government to move its eggs to the Challenge basket."
