Third PWC report on academies – NUT response

27 July 2006

Commenting on the third report by PricewaterhouseCoopers for the Government on academies, published today, Steve Sinnott, General Secretary of Europe’s largest teachers’ organisation, the NUT, said:

“Once again, the Government has down-played the criticisms of the academies made in this report. A very patchy picture of performance is identified but then proclaimed as a general improvement faster than in other schools.

“The report points to the decline in the proportion of children attending academies who come from less well off backgrounds. The academies are cherry picking their pupils and even having done so are still not achieving the improved performance the Government claims.

“The substantially higher funding provided for school buildings, ICT and other equipment has promoted a positive learning environment, says the report.

“One is tempted to say, well it would wouldn’t it, just as it would in every other school in the country.

“The Government’s creation of a group of institutions that are funded more generously and which are isolating themselves from other schools is leading to a divided and fragmented education service. This will not promote social cohesion nor will the Government live up to its claim that every child matters.

“This Government is responsible for every child’s education not just that of a few. It is concentrating on headline grabbing initiatives at great expense both in terms of taxpayers’ money and the impact of academies on neighbouring schools.

“This privatisation by stealth will not benefit this or future generations of children.”