As the reply shows... well draw your own conclusions as to what the reply shows. Suffice to say I have had my beliefs about HM Government proven!
"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to stop Furness academy and save our schools and teachers."
Details of Petition:
"We do not want an academy. Save Parkview, Thorncliffe, and Alfred Barrow!HM Government, probably in the form of a DCSF civil servant, said.
The key principle of academies is to ensure that young people get an excellent education in areas that have historically been deprived of good schools. They are also set up to fulfil other local needs. Academies are all-ability state-funded schools and are set up and managed by sponsors - who might include high performing schools and colleges, the voluntary sector and faith communities.
In Barrow, for example, the investment provided through a new academy will replace outdated buildings and provide new facilities that will benefit students, staff and the local community.
The Government wants to ensure that all schools are good schools and the academies programme sets out to achieve this aim. In Barrow, the results for young people are predominantly under the national average. Academies encourage a culture of high aspiration to help pupils reach their full potential. This is why an academy will be established for your area.
The academies programme has raised standards in education. Following the 2008 GCSE results, the 36 academies which have been open long enough to have results in both 2007 and 2008 have seen an increase of 11.5 percentage points in the percentage of pupils gaining 5 or more A*-C grades at GCSE and equivalent. This is more than twice the increase seen nationally of 4.6 percentage points. Including English and Maths, Academies have increased by 4.3 percentage points compared to 2.5 percentage points nationally. Academies cater for children of all abilities and the Government is committed to building on their success.
Further independent assessment of the Academies Programme also show that they are working:
The National Audit Office report found that GCSE performance is improving faster in Academies than in other types of school. Taking account of pupils' personal circumstances and their prior attainment, Academies' GCSE performance is substantially better, on average, than other schools. They also said that Academies were on course to deliver value for money.
The 2008 PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) report said that Sponsors contribute significantly to school improvement and that Leadership and governance is very good in Academies. They also said that in general, standards in academies are rising at a faster rate than national average and against comparison schools.
Academies are also a popular choice for parents as
reported in an independent evaluation by PWC (November 2008). The
report found that whilst not all academies were oversubscribed, there
was a high demand for academy places - on average three applications
per Year 7 place. The report also found that sponsors contribute
significantly to school improvement by bringing a broad range of
expertise, from the sponsor(s) and other business associations.
This patronising put down by some expense cheater's lackey,shows the total contempt this Government have for the views of ordinary people.
With the General Election looming, they should send the following reply, seen recently on an American protesters placard.
" You rammed it down our throats in 2009,we will ram it up your *** in 2010.
Could have been written by Mandleson himself. Quoting very selective results to justify the case has been the hallmark of first Bliars and now Broons governments!
Remember Saddams WMD were just '45 minutes away from the UK' except they only existed in our glorious leaders imagination as well as a mad presidents, who wasn't an Iraqi!
We all know the truth behind these Academies, to keep us all in our working class place. Well that's fine but it's the working class vote that counts and Labour or Conservative will never get our household votes EVER again.