The Government Moves The Goalposts Again

Which of course he is. He was on course for Chancellor but Gordon isn't as powerful as he thinks he is and Alistair was not for moving.

Now Ed has removed all barriers to Academy sponsorship. The sponsors only have show someone in the DCSF that they possess "skills and leadership"!
Which is of course vague on purpose so that Ed can get his beloved 'evangelicals', business, philanthropists, religions, government departments etc, sponsoring these expensive schools.

Once again he proves that as far as HM Government and Moira are concerned Barrow is a deprived community They provide "new starts for disadvantaged communities," says Children's Secretary Ed Balls.

I've lived in Barrow for a long time and have know it to really be deprived in the early sixties but it hasn't been deprived since then.It even had two grammar schools and a Technical school back then!
It's just another lie peddled by those who think they are better to impose things on the people they perceive to be 'poor' thus doing 'their bit' for the 'community.
The mad thing is that the government pays for the school, the county council designs the school, the county council oversees all building works and then they lease it to the 'successful and skilled' for 125 years and take no further part in the running of the school except for some less than thorough Ofsted inspections.

For Ofsted to fail an Academy and put it into special measures it has to be in a significantly worse position than an 'ordinary' state school. The fact that Richard Rose is still in special measures and making slow to no progress to come out of it would suggest that an Academy can fail totally for years and still not be returned to the 'ordinary' state sector.
It's as though they have to work no matter what the cost because closing one is politically unacceptable but eventually this or more likely the next government will have to close an Academy down.

So if there is anybody reading who considers themselves, worthy, successful and believes they can lead drop Ed Balls a line as he has a school waiting for you.
Have a word with a big construction company and I'm sure you could come to some arrangement via the Local Authority and in a around 24 months you can be sponsor/governor of your own secondary school.

All Ed wants is a 'track record' not in successful education but a track record in success.
Even Nick Griffin passes the governments new Academy sponsoring criteria as he guided his BNP party to success when it got it's first BNP Euro MP elected against staggering odds!

Link

The government is to remove the financial barrier to becoming a sponsor of an academy school in England - with the aim of attracting more backers.

Instead of investing £2m up-front, sponsors must show the "skills and leadership" to run an academy.

The bid to accelerate the number of academies comes as ministers marked the opening of the 200th such schools.

They provide "new starts for disadvantaged communities," says Children's Secretary Ed Balls.

The dropping of the £2m requirement is intended to both increase the number of academies opening and appeal to organisations which might have been deterred by the cost.

Speaking at the opening of The City Academy in Hackney, east London, Mr Balls said this was the biggest opening day of schools since Victorian times.

He added: "We want the widest range of sponsors possible. Money shouldn't be the only factor.

"The test should be not whether they have the money, but the track record and commitment."

He wants to see successful charities, parents' groups and private firms become academy sponsors.

Also at the opening, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said such a school was a reflection of the investment in education and an example of "doing your best by people".

"It's about results, getting the best performance," he said.

'Independent ethos'

The government says academies help to break cycles of underachievement in schools in deprived areas.

They are state schools - with no fees or selection by ability - but with an independent ethos shaped by the sponsor.

At City Academy in Hackney, the vice principal for resources, Richard Powell, said the new school was a chance to "start afresh".

After a previous career in banking, he said the academy model was a way of innovating and applying professional structures to managing schools.

The school will have a specialism in business and finance - and he says the school will provide a resource for a hard-pressed local community.

Since the academy scheme was launched in 2002, sponsors have included businesses, universities, faith groups and charities.

The milestone of 200 academies is now a year ahead of target - with plans to open a further 200.

Among the other academies opening on Monday, are the Health Academy in Manchester, sponsored by the local NHS trust and North Birmingham Academy, whose sponsors include Aston Villa football club.

The waiver of financial sponsorship has already been introduced for universities, colleges and schools.

'Rose-tinted view'

Instead of an initial cash investment, would-be sponsors will be expected to follow a "robust, transparent procurement process to demonstrate commitment to the education sector and the necessary skills and leadership".

Sponsors will still be encouraged to set up an endowment to help fund the school - an arrangement that the government likens to endowments for universities in the United States.

But teachers' unions have been sceptical of the academy programme - arguing that the extra spending on academies has had a divisive impact on other local schools.

NUT general secretary Christine Blower said: "We don't believe that taking schools out of their local authorities and having them run by people who have no experience of running schools... is a way of doing school improvement."

Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said taxpayer-owned school property was being handed to private interests with little accountability and that under future governments state schools could be run for profit.

Local interests

However, Lynn Gadd, principal at the Harefield Academy, in Uxbridge, Middlesex, said there was no evidence that potential sponsors were looking for profit.

"Local people are governors. They certainly aren't going to let me do anything that isn't in the interests of young people in my care."

But general secretary of the Nasuwt teaching union Chris Keates said there was no evidence to demonstrate that academies did any better or worse than other schools.

She added: "It is time to remove the rose tinted spectacles which politicians from all parties appear to wear when they look at academies."

The Anti-Academies Alliance points to research which suggested academies improved no faster than other schools with similar profiles and intake.

'Footing the bill'

Unison's education officer Christine Lewis claims academies are an unproven experiment, which are about to prove even more expensive.

"The government is showing signs of desperation because they have failed to attract enough paying sponsors to invest in academies," she said, adding that tax payers would be left footing the bill.

Academies have provoked a mixed response from parents. Many academies have been oversubscribed, whereas others have met with vocal protests from local parents.

The Conservatives are supporters of academies - but say that the schools should have even greater independence and have accused the government of diluting their ability to innovate.