‘Modest’ request for transparency around SEN academy plans rejected by council

Leader of the independent group, councillor Aftab Nawaz, put forward a notice of motion at full council on April 7 regarding the move of Elmwood SEMH School on King George Crescent, Walsall to the Matrix Academy Trust.

Councillor Nawaz called for a business case to be provided, detailing ‘straightforward’ answers on how much funding each pupil will receive after the transfer and senior staff salaries.

He called for this information to be provided during an open and transparent consultation with parents and teachers, as per guidance by the Department for Education.

Several councillors spoke on the motion, but when it came to the vote, only 19 were in favour of the motion, 34 were against and one member abstained.

Nearly two-thirds of staff at Elmwood School have been on strike throughout March over the lack of consultation during the process.

The National Education Union’s spokesperson, Matthew Raine, said if the transfer goes ahead, it would ‘result in a loss of £700 worth of funding per pupil’.

Before the meeting, Raine said: “The governing body should be given hard facts and financial figures before something as fundamental as handing your school over to an academy chain. As far as we can tell, none of that has been provided to the governing body.”

Speaking ahead of the meeting, councillor Nawaz said: “Academisation has changed. It’s become a bit of a cash cow for these big academy firms.

“Lots of people at the very top get lots of money. Students and teachers at the bottom don’t.

“Education is so important that we need to be careful that we don’t remove all responsibility from the local authority, we can’t abdicate all our responsibilities.

“There’s no local democratic oversight of what is happening at academies and that is needed when education is the most important thing for children.”

“This notice of motion asks to ensure that we have transparency in the process. That the parents, students and teachers are consulted properly, not behind closed doors where there’s no confidence in those making the decision.”

Blakenall ward councillor Pete Smith was a teacher for 35 years. Speaking generally about academy trusts, he said: “Academisation, in general, is anti-democratic and borders on corruption. Generally speaking, not talking about this particular case.

“Acadamisation is a rotten process, it’s one of the worst things to have ever happened. It’s wrong to say schools which are academies are better than local authority schools.

“Councillor Towe, who was the chair of the committee, made us aware of the fact that some of the most failing schools at that time were academies.

“We hear that these academies are not-for-profit bodies. Who do they think they’re kidding?

“In the case of Elmwood, if the parents don’t want it, and the teachers don’t want it, then it’s arrogant for the governing body to go ahead with it.

“A lot of the kids at this school live in my ward, I know that the parents in the main wish for it to remain as it is, under local education authority control.”

Councillor Emma Morgan, also representing the Blakenall ward, added: “Teachers don’t strike lightly. It’s always a difficult decision. Everything the teachers do, the child is at the heart of it.

“I understand the consultation process is under way but there is a frustration here, something is clearly going wrong in this process.

“We owe it to the staff and children especially to make sure this process is transparent. No teacher strikes on a whim.”

Leader of the labour group, councillor Matt Ward, said: “When I hear that Elmwood is being considered for academisation, I can’t help but ask why?

“Why change something that is already working, why risk disrupting an environment that is meeting the needs of the children and providing value, why do we need to fix something that isn’t broken?

“Business plans should be shared with all those involved. If this change won’t improve their learning experience, then why is it even being considered?”

Councillor Rose Burley, a former governor at Elmwood school, said: “The parents take their children here knowing their child is being looked after. It is extremely dangerous to let it go to anyone else rather than leaving it as it is. They’ve got great staff and they know what they’re doing. Let them get on and do it.”

Portfolio holder for education and skills, councillor Pard Kaur, feels as though the consultation has been ‘open and fair’ to date.

She said: “I’ve been fully informed of the process throughout by the development officers.

“When applying to become an academy, you must run a statutory consultation on whether it should be converted. This must be done before the agreement is signed. Elmwood School is currently in the consultation period.

“We do believe the approach to date has been open, fair and transparent and we are satisfied with the level of engagement by key stakeholders.

“Walsall Families of Schools is based on the principle that collaboration, federation or academisation are most effective to secure the long term future of high-quality education provision.”

In the meeting it was heard that an anonymous independent survey will be carried out to take into account the view of teachers and parents.

The council leader, councillor Garry Parry, said the conservative group would not support the motion.

He said: “In respect of Elmwood, I, too, want to acknowledge Elmwood as a valued and well-regarded provider of education, but we need to be a bit more honest about where our authority lies.

“Elmwood’s governing body is the legal entity in its own right. It is them, not this council, who hold the decision-making powers when it comes to academisation.

“We simply don’t have the authority to instruct, halt or even dictate the process. It’s not a choice, it’s a statutory reality. We’re not supporting this motion.”

Since the majority of members were not in favour of the motion, it was not carried.

Teachers at the meeting felt let down by their elected councillors. One teacher said: “They said people have been consulted with, but we are literally on strike because we haven’t.

Another said: “This is just an official documentation of how we’re shut down time and time again. Money always rules over what’s right. It’s about the money and not the kids. It’s very disappointing.”