ATL

Academies campaign

All primary and secondary schools in England can seek academy status. Outstanding schools and good schools with outstanding features are automatically eligible to apply, other schools need to team up with a school classed as outstanding by Ofsted to make an application. Special schools can also apply.

ATL believes the risks of academy status far outweigh the benefits and it would appear the vast majority of schools agree. However, the government is unlikely to give up its aim to make academy status the norm.

What you can do

The first thing you can do is download these key documents to help you campaign in your school:

• joint union FAQs for staff, joint union FAQs for parents and ATL's FAQs for governors.

• ATL's academies campaign toolkit. 

For the full range of resources for reps and members, see the section of this website about academies for reps, which outlines what to do if your school is:

• is considering conversion to academy status

• has already decided to convert to an academy

• has already converted to an academy (both 'old' and 'new' style academies).

Remember to notify ATL if your school has registered an interest in switching to academy status. If you don't know whether your school has registered an interest in academy status, ask your headteacher or contact ATL.

For more information and support, please contact your branch secretary or you can also contact ATL about academies.

ATL's view

ATL believes that any transfer to academy status is undemocratic because local authorities will no longer have any involvement in the establishment and planning of education provision. It would also have a detrimental and irreversible impact on our members as well as pupils, parents and governors - a view which is shared by all staff unions. This is because:

• A school that wants to become an academy must consult "with those they think appropriate either before or after an application for an academy order is made". However, many schools are applying a minimalist approach to this requirement, effectively leaving school communities without a voice in the decision.

• If a school does become an academy, although the terms and conditions of staff in a school that transfers to academy status would be initially protected by Transfer of Undertakings and Protection of Employment (TUPE) regulations, our experience in existing academies suggests that this does not provide long-term protection for members. Longer school days and terms are not unusual in academies.

• Academies are also free to determine their own pay and conditions by opting out of nationally negotiated pay and conditions, which can create uncertainty for staff.

Background

In May 2010, the coalition government announced that all maintained schools would be invited to apply to transfer to academy status, including, for the first time, primary and special schools. Existing maintained schools graded as 'outstanding' by Ofsted were pre-approved for academy status during the summer of 2010. In November 2010, the government invited 'non-outstanding' schools to apply for academy status as well.

Of around 21,000 schools in England, around 440 are currently open academies, and 170 of these are 'new-style' academies opened under the coalition government's academies policy.

Hundreds, if not thousands, more schools are currently considering the pros and cons of academy status. So it is vital that ATL members continue to make their voices heard before any school governing body reaches a decision. ATL's campaigning last term has already forced the government to acknowledge that no school can become an academy without first consulting both parents and staff.

ATL believes that any transfer to academy status would have a detrimental and irreversible impact on these schools' stakeholders - pupils, parents, staff, and governors, a view which is shared by all staff unions.