Parents fighting school mergers cite MPs’ report
PARENTS fighting plans to merge seven successful city schools into a multi-academy trust have welcomed a report from MPs questioning the performance of such conglomerations.
The parents from Moseley and Kings Heath are worried that the proposed merger could backfire and set back the education of 5,500 pupils.
The seven schools looking to join forces in a multi-academy trust are Kings Heath Primary, Park Hill Primary, Wheelers Lane Primary, Kings Heath Boys, Queensbridge, Swanshurst and Wheelers Lane Technology College.
Among the protesting parents rallying under the “Love Brum Schools” banner is Adam Zindani, guitarist with rock group Stereophonics, who has two children at schools affected.
Now the House of Commons Education Select Committee has found evidence that improvements in pupils’ results is “limited” at multi-academy trusts (known as MATs).
The trusts are run free from local council oversight or control. The cross-party MPs’ group carried out an inquiry following an explosion of MATs, with 1,121 now set up compared to just 391 in 2011.
Their report concluded that these trusts have expanded too quickly and the performance of their schools has suffered. It called for more to be done to ensure that they can be properly held to account by Ofsted and local communities.
Committee chairman Neil Carmichael said: “We have significant concerns about the performance, accountability and expansion of multi-academy trusts. While some MATs are producing excellent results and making a valuable contribution to our education system, a considerable number are failing to improve and are consistently at the bottom of league tables.”
The campaign group is calling for the schools, which are already rated good or outstanding by Ofsted, to work together under a looser coalition and avoid the risk of decline.
A group spokeswoman said: “The group is campaigning for schools to engage with stakeholders in a transparent, meaningful and balanced manner. This should include consideration of the pros and cons of multi-academy trusts, and clear presentation of what the schools hope to achieve under an MAT that could not be achieved in other ways, such as cooperative trusts and federations.”
More than 100 parents and pupils staged a protest in Kings Heath. The schools are due to publish a consultation document by Easter.