Parents and staff at a primary school hit with a ‘forced academisation’ order are hopeful of a reprieve after meeting with the new Secretary of State for Education.
Byron Court Primary School, in Wembley, was issued with an automatic academisation order after it was rated ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted last year.
Following months of protests, Brent North MP Barry Gardiner last month (June 5) delivered a petition with 2,000 signatures to the Department for Education (DfE) office in Westminster.
Parents, staff, and even pupils hope that, by putting pressure on the government, it will agree to a re-inspection of the school before a final decision is made.
Staff members of the National Education Union (NEU) called off planned strikes on Friday (July 19) and Monday (July 22) – having already undertaken 16 days of strikes – after Mr Gardiner secured a meeting between campaigners and the new Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson MP, on Monday (July 22).
Following the meeting, campaigner Tanisha Phoenix told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that the group is ‘grateful’ to Ms Phillipson for listening.
Byron Court Primary School campaign group on the way to the DfE meeting. Campaigners are confident that a re-inspection would yield a different result. Image Credit: NEU Brent District. Permission to use with all LDRS partners
The school is set to come under the control of academy trust the Harris Federation, but opponents claim the school would "no longer be accountable to the community" if this happened and claim ‘major improvements’ have been made at Byron Court.
Ms Phoenix said: “Our hope and aim is that after presenting her with our case that she will pause the academy order and allow for fair re-inspection under the new framework so we can further prove that Byron Court Primary School is indeed not an ‘inadequate’ or failing school, it is one that is at the heart and is the hub of the community and indeed it can continue to be successful and serve its pupils as a local authority school.”
Byron Court Primary School. Byron Court Primary was rated inadequate following its latest inspection. Image Credit: Google Maps. Permission to use with all LDRS partners
“We hope to be the first that is saved from forced academisation by a government that shows they value all that community schools have to offer: enrichment, achievement, inclusion. Parents deserve a choice and voice and we hope Bridget Philipson will grant us those things.”
The DfE was approached for comment but did not respond ahead of publication.
Prior to the meeting, NEU National Executive member Jenny Cooper said: “We feel we could be winning this campaign. We have secured an agreement to meet with Bridget Phillipson and have been assured that there will be no academy transfer before this occurs. Well done to all our members and parents for persisting with fighting this injustice.”
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