It will accelerate the process by which schools become academies, state-funded but independent from local authority control. Schools rated "outstanding" by Ofsted — so those judged to be providing an excellent education to children under the present system, thank you very much — will automatically qualify to opt out and gain academy status. Academies will be able to determine their own pay and conditions, so thousands of head teachers could potentially join the ranks of the highest paid public servants, in an age of supposed public sector austerity. A two-tier education system surely beckons.
In a lengthy letter to children's services lead members last week, Secretary of State Michael Gove trumpeted the academies programme. But children's services outside of education were just an afterthought. In one final short paragraph, Gove asked for feedback on child protection, pre-school education and providing opportunities for young people.
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