Green councillors on Brighton & Hove City Council won a council motion backing the parent-led ‘Hands off Hove Park’ campaign, which opposes moves towards the school becoming an academy.
In the debate at a full council meeting on Thursday 8 May Greens also called for the school to undertake a ballot of parents to collect their views.
Councillor Sue Shanks, Chair of Children & Young People Committee, and proposer of the motion, said, “While we are prepared to work with academies and free schools that have come forward in our city, we are opposed to them as a point of principle.
“Academies take education away from local democratic oversight, they allow interest groups with no background in education to set curricula, and they can set their own admissions policies that marginalise disadvantaged children.
“Academy status is no guarantee of better results or facilities for children. Instead we believe that schools are most likely to improve when they are part of a local authority family, sharing best practice and training.
“We need better resources for schools and support for teachers – which is exactly what the government is removing.”
“We call on Labour and the Conservatives to drop their ideological commitments to privatisation of our education system, and instead support the parents and teachers campaigning against this change.”
Conservative councillors voted against and Labour councillors abstained.
Notes
For more information please contact the Brighton and Hove Green Party office on 01273 766 670.
*The text of the motion is as follows:
“This council is opposed in principle to academy status as advocated by current and previous national governments and is therefore concerned that one of our secondary schools, Hove Park, is considering opting to become an academy.
This council believes that government policy to privatise education removes the ability of the local authority to fulfil its statutory duty of planning school places and supporting school improvement.
We recognise the improvements that have been made in all our schools, and support parents and unions in calling for our community’s schools to remain under the democratic aegis of the local authority.”