The education team at Leigh Day & Co has been approached by a number of groups or individuals with concerns about academy schools in their area. Here we outline some of the cases.
St Mary Magdalene, Islington, London
We act for a parent and two children who currently attend St Mary Magdalene Primary School. St Mary Magdalene is a successful and popular primary school in Islington. It scored higher than local and national averages in the 2004 and 2005 league tables and achieved a ‘very good’ rating at its last OfSTED inspection. In February 2005, its Governing Body published a proposal to discontinue the School and replace it with an Academy, set up and sponsored by the London Diocesan Board for Schools. In March 2006, the Schools Adjudicator approved this proposal and determined that the school could close.
We have commenced judicial review proceedings challenging this Determination. The draft Funding Agreement presented by the Diocesan Board weakens the rights and protections currently enjoyed by parents and pupils at the Primary School, raising Article 6 and Article 14 (read with Article 2 Protocol 1 and Article 6) rights of the European Convention of Human Rights. The Interested Parties in this case are the Secretary of State for Education and Skills and the Diocesan Board.
Merton Academy, London
We act for the father of a pupil at Tamworth Manor School in Merton. The Council are proposing to close Tamworth Manor together with the neighbouring Mitcham Vale School and re-open them as Academies from September 2006.
Merton is a Borough of extreme contrasts, containing some of the most affluent and deprived areas in London. Both schools are in the extremely deprived area of Mitcham. Tamworth Manor had previously been identified as a failing school but in 2005 achieved GCSE results (5 A-C) of 31% - above the government target of 30%.
The aim of establishing the academies in at Tamworth Manor & Mitcham Vale was only finally settled upon in December 2005. The September 2006 opening date led the Council to conduct its public consultation on the closure of the present schools in extreme haste. Beginning on 9 January 2006, members of the public were given until 13 February to express their views.
Many of the respondents to the consultation expressed their concern at the lack of detail about the proposed academies made available to the public during the consultation. Despite a large majority (approximately 4:1) of the respondents either expressing opposition to the proposal or asking for more details of the proposed Academies, the Council proceeded to resolve to close the Schools and replace them with Academies.
Our client was one of those who opposed the closures on the basis that insufficient detail of the governance of the Academies (including matters such as curriculum, staffing, admissions, discipline/exclusions, special educational needs provision etc.) had been provided to parents. Our client is now bringing judicial review proceedings to challenge the decision to close the schools before this detailed information was known to the public or the Council’s decision makers.
Brent Academy, London
We are currently acting for a trade union representative regarding this proposed Academy. Earlier this year, Brent Council and Andrew Rosenfeld (as sponsor) submitted an Expression of Interest to the Secretary of State for Education and Skills for his approval. The Council failed to consult teachers, parents and/or staff regarding this proposal and we have written a letter before claim challenging their decision to submit it. We have also written a letter before claim to the Secretary of State setting out the grounds on which we believe his consent (if he approved the Expression) would be unlawful.
For further information about academy schools please contact
Richard Stein on 0207 650 1200
Information was correct at time of publishing. See terms and conditions for further details.