Tory Academy cuts Averted

It is only a tad two-faced for senior Conservative MPs to be taking credit, in full public, about the fact that our Medway Academies have finally been granted the funding to build new buildings.

It was a Conservative Government which threatened the funding in the first place and which has caused head teachers, parents and pupils untold stress and heart ache for months.

The credit, if any, should go to the tireless head teachers, school staff and Academy Sponsors who have had to wait, on every baited breath, from that call from the Department for Education indicating that Michael Gove had saved them from the Tory axe. The credit should also go to all those cross-party campaigners who worked hard to represent the Academies.

As we can now see, the funding for the Medway Academies was never a slight of hand by the previous Labour Government.

It was always costed and totally fundable.

The threat to these Academies had always and only come from a Conservative Government which had quite clearly rushed through, on what now can be seen by the public, to be a monumental mistake of judgement. The fact that Michael Gove himself has had to apologise for a litany of errors and the Department for Education has had to publish half a dozen (at least) corrected versions of the BSF cuts list highlights the total ineptitude of this current administration.

The next step is to identify what went wrong in government.

According to the Sunday Telegraph, it has seen internal memo's showing that Mr Gove was repeatedly warned by top officials that the £55 billion Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme was a minefield which could not simply be abandoned at a stroke. He ignored the advice.

The general public can spot a mistake of this kind and identify its cause.

Everyone knows that Gove has managed this process so appallingly that a school-child with half his supposed IQ could have stepped in and got it right, after the first list of BSF cuts. Gove simply and carelessly rushed out lists of cuts to prove a political point, that Labour had made-up the funding for the Academies. The fibs that Labour had pledged money before the election that the government did not have, now stand totally hollow.

The announcement this week that our Medway Academies have secured funding is a welcome u-turn for sure, but this whole process highlights why Michael Gove, a former journalist, simply is not qualified to manage a major department of state.

The numerous errors point to one judgement. Michael Gove is simply not up to the job.

Local Tory MPs should be careful to take the credit for this process too quickly. The public, Academies and sponsors are under no illusion that the threat came from a Tory Government. The Academies and head teachers will remember the stress and hurt caused by the process. They will remember who gloated to celebrate and who apologised for the pain caused.

Lastly, they will remember the man who managed this process so poorly; one named Michael Gove.

Acadamies Success

Welcome news today that the Strood, Brompton and Bishop of Rochester Academies have been given the green light. The exact timetable for building programmes is due to be confirmed but many parents, pupils and staff can now plan ahead.

Along with this blog, Labour Councillor Vince Maple and the opposition Party on the Council have been putting significant pressure on the Conservative Government to move ahead with the Academies.

The Conservative Government should never have threatened the BSF budgets and the local u-turn must reflect the fact that Michael Gove rushed through on the cuts to the BSF Budget in June.

Despite this welcome change of heart, his capability in office is now in question.

Mark Reckless MP also campaigned to safeguard the fuinding and his contribution was very much welcome. His government however threatened the Academies in the first place.

A full list of Academies saved can be accessed here.

Academies: What is happening?

Despite the announcement by Michael Gove over a month ago on the cuts to the Labour Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, in favour of the Tory 'Free School' project, Medway Academies are still none the wiser as to whether they are to receive funding, or indeed whether pupils and staff are to continue for years to come in portacabins and temporary accommodation.

The Strood Academy, Bishop of Rochester Academy and Brompton Academy were all due to be modernised under the Labour Building Schools for the Future programme, which was a funded scheme of £45 billion investment in secondary education.

Concern is now being raised by pupils, parents and teachers of the three schools, especially at Strood Academy, which was guaranteed bespoke modern buildings after the Conservative controlled Council rushed through the merger in 2008/09 between the Temple Boys School and the Chapter Girls School. The new buildings for the Strood Academy were due to be built in 2011.

Strood suffers from some of the poorest social indicators of any wards in the South of England. A savage cut to the aspiration of students will be as a direct result of decisions taken by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat Government.

All three local MPs are very much aware of the cuts to front line secondary schools. The success or failure and the judgement of residents will rest upon their ability to lobby for this necessary programme of works.

The ConDem government claims there is no money to fund school re-building programmes, but it is of note that it can still spare the duplication cost of overheads for the 'Free School' initiative, which is privatisation by the back-door of education for children under 11. An initiative that the Kent Conservative Leader, Paul Carter has lambasted as a waste of money and which has no popular mandate from local residents.

This blog has learnt that the delay to the announcement maybe due to the complex and intricate nature of the tender, whereby a single contractor has been used for all three academies in an attempt to reduce cost for each. However, with the three academies at different stages of there respective mergers this initial focus on reducing cost may come back to bite.

The worst possible outcome is the withdrawal of either or any of the three academies as it would leave the tender effectively worthless for the other two. The staff of each must remain firm in the face of threats.

With less the five weeks before the beginning of term it is about time the Conservative Government told the people of Rochester & Strood what is to happen with our three academies.

If they are to be cut then the wrath of parents will descend upon the ruling Conservative administration on the Council who campaigned and leafleted during the election on the pledge there would be no front line cuts to services.



Update - 04/08/2010

It appears that the Conservative Government is playing a game with the future of the three Academies in Medway.

Despite giving assurances to the Council that we would hear news this week on the outcome, the government have now decided to postpone the decision to a later date, likely to be September / October. At which point many of the schools concerned will have started a new term.

This shows the total and utter contempt for pupils and staff who can not plan ahead.

The potential cuts to new school buildings also comes as Tories are salivating over further cuts to front line schools budgets in favour of the ideological 'free school' programme which was recently lambased by Kent Conservative Chief, Paul Carter, who indicated that it will duplicate costs at a time of fiscal constraint.

This is simply unacceptable.

Cllr Les Wicks, the Conservative Education Portfolio holder needs to get a grip on this issue immediately and put pressure on Conservative MPs and Ministers to push this decision up the agenda. He should clearly make a statement to the press and to the schools concerned about what is happening.

Our MPs are apparently lobbying but we have heard precious little from them on what pressure they are putting on the Department for Education.

Make no mistake, this issue is significant and simply brushing the issue under the carpet and delaying is causing concern amongst the schools and most importantly the pupils and staff concerned who quite frankly have to plan ahead.


Update - 06/08/2010

The news from sources that the decision was postponed was incorrect it would seem. The Department for Education released a list of saved BSF programmes today and with welcome news for Medway Acadamies.

The Conservative Government however rushed the BSF cuts and Michael Gove and his judgement on this issue is very much in question. A welcome u-turn but his card is marked.