UK teacher warns: Charter schools will increase privatisation of education in Aotearoa

As the Government hastily ushers through one of the most far-reaching changes to public education in Aotearoa, a visiting leader of teachers in England is warning that charter schools will not put the needs of children first and should be recognised as deregulation and privatisation of New Zealand’s education system.

James Kerr, a London-based teacher and national executive member of the National Education Union, is presenting to Parliament’s select committee on proposed charter school legislation on Wednesday. He is also meeting with other teachers and education sector groups in Wellington and Auckland over the next week to talk about the impact of the UK’s academy schools, a model of schooling similar to the Government’s proposed charter schools.

The majority of those who submitted on the Bill to re-establish charter schools in Aotearoa were against it – a risky and previously failed model that is drawing $153 million away from teaching and learning in public schools.

In the UK, 80% of secondary schools, 40% of primary schools and 44% of special schools are academies. Like the proposed charter school model here, academies receive direct government funding and are run by a trust. There has been a huge rise in academies since 2010, pushed by successive Conservative governments.

However, Mr Kerr says that the move to academies has not improved achievement rates in students.

“The Conservative Government was forced to admit that there is no conclusive evidence to show that academies have resulted in better educational outcomes overall. In fact, several studies suggest that local authority schools better support children with special educational needs and those from deprived backgrounds.”

He says there have been instances where academies have skewed statistics to make student achievement look better.

“Some big academy chains use various tactics to remove students they believe won't get good exam results from their statistics and then use this as 'evidence' of improved educational outcomes for academies.”

Under the current proposed legislation, New Zealand schools could be ‘forced’ to become charter schools by an authorisation board, with teachers, principals and communities having no recourse to this decision. Mr Kerr says it’s the same in the UK, where power lies in the hands of a few, with a reduction of democratic oversight of the education system.

“A school that fails their Ofsted inspection can be forced to become an academy and join one of the big chains of academy schools. This also applies to schools that have been graded with a 'notice to improve' in consecutive inspections. This puts a huge amount of power into the hands of the Secretary of State for Education. Government claims that academies would increase local control and democratise education just aren't true.”

Mr Kerr says he’s seen funding taken away from teachers, children and learning support on the front line, and diverted to pay packets for managers.

“A 'business logic' now underpins decision making in academy schools, so discussions are not about how to improve educational outcomes or how to create the best working conditions for our teachers and students. Instead, some academies have reduced teachers’ leave for cultural or religious festivals and changed their pay policy to try to stop new teachers accessing the same pay scale they had in their previous school.

“In another school, a head teacher was replaced undemocratically with a 'super-head'. This man went on to disastrously lead a chain of academies that failed spectacularly. This underlined for me that, for all the rhetoric, these people weren't motivated by turning around 'failing' schools or helping improve equity of access for children.”

ENDS

James Kerr is visiting schools and speaking to education sector groups over the next week. He is available for interview until 15 August.