ATL COMMENT ON REVIEW OF ACADEMIES

13 November 2007

Martin Johnson, acting deputy general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), said:

"Academies are the wrong answer to the persistent problem of student underachievement in areas of urban deprivation and social exclusion.

“We are pleased the Government is going to carry out an urgent review of academies.  We have always questioned their purpose and lack of local accountability, and we continue to have concerns.  We are keen to see them become part of the local authority family of schools - accountable to local people and set up to serve the best interests of their local communities.

"We also have major concerns about the failure of many academies to allow union recognition, even where staff have transferred into academies which have taken over existing schools.  Everyone should have the right to belong to a union to protect their employment rights.”