Mick Ibbotson, local parent, writes for the Anti-Academy viewpoint:
This proposal is fundamentally flawed and that’s why I am asking voters to vote ‘No’ in the ballot. Bribing people with the promise of a new school sometime in the future, if they agree, seems crass and the council officers are compounding it by suggesting that people would be confused if they allowed alternative arguments to be put to them. But the simple facts are:
Academies do not work. They do not improve standards and they do not bring the ‘step’ change they profess to. One third of the existing Academies in England are still failing, according to the Government’s own benchmark – including both in Sheffield.
Academies exclude at more than twice the national average, according to Labour MP Ken Purchase. Where do these kids end up? On your streets causing mischief rather than being educated.
Academy schools are outside local control and responsibility; they show little regard to local people’s concerns or desires.
If Academies are the answer, how come across the country they are being rejected by the people they are meant to serve?
Once the school becomes an academy, it will never come back into local authority control.
In the case of Parkwood, the glossy plans do not show how they will improve anything.
The message is clear. Please use your vote and vote ‘NO’ for your children’s sake before it’s too late.
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