The union GMB has raised concerns that the jobs of school support staff could be under threat because of the number of primaries applying to become academies.
A new analysis of official data by GMB, the union for school staff, shows that 1,497 of the 16,784 state primary schools in England to date have applied to become academies, equivalent to 8.9 per cent of primary schools.
The union says that in its experience, support staff are the first to have their jobs and terms and conditions threatened when schools become academies.
According to the figures, more primary schools in the South-East of England, 2,599, have applied to become academies than anywhere else in the country
In the North West , 2,447 primary schools have applied to become academies, and 1,861 in the South West.
Avril Chambers, GMB national officer, said, ‘GMB is closely monitoring the steady stream of academy conversions as we are always concerned for our members when schools leave the state system.
‘They are being forced to do this by Government policy and it is leaving schools in the hands of individual head teachers and the boards of governors with no accountability to the local community, they do not have to listen to the public or parents.
‘Too often with conversions to academies, support staff are viewed as an educational "luxury", despite their vital contribution to education and learning outcomes and the day-to-day running of a school.
‘It is our experience that support staff are frequently the first group of school staff to have their jobs and conditions threatened. GMB strongly defends all school support staff and believes they should be more highly respected for all that they do.
‘GMB is committed to doing all it can to ensure that attacks from Michael Gove, secretary of state for education, do not translate into targeting the most vulnerable members of the school community.’
The union says that in its experience, support staff are the first to have their jobs and terms and conditions threatened when schools become academies.
According to the figures, more primary schools in the South-East of England, 2,599, have applied to become academies than anywhere else in the country
In the North West , 2,447 primary schools have applied to become academies, and 1,861 in the South West.
Avril Chambers, GMB national officer, said, ‘GMB is closely monitoring the steady stream of academy conversions as we are always concerned for our members when schools leave the state system.
‘They are being forced to do this by Government policy and it is leaving schools in the hands of individual head teachers and the boards of governors with no accountability to the local community, they do not have to listen to the public or parents.
‘Too often with conversions to academies, support staff are viewed as an educational "luxury", despite their vital contribution to education and learning outcomes and the day-to-day running of a school.
‘It is our experience that support staff are frequently the first group of school staff to have their jobs and conditions threatened. GMB strongly defends all school support staff and believes they should be more highly respected for all that they do.
‘GMB is committed to doing all it can to ensure that attacks from Michael Gove, secretary of state for education, do not translate into targeting the most vulnerable members of the school community.’
