A school experiment too far

Published: 3 June, 2010

• WHERE is the parents’ voice in the new government’s plans for schools which was supposed to be making schools more accountable to mothers and fathers of pupils? (Comment May 27).

Schools will be able to become academies without asking for parents’ views and parents have certainly not been consulted about the freeze on government money to improve existing schools.  

It is not really surprising, I suppose. 

The Institute for Fiscal Studies pointed out last week that the money earmarked to improve school buildings in the country, £200million for Camden alone, is likely to be taken away to fund the free school experiment for a few parents and their children (ironically Toby Young, an alumnus of William Ellis, will probably be the first to benefit!)

But that means that the majority of parents in Camden are going to see their children’s schooling adversely affected by decisions not to improve crumbling and sometimes cramped school buildings and my children, and thousands like them who go or will soon go to Parliament Hill, William Ellis and other secondary schools in Camden, will be worse off.

It is time parents in Camden woke up to this and started petitioning the government to keep the money that is likely to improve their schools, rather than let a few shouty middle class parents take the capital away for a free schools experiment that is already being dropped in Sweden (where it was initiated)  because it did not improve results and increased inequality.

SALLY GIMSON
Oak Village, NW5