Brent MP Barry Gardiner slams changes to academy system (From Harrow Times)

Brent MP Barry Gardiner slams changes to academy system

12:43pm Tuesday 13th July 2010 in

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A BRENT MP blasted the education secretary over academies in the House of Commons yesterday.

Barry Gardiner (Lab/Brent North) claimed changes to the system will see money taken away from struggling schools in deprived areas and given to those that are already successful.

The scheme was originally designed to attract private funding for state schools by handing over responsibility for managing them to outside organisations, such as charity ARK, which runs the academy in Wembley Park.

But under changes due to be introduced in September, any school rated outstanding by Ofsted will be given extra money by the Government to free itself from control by the council.

The budget increase for schools looking to become academies will come from public money and Mr Gardiner says this will boost already successful schools at the expense of those that are struggling.

He said: “Under the old system, academies were a means of getting extra money from outside the system to children from poor and disadvantaged backgrounds who were not doing well.

“Under the new system, academies are taking money from within the system away from poor and disadvantaged children and giving it to schools that are already doing very well.

“Why does (education secretary Michael Gove) continue to call them academies?”

Academies are considered the brain child of former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Mr Gardiner is a Blairite and found himself at odds with Gordon Brown's administration, publicly speaking out against the leadership.

Mr Gove used his reply to highlight Mr Gardiner's disquiet with the Labour leadership under Mr Brown, who is the MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath.

Mr Gove said: “I know that the honourable gentleman (Mr Gardiner) served with distinction as a minister in Tony Blair's government, and was then defenestrated when the right honourable member for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (Mr Brown) took over.

“He should be aware that Tony Blair made it clear, when he was Prime Minister, that academy freedoms should be extended to all schools.

“In that respect, we are simply carrying on the good work that was begun under the Prime Minister (Tony Blair) who was wise enough to have the honourable gentleman (Mr Gardiner) on his front bench, rather than following the disastrous course that was taken by Gordon Brown and the right honourable member for Morley and Outwood (former Labour education secretary Ed Balls).”