Camden New Journal-news -Academy plan 'misleading'

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Camden New Journal - by RICHARD OSLEY
Published: 31 May 2007

Academy plan ‘misleading’

MP accuses Town Hall of wrongly influencing parents over school proposals

THE Town Hall has misled parents over the apparent benefits of using outside sponsorship and the government’s controversial city academy programme to open a new school in Camden, Holborn and St Pancras MP Frank Dobson warned yesterday (Wednesday).
He said that Camden council had wrongly claimed a new school – provisionally earmarked for a site in Adelaide Road, Swiss Cottage – would get more financial help from the government if it joined the academy scheme.
Mr Dobson has armed himself with a letter from Education Secretary Alan Johnson which rules that traditional community schools would get just as much support.
His intervention comes as the council’s public consultation is supposed to be getting off the ground with a series of public meetings for parents.
Mr Dobson said: “I think they need to start the consultation all over again because parents have not been given the full story. They have been misled. The council said there would be more money for a city academy, but this is not the case. My view is that the new school should be answerable to the community, not somebody who has the money to sponsor an academy.”
Camden has successfully bid for £200 million of government cash – known as Building Schools for the Future funding – to help pay for a new school and refurbishment to existing secondaries.
But the consultation over how the money should be carved up has got off to a stuttering start with complaints surrounding poor publicity for the public meetings – the first of which was held at Conway Hall in Holborn on Thursday night with adverts only appearing on the day of the meeting.
It featured a glitzy system in which members of the public used gadgets to vote for different options on a big screen. Some attendees said the slick presentation meant less time for questions and answers with politicians at the heart of the scheme.
Many queries centre on demands for a new school south of the Euston Road where families have historically had difficulties finding secondary school places.
Meanwhile, Camden is still trying to recruit a new ‘consultation manager’ to work specifically on the new school project – a job attracting a £40,000 salary. The post was still not filled yesterday (Wednesday) and nobody will be in post until after two more public meetings.
Camden’s Conservative education chief, Councillor Andrew Mennear, said: “I would thank Mr Dobson for finding out with the DfES (Department of Education and Skills) about the financial issue. The guidance has been unclear. We have tried to find out about this point with the DfES but have not had much help from them. I’m glad that this has been cleared up.”
He said that there was no spin campaign to play up the importance of using the academy system and that the Town Hall had been forced to at least consider outside sponsorship to qualify for funds.
Cllr Mennear said: “Words have been put into our mouths. Other people have said things but we have never said that we are definitely going down the city academy route.
“All the forms from the DfES have said that we must at least consider a city academy. It is too early to say which route we are going to take because we are still in consultation.
“The meeting on Thursday had a good turnout and points of views were taken on board.”
He added that the vacant post for a ‘consultation manager’ was a long-term job that would oversee the whole project.

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