ATL comment on New Schools Network’s call for a “parental trigger” to challenge school performance
ATL
| Association of Teachers and Lecturers
Commenting on the New Schools Networks suggestion that greater power should be put into the hands of parents to challenge school performance, Nansi Ellis, assistant general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), said:
“The Conservatives have systematically eroded parents' rights to have a say over their children's education. Parents used to be encouraged to work with their child’s school, and were able to register any concerns they had very easily by contacting their local authority. Now parents can only express concerns about academies and free schools to the Department for Education, which is too far away to make a difference.
“The New Schools Network's proposals will damage relationships between schools and parents, and will not help improve children’s learning. They need to put their ideological blinkers aside and recognise the fact that the forced academisation and free schools project has failed to secure genuine school improvement.”
