Tory councillors turn on Government over plans to turn schools into academies

'I’m fed up with diktats from above saying you will do this and you won’t do that. This is not why I became a Conservative'

The forced academy programme would effectively abolish local councils’ role in running education in their area (Getty)

Government plans to turn every state school in England into an academy by 2020 have been fiercely criticised by Tory councillors.

Many in conservative-held county councils, including the cabinet member for education in David Cameron’s own constituency, have urged the Government to re-think the plans set out in the Chancellor’s Budget earlier this month.

Their reservations echo those of many teachers and parents protesting against the academy programme, which would effectively abolish local councils’ role in running education in their local areas.

Melinda Tilley, the cabinet member for education at Oxfordshire County Council, which includes the Prime Minister’s Witney seat, said she is “disappointed” by the Government and warned the plans could put village schools at risk.

Speaking to the BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, she said: “It means a lot of little primary schools will be forced to go into multi-academy trusts and I just feel it’s the wrong time, in the wrong place, for little primary schools to be forced into doing this.

“I’m afraid there could be a few little village schools that get lost in all this.”

“I’m fed up with diktats from above saying you will do this and you won’t do that. This is not why I became a Conservative.”

Academies are directly funded by the Department for Education rather than local councils. They sometimes receive support from corporate or other sponsors.

The schools are often grouped into “chains” where a single trust runs more than one school.

Schools minister Nick Gibb said the plan would give “more autonomy” to successful head teachers.

He told Today: “If you can get a head teacher who is running a successful school, to have that school become part of a multi-academy trust where he can spread that formula… and change weaker schools into the kind of school that he was leading, that is the essence of the multi-academy trust programme.”

Mr Gibb insisted that forcing schools to make the change was “not diktat, this is about giving freedom and devolution to the school level.”

However, other senior Conservatives in local government, who face losing control of their local schools, have repeated Ms Tilley’s concerns.

Roger Gough, Conservative councillor in charge of education in Kent, told the BBC: “I don’t think there is demonstrable evidence that there is a systematic improvement in performance and certainly not anything that would justify upheaval on this scale.”

Peter Edgar from Hampshire County Council said: “To force all schools would be ridiculously expensive and in my view the wrong thing to do and also could cause in the interim a drop in standards in all our schools.”

Ivan Ould, a former head teacher and Tory cabinet member for children and families on Leicestershire county council, told the Guardian: “The Government seems to be determined to take responsibility for anything to do with education away from local authorities.

“I’ll you’ve got effective local authorities you should take the best practice and expand it across the country. I do not believe a system driven by dogma will meet the needs of children.”

Hundreds of teachers marched through Westminster on Wednesday to protest the the Government’s academy plans, while over 130,000 people have signed a petition demanding a referendum.

As the petition has over 100,000 signatures the House of Commons petition committee is legally bound to consider it for debate in Parliament.

Additional reporting by Press Association