Victory for Lewisham schools under threat of academisation

Brad Atkinson from Lewisham Left Unity reports on a local anti-academies campaign.

After a local campaign involving three schools – Prendergast Vale, Ladywell and Hilly Fields – to challenge a decision by the governors of the federation of schools to turn them into a ‘Multi-Academy Trust’, they have won a temporary victory to avert the academisation.

The campaign involved strikes, protests and legal challenges from staff members in the NUT and NASUWT unions, students, parents and local residents. There were multiple days of strike action, a march through Lewisham high street and a rally in Catford all gaining local and regional media attention, and even support from actor Mark Ruffalo (aka the Hulk).

The school students played a key role in the campaign, creating a ballot (290 students out of 303 voted against academisation), lunch time rallies and making ‘no academies’ t-shirts. Along with this there was action from parents, which included a legal challenge to the government on the grounds of Regulation 46. The governors did not have the required votes, therefore they backed down for the time being until ‘the regulatory issues have been resolved’. But this is a serious threat, as education secretary Nicky Morgan is trying to bring in legislation to remove the parts of the process where the community can object.

Lewisham borough does not have many academies so far compared to other boroughs, however as the Education and Adoption Bill becomes implemented this might not be true for long. The campaign is poised to reignite if there is another attempt at academisation.