Lewisham: Prendergast schools to become academy trust

Staff from the Prendergast schools were informed my union reps on Friday afternoon (June 9) at the St Mary’s Centre in Ladywell Road.

“It got very emotional,” one teacher said. “People were very upset. There were tears. A lot of us are really depressed.”

Staff had suspended three days of strike action last week so school leaders and union reps could resume negotiations on Thursday morning (June 8).

But on Wednesday, executive head Paula Ledger emailed the National Education Union (NEU) to say leaders had already secured academy orders from the Department for Education (DfE).

According to sources present at the following morning’s talks, Mrs Ledger announced that the schools - known as the Leathersellers' Federation - would be convert into academies within seven months, citing “ministerial backing”.

The News Shopper revealed earlier this month that Conservative schools minister Nick Gibb had written letters to the parties involved, attacking striking teachers and encouraging leaders to push ahead with the academy plan.

NEU rep James Kerr called the schools' refusal to negotiate further over academisation "a complete scorched earth tactic and truly undemocratic".

Staff marched back into work together at the schools on Monday, while teachers at other Lewisham schools dressed in red and sent pictures of themselves standing in solidarity.

Staff at Prendergast Hilly Fields stood together in solidarity before work on Monday morning, before marching in together. Staff at the other schools did the same (Image: Lewisham NEU Reps)

“Devastated”

“We are disgusted,” one teacher said. “We feel betrayed. We knew the consultation was a sham but now we feel like all the negotiations have been a sham as well.

“They’ve gone crying to the Conservative government to help them push it through without negotiating.”

Chair of governors Andy Rothery denied governors had approached the government, saying the government had intervened without being asked.

“I feel like crying,” parent Claire Hallam said of last week's events.

“It’s cruel. It’s brutal. It runs roughshod over the feelings of the community.”

A consultation by the schools showed 64% of respondents opposed the plan, compared to 6% in favour.

More than 1,200 people signed a petition calling for the community to be given a binding vote and an online letter drafted by the NEU, calling on governors to withdraw the plan, was filled out and sent more than 6,000 times.

“The staff are all devastated,” said Claire. “They have been shafted. They have been massively criticised for going on strike when the governing board are the ones to blame.

“The governing board have made this an extremely painful process. It makes you wonder what sort of school it’s going to be, if they can treat their teachers like this.”

A series of protests have been held against the academy plan since February, including weekend marches attended by hundreds of people (Image: Lewisham NEU reps)

“Extraordinary”

Mr Rothery rejected criticism from staff and parents, telling the News Shopper that the “extraordinary and unprecedented” strikes “had to stop”.

He has previously said that all three schools currently share one governing board, volunteering hundreds of hours per year, which is “unsustainable”.

As academies, each of the schools can have their own governing boards.

Mr Rothery said leaders stopped negotiations over academisation in part because they received a report by the National Governance Association (NGA).

In late May, governors asked the NGA – a membership organisation for school leaders, which works with the DfE – for an “expert opinion” on whether academisation was the right way forward.

The resulting report – by a government contractor who has held senior roles with academy trusts – said academising would be “by far the best” outcome for Prendergast.

The NEU said 99% of its teacher members at the schools had voted against academisation (Image: Lewisham NEU)

What now?

NEU rep Mr Kerr said staff morale was "low".

"People are deeply distressed," he said. "It was very, very clear on Friday that there's absolutely no trust in anything the federation have agreed. They're going to have a big job rebuilding trust with staff."

The News Shopper interviewed teachers last week who reported that staff are routinely breaking down at school and some are already preparing to leave.

“I don’t accept that the relationship between the schools and staff have irretrievably broken down,” said Mr Rothery.

“I’m sure there are individual teachers who feel that way, but I think every teacher has their own view.

“The vast majority of families we’ve had feedback from don’t really care about school structure. They just love the schools and want the schools open and their kids back in school.”

The schools will now become academies on January 1.

Leaders have agreed that all new staff will have the same enhanced redundancy and pay portability terms as existing staff.

A trade union recognition agreement will also be negotiated, and a local councillor will be appointed to the academy trust’s board.