Closed petition Parliament to debate the matter of forcing schools to convert to academies

Closed on 17 September 2016

We were told Academy schools gave parents a choice from the mainstream, local authority system. Forcing all schools to become academies will deprive parents of ANY choice. This proposal was not in the Conservative manifesto in 2015, thus the government should not commit schools to this change.

There is no evidence that a universal academy system will work. Ofsted's Chief Inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw highlighted serious weaknesses at seven multi-academy trusts. He was also scathing about the level of pay given to the senior management in academies, with one head teacher earning £225,000 a year, more than the prime minister earns. Ref: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-35775458

If the Conservatives want to commit the education of our children to Academies then there should be a national debate and a referendum to make such an enormous change.