Tidemill School D-Day?

As reported here in January, governors at Tidemill Primary School in Deptford withdrew their initial application for the school to become an Academy.

However, they are now considering re-submitting a revised application, with the decision one way or another due to be taken at the School's Governing Body meeting on Wednesday 4th May. Deptford Says No, the parents and community campaign against the academy plans, has called for a mass picket of the school in Frankham Street on Wednesday from 5:30 to 7:30 pm to show the governors the strength of local feeling.

The Government's Academy and Free Schools initiatives aim to create an education marketplace in which individual schools are directly funded by the Government rather than via local Councils. Further down the line it is likely to involve a much greater role for private companies in profiting from education and a threat to national pay and conditions for teachers and other school staff. However senior managers can earn higher salaries, and as a recent survey shows, many heads in academies are earning in excess of £100,000 a year.