Schools look at opting out (From Hampshire Chronicle)

Schools look at opting out

1:10pm Sunday 6th June 2010 in Education By Chris Harris

SCHOOLS in Winchester are weighing up a Government invitation to opt out of council control.

education Secretary Michael Gove has written to every primary, secondary and special school asking them to apply for academy status.

Those considered ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted inspectors — including Henry Beaufort, Kings’, Perins and Westgate — could become academies as early as this September.

Headteachers contacted by the Hampshire Chronicle said it was too early to say whether they would take up Whitehall’s offer.

New academies could expect to receive roughly 10 per cent more funding — direct from central government — than they currently get from their local education authority, according to a Department for Education spokesman.

They would also run their own finances and could be managed by outside companies.

Unions claimed the move makes no sense and warned it would make schools less accountable.

What do you think about the prospect of academies? A good or a bad idea? Leave your comments below.