‘No reverse gear’ for academy plans, Morgan tells teachers

Education Secretary Nicky Morgan has told teachers that will be ‘no reverse gear’ on new proposals to force every school in England to convert into an academy by 2020.

Morgan was the first Conservative Education Secretary to address a teaching union conference since the 1990s, addressing delegates at the NASUWT annual conference on 26 March.

Morgan told delegates: “I want to be clear there will be no pulling back from that vision, there is no reverse gear when it comes to our education reforms.”

Facing heckling from the crowd, Morgan warned teachers that they should work with the Conservative government, saying: “Teaching unions have a choice – spend the next four years doing battle with us and doing down the profession they represent in the process, or stepping up, seizing the opportunities and promise offered by the white paper and helping us to shape the future of the education system.”

Chris Keates, the NASUWT general secretary took to the stage after Morgan, and urged her to reconsider the plans. Keates warned Morgan: “Don’t allow yourself to become the next Iain Duncan Smith: listen to the concerns being raised.”

The academy plans also face cross party local government opposition, with Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat and independent councillors joining together to oppose the plans.

In a joint letter to the Observer, local councillors from the three major political parties argued that the proposals would be expensive and fail to address the real problems facing schools.

The local government leaders said that there is ‘no evidence’ that academies converting will improve results and suggested that the move was against the wishes of many parents and teachers.