CCN warns against academy plans

The County Councils Network (CCN), which represents 37 largely Conservative local authorities, has warned that government plans to force all schools in England to convert into academies pose a ‘grave risk’ to schools.

Speaking to the BBC, Councillor Paul Carter, chairman of the CCN, warned that the government was pursuing change with ‘undue haste’.

He said: "My concern is that the change will lead to a poorer education system operating across Kent, and more broadly England, because the value that local authorities generally provide to schools will be removed."

Carter suggested that primary schools and small schools would struggle more with the conversion than larger secondary schools, as they require greater support to tackle issues such as maternity cover.

He told the BBC: "If you have a school with five teachers, and two or three of those teachers become pregnant at the same time, you need those support networks to support those schools - otherwise their finances will not be sustainable and the school will end up in a spiral of decline."