Statistics watchdog investigates DfE’s academy claims

The federal government’s claims in regards to the effectiveness of academy trusts are underneath investigation by the statistics watchdog.

The UK Statistics Authority confirmed right now that it’s investigating a grievance about Division for Training evaluation submitted by the Nationwide Training Union.

Kevin Courtney, the union’s joint basic secretary, revealed right now that the organisation had complained to the UK Statistics Authority about information offered within the Division for Training’s “case for a completely trust-led system” doc.

The doc was revealed final month alongside the federal government’s colleges white paper, which set an ambition for all colleges to be in multi-academy trusts by 2030.

However the NEU accused the federal government of “misreporting” information to again its academies reforms, with leaders calling its case for full academisation “flawed”. Its personal evaluation accused the federal government of misreporting Ofsted grades and cherry-picking trusts for comparability.

‘The ultimate thrashings of zombie training ideologues’

Addressing the union’s annual convention in Bournemouth right now, joint basic secretary Dr Mary Bousted stated the “solely method that the federal government can justify its obsession with academies and MATs is for it to deceive”.

She stated the white paper was a “shoddy piece of labor with no new concepts, apart from to hold on grimly with structural reform which proof clearly exhibits has failed in its goals to remodel academic requirements”.

The SEND inexperienced paper, revealed alongside the white paper final month, additionally “fails to supply for the size of unmet want for kids and younger folks with SEND”.

“Collectively, the white and inexperienced papers are the ultimate thrashings of zombie training ideologues with zombie training insurance policies.”

NEU seeks to recruit heads for anti-academies marketing campaign

Courtney informed delegates the union had “complained to the UK Statistics Authority about this disgraceful, deliberate misuse of statistics and the deliberate suppression of related information”.

He additionally revealed that the NEU is looking for to recruit headteachers and governors for its marketing campaign in opposition to academisation.

The union is “writing to each councillor, each head instructor, each chair of governors to inform the reality about what the statistics present and to elucidate your errors”.

“And we’ll urge them alongside our members, mother and father and carers to withstand this siren name for but extra structural change.”

Of their speech, Courtney and Bousted additionally questioned the federal government’s purpose that each one colleges will likely be academies by 2030.

They pointed to the final colleges white paper, in 2016, which proposed changing all colleges by this 12 months. The measures had been deserted within the face of a widespread backlash.

“We defeated Nicky Morgan’s white paper six years in the past. And we’re preventing this white paper’s plan for all colleges to hitch MATs now,” Courtney stated.

The DfE has been slapped down over its use of information a number of occasions lately. Between 2017 and 2019, the division was reprimanded 5 occasions by the watchdog, with a number of warnings referring to its claims about college funding.

Nevertheless, the NEU itself has additionally been challenged over its use of information. In 2019, it eliminated a declare about funding from its web site after the UKSA stated it was unclear.

The DfE was approached for remark.