More parents will be denied their first choice school under Labour’s education reforms, government admits_Nhy
More students are set to miss out on their first choice school under Labour’s new education reforms, the government has admitted.
Councils are being handed more powers to force academies to slash places, in a bid to stop numbers in neighbouring local schools plummeting.
Currently academies outside of local government control account for around half of all public schools.
But Labour’s new Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill is set to crack down on a range of freedoms academy schools enjoy.
Now critics have slammed the party for taking away parents’ choice and breaking away from years of education policy promoting choice.
It comes shortly after education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, said she would not go against academies, as she is criticised for rejected standards first set out under Tony Blair.
Ms Phillipson supporters have claimed the politician is focusing on ‘what works’ and is introducing change to deal with a range of arising issues, including academies accounting for 85 per cent of poor performing schools.
The bill will see academies have to follow the national curriculum, whilst they will also have to abide by national pay scales when it comes to teacher’s wages.
More students are set to miss out on their first choice school under Labour’s new educational reforms
Labour’s new Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill is set to crack down on a range of freedoms academy schools enjoy (file image)
The legislation will also give MPs powers to enact orders on academies considered to be behaving unreasonably.
Councils are also set to have more power regarding admissions as well as power to force them to accept individual pupils.
Those backing the bill claim this change is necessary to make sure all students get a fair chance and to stop ‘selection by the back door’.
Academies will also now have to work alongside councils when it comes to the number of pupils they admit, with local authorities able to contest the number of admissions.
Politicians have claimed this change is necessary to help combat plummeting students numbers.
If there are too many places available in academy in one area, ministers want local authorities to have the power to make academies shrink to stop school closures.
There will be an estimated million spare school places in England by the end of 2025, The Times reports.
A government impact assessment regarding this new policy says the bill will ‘limit the ability of popular schools to grow’.
Local councils will now have powers to limit academy admissions in a bid to stop neighbouring local school numbers falling (file image)
Bridget Phillipson previously said she would not go against academies, and has now been criticised for rejected standards first set out under Tony Blair .
It also added that if academies are forced to slash admissions then it will ‘negatively impact on parental preference, especially if the school was the parent’s first choice.’
Officials have told the publication the benefits of the bill for the needs of the community ‘outweigh’the concerns outlined in the assessment.
Neil O’Brien, the shadow schools minister, told The Times: ‘The best people to decide these questions are parents.
‘At present they decide which schools grow or shut by voting with their feet, and that has been a powerful force for school improvement.
‘Now the government is going to shift power from parents to councils and unwind the reforms that have driven improvements over recent decades.’
Schools minister, Catherine McKinnell, believes academies have been setting admissions without taken into account other schools nearby.
She told the publication whilst ‘good schools expanding is something to be celebrated’, some establishment are growing their admissions figures beyond what is necessary.
She added that this is ‘damaging’ the quality of education experienced by pupils in surrounding schools, which in turn makes it more difficult for schools to map out the best education for their students.
MailOnline has approached the Department of Education for comment.
