academies and the relevant opinions on them

The National Union of Teachers are very much opposed to academies, they dont see them as beneficial to staff or pupils and express this view on their website. The NUT claim to be campaigning agaisnt academies because they believe they have a damaging impact on children, teachers and the whole community. They also feel academies dont raise educational standards. The reasons they give for being against academies are: -academies hand over state schools to sponsors -many sponsors are unsuitable -academies threaten fair admissions procedures -academies threaten teachers pay and working conditions -academies do not offer pupils a better education than other local schools -academies undermine the independent role of school governors -academies have a damaging impact on other neighbouring schools and on local authorities.

http://www.nasuwt.org.uk/InformationandAdvice/NASUWTPolicyStatements/PolicyStatement1/NASUWT_000263

NASUWT is the biggest teachers union, and pose these frequently asked questions on their website, this shows some of the concerns people have when they possibility of their school becoming an academy arises

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00w7dr4/The_Report_Free_Schools_and_Academies/

A BBC4 radio report about the intentions of the academies and the opinions of those who would be affected. This gave us an idea of how we should address the issue in the voiceover and when interviewing the teachers.