23/10/2011 The Politics Show Yorkshire and Lincolnshire

And here in the North: The academy with a gite in Normany and a

planetarium. As nearly all schools are encouraged to become academies,

will some end up more equal than others?

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1773 seconds

That's a Politics Show education Welcome to the Politics Show for

Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. Today's programme comes from the BBC

studios in Hull, where today we're examining what every parent should

know about the winds of change blasting through our schools.

We look at the French connection. Why a Lincolnshire academy has

spent almost �2 million on this converted farmhouse in Normandy.

Critics say the academy funding programme is taking money away from

traditional state schools. And the ex Bradford City footballer

who's a committed Christian applying to set up a new free

school, but just how comfortable are Labour with this new generation

If you saw a school prospectus boasting of an equestrian centre, a

planetarium and a converted farmhouse in Normandy, you would

imagine it would be somewhere like Eton or another expensive private

school. Those facilities are available at a state funded academy

in Lincolnshire. There is a chapel and an outside

football pitch, it is beautiful and tranquil and is owned by an English

state schools. This one, in fact. The Priory

Federation of academies in Lincoln, at one of the biggest Academy

project in the country. It's open evening at the Priory

tonight and as you can see, it is attracting a lot of interest.

Parents attending will hear about facilities. Facilities which the

vast majority are state-funded schools can only dream of.

More than �60 million in government grants have paid for two new

schools. State of the arts sports facilities including an Olympic-

size running track, Jim and climbing wall.

The vast majority of the money for the rebuilt and what has happened

is public money, isn't it? Yes, but so is public money for any school

or Academy rebuild. When we talk about schools funding, it is

central government funding. Public money is all taxpayers' money, but

the Priory has received only that which is available on the same

ratio as any score other school in the country. That is not all, the

Priory has enough of it own money to pay for �700,000 towards the

cost of a new science centre which has its own planetarium. The French

education centre costing �1.9 million. A �1.7 million a

equestrian centre. 19 company cars and a salary of �600,000 per year

for its top four earners. You can't forget that the two

schools consumed were were in need, were struggling, were failing. That

is fine, but did they need their level of what seems to be opulence

that they have got? Could the money have been shared out more equally

to help other schools that were, maybe not failing as much as them,

but struggling? And now because of the heavy load of money the

academies have got, they have gone so far higher it which has made

other schools step even further backwards. Academies are not under

local authority control and receive funding directly from the

government. The Priory rebuilds were paid for by the building

schools for the future programme. Last year that programme was axed

because of spending cuts. Lincolnshire schools missed out on

a total of �70 million. This head teacher has watched the Academy's

programme unfold. Speaking generally, I think it is a disgrace

that so much money is spent in a small number of schools to the

detriment of students in other schools. The students here are

every bit as good as every other student in the country and deserve

an equal chance. For other schools to get more funding, I think it is

an absolute crime. The question of where the money comes from his from

central government funding. The basics are, the school is allocated

its annual core budget in the same way every school is. The Audit

Commission recommends that the school spends no more than 80% of

that budget on staff costs because asked -- staff take up the majority

of the budget. Hiring high-calibre or staff which means that those

figures are able to be hit. That can be freed up from the budget you

are allocated in the prioress case, �800,000 per year. Are you saying

that the Priory Federation is giving tax payer value for money?

We are. Everything that the federation does and spends is

designed to be cost-effective and More schools across Yorkshire and

Lincolnshire are considering becoming academies, but they are

unlikely to receive the money it to create the kind of facilities seen

here. While there is no doubt that many failing schools have been

turned around by academy status, critics argue that there is no

longer a level playing-field in education.

Our guests today are Alan Johnson, an MP for Hull West, Graham Stuart

a Conservative MP, and Brian Swinton who represents the National

Union of Teachers in the east of the auction.

Alan Johnson, you saw the facilities at the Priory, a plumber

terrier, a converted farmhouse, was that the model you envisage when

Labour role that the Academy's programme? In a sense, yes. He said

that you would expect to see this at a private school, while these

are kids, there was no mention of the failing schools, but these kids

probably had the worst of everything and needed more help

than most other areas. Now they have the best of everything. I have

no problem in people mistaking a state school with fair funding,

with no selection, with a fee- paying private school. I think that

is healthy. If you look at the results in academies and the way

they galvanise improved results at other schools, I think for the

Academy's has been made. The argument now is a different one

about control and whether the Secretary of State can continue to

be responsible for them and about integration, but the argument about

whether academies have been a good thing he is obvious. Many would say

we are heading towards a two-tier education system with the Academy

is that have so and the traditional schools have not. By Pezzoli agree

with every word that Allen said. How can you run a piece that

suggests this is all fought in an area where children were previously

failed to now have excellent facilities. The inner quality in

many distribution is not because academies get more money than other

schools, it is because the building schools for the future programme,

which was a colossal expense, had massive waste. Many children are

now learning in mobile classrooms. What the coalition has had to do is

ensure all schools get a fair access which Labour did not do. We

are moving to a fairer position now and when we repair public finances,

we will hopefully see all schools made in that direction. You have

heard Labour and Conservatives largely agree, why are the teaching

union so opposed? Exactly the point, we would aspire for all children to

be in a state run school with all of those facilities. That seems to

me to be the sticking point. It seems impossible for every state

school to have those facilities. Why can't that be done?

Straightforwardly because the money was not sustainable. Building

schools for the future was expensive. We have schools being

opened in recent months that would cost a third of that price and

deliver the same facilities. We have seen monumental waste. Alan

and his colleagues have that round their neck and we are left trying

to repair the finances. The government has done a good job in

protecting revenue for schools, but capital has been cut because Labour

made a mess of it. We will not see any more schools like the Priory

foundation because they were paid for in the good times now there is

no money left. We are in hell were three academies are due to open in

my constituency. Tremendous facilities. Graham should paid due

credit to the previous government for lifting education from the

appalling levels we inherited. 58.8 per Saint average GCSE attainment

including English and maths. Brian's members are large part of

that. It is teachers, but also the structure of education that, buy in

large, meant if you lived in poor areas you were written off. What do

you expect from these kids, look at their background. That has gone. We

can argue about capital, but the fact that we have these brilliant

schools and schools that are not academies being rebuilt, is a good

thing for state education. Let's put this point to Brian because the

old system did not work. I think the alternative that we have coming

on stream now with academies, while those schools might be fine, the

danger is that it is a massive instability. You'll have movement

of children from one school to another, what is that leaving

behind? Academies are excluding a lot more pupils, where will they

go? The funding removed from local authorities that would have been

used, there is not enough to improve other schools now. They NUT

are the voice of dinosaurs. Alan is right, we have moved on. We are not

prepared to sit by while kids in poor areas are let down. We are

building on what Labour did and extending it. There are questions

we have to ask making sure integration works, but

fundamentally we had to face down that teaching unions and open up

education system for all. When he arrived in Downing Street,

David Cameron wanted to take the academy model a stage further by

allowing people from all walks of life to set up their own so-called

free schools. Initial Labour opposition appears to be softening

in some places, with the leader of one of our biggest Labour-run

councils now admitting that he has no choice but to co-operate with

groups planning to open new free schools. Here's Len Tingle.

If everything goes forward as we hope, this area will be at the

heart of our school. It could not be a more unusual place to set up a

school, this is currently used as the club museum. One of the prime

movers behind the ambitious plans to run a school here is better

known for sporting rather than academic goals. Wayne Jacobs played

358 league and cup games for Bradford City. He turned to

management afterwards returning for a spell as assistant manager in

2007. He himself admits he was hardly a thumb of school before

signing for his hometown club of Sheffield Wednesday as a schoolboy.

I had a gift for football and through school, that gift came to

the surface in football. Academically I was struggling and

that became a problem for me. It was my problem, I was the problem.

It always seemed to be a clash, the skill set that I had. That is the

driving force behind Wayne getting together with local businessman,

Matthew band. There is an area where we will see the kids having a

canteen space. Together they formed a charity called One In A Million.

It has been behind a range of projects with young people often on

some of the most deprived estate. The coalition governments of of

allowing organisations to set up free schools financed by taxpayers'

cash seemed like a natural progression. When me and Wayne met,

we had a heart to help kids. One of those ways was through education.

There was an obvious link with its port and football, it was something

that could really engage the kids. We are looking at how we can help

them in those areas. Education was central to it. We have been waiting

five is to do this. According to the council, Bradford school age is

growing. Many of its own sq calls off all to bursting. It disagrees

with third decision that will now see five independent free schools

taking chunks of its education budget, but says it has no

alternative but to co-operate. believe that the local education

authority should have supervision and provide additional schools,

that is not the current policy. I do not agree with that, but the

reality is that my priority is the kids in the district. If we are

short of schools and the only way to get schools is free schools,

then we will work with the people that provide those in order to get

the best schools possible. Bradford City has a long history. FA Cup

winners in 2011. None of its former legends would ever have thought

that in future years it would be looking at a measure of success in

completely different league tables. League tables based on examination

results. Alan Johnson, your new shadow

education secretary recently suggested he supported free schools.

Do you support free schools? He did not say that. He was minister with

me in education. A very good minister. I am puzzled by free

schools. I see the need for it in Bradford and I do not know why it

is called a free school and not an academic, it has confused the issue.

In lots of places, given that there is a 60% reduction in capital

available, they would choose other priorities than to put money into a

free school. Where it is necessary, you can see the logic. There are

other areas in London where they want money put into primary schools

which have an aching need for extra funding where that money is going

into every school secondary school where there is not a shortage. What

Stephen Twigg said was, we are pragmatic about these things as Ian

Greenwood was there in Bradford. We are not going to say we will close

that school down. We believe the policy has huge question marks over

it. Where there is a need for a school, we would support that free

school. I would support every school here if there were a need

for more places. I am just puzzled as to why a, as well as foundation

schools, fate schools and specialist schools, we now have to

have this new category called free schools. That looked like an

academy. A I would agree with Alan completely. We have to be pragmatic

and work with these things where they exist, but I would question

the need for it. Ideologically we are opposed to free schools.

should an education authority have a monopoly? Because that is its job,

isn't it? So we are giving their jobs to bureaucrats? I think those

people in local authorities are not bureaucrats, they are experts. They

have been doing that job for a long time. You look at some of the

applications for three schools, football clubs even one of the

chuckle Brothers is supporting a new free school in Rotherham. Once

upon a time government policy was dictated by the Miliband brothers

now it is the chuckle Brothers. good line, Tim. To you. If you look

at Premier League clubs they have been playing a big role. Having

other people coming in the getting education that is about bringing

out everything within a child at making them a part of society,

bringing in football clubs and businesses and allowing teachers to

set up schools and parents, getting all of us involved and challenging

the settlement and allowing that to be a challenge is exciting. These

applications are in posh areas, not working class areas. Most of the

free schools this year have in fact been in the poor areas. There is

such a great need and I do not see how you can be opposed. Allen says

he is confused, the truth is they are academies. Instead of having to

be mediated by the bureaucrats, local people can decide. Are you

any less confused, Alan Johnson, listening to Graham? I am still

puzzled as to the logic of introducing a different dimension

when there is enough there at the moment that could have solved the

problem in bad third without this label. Local education authorities

should be the Commissioner of good education, not the providers.