Teacher union meets councillors in bid to stop East End school ‘opt out’
Teacher union bosses are meeting councillors today in their campaign to stop one of the biggest secondary schools in London’s East End opting out of local authority control.
Talks have been arranged by the NUT East London Teachers’ Association with members of Tower Hamlets Council to test support.
The union wants to stop Bethnal Green Technical College steaming ahead with plans to become one of the Government’s new independently-run academies, especially after its recent �17 million revamp paid for out of public funds.
“Switching to ‘academy’ status is totally inappropriate in a deprived area like the East End,” the union’s Tower Hamlets secretary Alex Kenny told the East London Advertiser today.
“I don’t believe the local authority is behind this move—that’s what we are finding out with today’s meeting.”
You may also want to watch:
The union is worried that if Bethnal Green Technology opts out, other East End schools would follow.
The funds to run ‘academy’ schools would be taken away from Tower Hamlets’ hard-pressed budget, the unions point out.
Most Read
- 1 Beer gardens reopening with face masks, sanitisers and cobblestones
- 2 Mother and son taken to hospital during "severe" fire in Bow
- 3 Patient group set up over allegations of 'poor care' at Royal London
- 4 Jailed: drug dealer who rammed police with stolen car to escape
- 5 Mayoral election 2021: how will candidates improve east London?
- 6 Hundreds of customers descend on reopened retailers
- 7 Volunteers take food for Ramadan to neighbours on Isle of Dogs
- 8 Here's why people stay longer in the East End despite the crime
- 9 New street market coming to Docklands is Will's passion
- 10 Boxpark reopening in Shoreditch with face masks and Covid hygiene measures
“It would also mean handing over �17m of public assets at Bethnal Green to a private company lock, stock and barrel,” added Mr Kenny.
The school, meanwhile, is running a three-week public consultation. The union plans to picket an open community meeting on the issue, being held at the school in Gosset Street, off Columbia Road, on Monday evening.