A small victory in Lewisham

Last week, the Governing Body of Launcelot Primary School in Lewisham met to discuss a proposal that they consider becoming part of the nearby Knight's Academy - part of the expanding Haberdashers' Aske's empire. They are about to takeover another community primary school in the borough and are already looking for further schools to grab.

Governors heard first from Dr Liz Sidwell - Executive Head of the Aske's Academy Federation - and then from Martin Powell-Davies from the NUT. At the end of the meeting they voted NOT to continue talks with Aske's!

This small victory will encourage local campaigners - but there are major threats facing us. We have just found out that two secondary schools are in discussions with Goldsmiths College about setting up a Trust - despite the Education Department at Goldsmiths being kept in the dark (perhaps because many of the staff and UCU members are opposed to Trusts and Academies being used to break-up accountable community comprehensive education).

Martin Powell-Davies