CONCERNED parents had their chance to quiz education chiefs at a well-attended meeting held at Northcliffe School on Wednesday.

They heard the latest "wave" of academies had moved on from the model proposed by the Emmanuel School Foundation.

Doncaster Mayor Martin Winter has outlined plans to include Northcliffe in six new academies to be run jointly by businesses and the authority.

But parents are wary about the plans after opposing the original scheme.

To answer their questions, the event was addressed by the Principal Designate of Gainsbrough Educational Village, Tom McCahey, who is pioneering one of the latest academy models in Lincolnshire.

He said: "I am absolutely convinced any community considering an academy should tread very carefully and be very clear of the reference points, values and principles involved. It may be right in some places but may be not in others. That has to be a local decision."

He said "the world had moved on" since the idea of academies were initially conceived. Doncaster's only existing academy is at Thorne run by the Emmanuel School Foundation.

Mr McCahey said he was "proud" of what Conisbrough people had achieved in opposing the previous proposals by motoring magnate Sir Reg Vardy.

He noted that concerns were raised about loss of accountability and the fear of takeover by outsiders, employment conditions, staff and parent representation on the governing body and a sponsor with an "unpalatable philosophical position (there was controversy over Emmanuel's policy of teaching creationism in its early academies).

In Gainsbrough, he explained, the governing body will have 15 members including four elected parent representatives, two staff representatives, one local authority representative and the principal, making up a majority of the school governing body.

He said the new academy model had given schools an injection of resources between £1.5-2million in the form of an endowment which could be invested to generate some £75-100,000 annual income.

He added: "We can offer young people the sorts of experiences we have been unable to offer them in the past. Access to a national network of good practice, expansion of work placement opportunities, clothing grants and, significantly, more flexibility to match the curriculum to the area and employers."

He said when earlier academies were set up, the Government had wanted sponsors to be in control and did not want local authorities near them.
However there had been a sea-change in attitudes since the change of leadership in the Government. Sponsorship was no longer about big business - sponsors could now include local authorities, public sector organisations like the NHS and even trade unions.

He said: "Academies are here to stay. If I find a partner sponsor to put an endowment and put in this school I am not robbing the school next door. If I had said no to this, the money would just be taken up by someone else."

Currently Northcliffe is an 11-16 community school with a capacity of 1,007. There are currently 732 students attending. The proposal is for an 11-18 academy with a capacity of 825 and an annual admission of 150. It is an option to relocate the school to newly built premises on a suitable site.

Director of Education Standards in Doncaster, Steve Chew, said there had been significant improvements across the board in education in Doncaster, but he said many outcomes particularly in post 16 education were "simply not good enough".

"We don't have enough people staying on at 16 and we lose a lot at 17. If we don't equip our young people with the skills and knowledge they need, they can't achieve the best for themselves families and communities in the borough."

He said academies were proposed for areas where there was a particular need to raise standards.

He said there would be 3,000 excess places in Doncaster's secondary schools by 2018 and there were no proposals for any school closures, though more use would have to be made of the buildings.

Schools would have to collaborate more. In the future new diploma courses were being introduced which would be impossible for any single school to implement - no single school could deliver the whole curriculum.

Andy Martin of Building Schools For The Future said there was a potential investment of £200 million for buildings and £20 million for ICT to come into Doncaster schools.

New building was completed at Trinity - the only academy in the Doncaster Borough, in 2005. Schools at Mexborough, Rossington and Edlington are now undergoing transformation under a PFI scheme.

He added: "Businesses have a role to play in that - all schools need additional support maybe money but expertise, is more important over time."

Mr Chew added: "It is not an academy or nothing - the whole point is you have to transform education. Whatever kind of school it is money will be spent on capital improvements."

There will be further meetings and consultations before the council's Strategy For Change is decided in July. Following a procurement process, building of new schools could take place in December 2010 with the facilities provided by June 2012.

There will be a phased programme of construction across Doncaster which is planned to take until 2020 to complete.