MPs voice opposition to Catholic schools academy plans

MPs have joined forces against plans to turn Catholic schools into academy trusts in north-west England.

Liverpool Wavertree MP Paula Barker one of eight MPs from Merseyside and Lancashire who have signed a letter to the Archbishop of Liverpool questioning proposals to make more than 200 schools move into academy trusts, said she was in "total opposition" to the plan.

It comes after strikes at schools in Lancashire and Merseyside with the National Education Union (NEU) saying members at Liverpool's St Austin's Catholic Primary School have voted for strike action.

The Diocese of Lancaster has said the plans would guarantee "high-quality Catholic education".

Academies have more flexibility than schools operating under local education authority control, can deviate from the national curriculum in some areas, and set their own admission arrangements and term times.

Barker said on her Facebook page the Archdiocese has announced that all Catholic schools in Liverpool and Lancashire are to become academies "despite significant opposition from teachers, parents, trade unions and MPs".

She said that alongside Labour colleague Maria Eagle, MP for Liverpool Garston, she had had a meeting with the archdiocese to voice her concerns.

Eagle, Liverpool Riverside MP Kim Johnson, South Ribble MP Paul Foster, Ribble Valley MP Maya Ellis, Lancaster and Wyre MP Cat Smith, MP for Blackpool North and Fleetwood Lorraine Beavers, and Warrington North MP Charlotte Nichols all signed the letter to Archbishop John Sherrington.

They demanded to know what would happen to schools' finances and reserves, how schools would be governed, and what would be the implications for staff.

They also asked whether turning the schools into academies would have "genuine educational benefits for pupils", including for special educational needs.

The NEU said 100% of staff members at St Austin's Catholic Primary School who voted in the formal ballot indicated they would take strike action if their demands were ignored by the governing body of the school.

The union said strikes would take place throughout late November and early December if an agreement was not reached.

Schools in Preston, Fleetwood and Liverpool have taken industrial action over the plans.

Archbishop Sherrington has previously said Catholic schools were "vital to the educational mission of the Church"

He added: "The proposal to build the academy framework is a means of protecting our schools for the future to ensure that we can continue to offer excellent Catholic education to the future generations.

"I believe we are better together, working together to serve the mission, having greater support for staff and keeping control of our educational system for the future generations of Catholic children and others.

"Together, we are a constellation of stars offering hope in our Archdiocese."

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