Wembley school’s petition handed to government as fight against ‘forced schooling’ continues

A north London MP has presented a 2,000-strong petition to the Department for Education (DfE) on behalf of parents and teachers in the hope of preventing plans to turn a local primary school into an academy. Byron Court Primary School, in Wembley, is set to become an academy school after being given an ‘inadequate’ rating in its latest Ofsted inspection.

The report noted “marked deterioration” at the school, which was previously rated “remarkable” in 2012. The decision sparked protests from parents as well as six days of teacher strikes.

Brent North MP Barry Gardiner delivered the petition to the DfE’s Westminster office on Wednesday (June 5). Protesters hope that by putting pressure on the government, it will agree to halt the proceedings while a re-inspection of the school takes place.

Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Mr Gardiner said: “It creates pressure because it’s a public shaming, but in the structure of the statute or the department’s procedures, it doesn’t actually force them to do anything. .”

He added: “At the end of the day, it’s not the teachers, not the staff, not the school. It is the children, it is their education and the most important thing is to be fair. I think the teachers are working day and night right now to make that happen.”

Following the DfE’s decision, the school is to come under the control of the Harris Federation academy trust, to the anger of some in the community. Many parents, along with students, staff and local politicians, have already staged a series of protests outside the school in recent months.

A parent and organizer of the Save Byron Court campaign group, Tanisha Phoenix, 40, told the LDRS they were “not going to take (the decision) lying down”. Many feel that the parents have been “cut out of the process” and have vowed to “keep fighting”.

Tanisha said: “We wanted to present our petition officially to the DfE to let them know that there are 2,000 people who have signed it opposing this process of forced academisation. (…) We can no longer be ignored, the community has spoken, they must listen to us, they cannot continue to close the door and ignore us.”

She added: “If there are improvements to be made, we let the local authority address them and give us the chance to keep the school in council hands. (…) The choice is taken out of our hands, and once it becomes an academy, it can never be returned. Academy does not necessarily mean improvement and even if on paper it does, at what cost to our children, to our staff, to the local community?”

Last month, the National Education Union (NEU) announced six days of strike action, which took place in May and June. Teachers were unhappy with the academisation decision and many opted to “put pressure” on the DfE and give key stakeholders “a sense of hope” to move forward.

Huda Al Rukabi, a teacher at the school, told LDRS the atmosphere would be “very different” if the academisation order is allowed to continue and she fears the pressured environment could impact on the mental health of staff.

Ms Al Rukabi said: “The most important thing is the sense of community. Many children, when they leave school, remember Byron Court for the community – I was a pupil at Byron Court and now I am a teacher. As a former student, I want them to return to a school that has the same sense of community.”

She added: “I am extremely hopeful. The best thing is not to sit there silently and passively, but to be active. We need to be role models for children.” Marisa, 8, a pupil at Byron Court, wants to remain a community school. She said: “I like the way it is and I don’t understand why Ofsted (rated) us ‘inadequate’.”

The campaign has received support from local councillors, including Brent Council’s cabinet member for children, young people and schools, Cllr Gwen Grahl, who called the DfE’s decision “draconian” and is in favor of a re-inspection by Ofsted. The DfE was contacted for comment but did not respond before publication.

A spokesperson for the Harris Federation told LDRS: “Following a decision by the Department for Education, we are delighted to welcome Byron Court to the Harris Federation. We look forward to working with the school community to restore the high standards for which the school has traditionally been known, so that all pupils benefit from an enriching and rewarding education.”

They added: “The personal development of our students is at the forefront of everything we do and we offer a wide-ranging extra-curricular program to complement our high academic standards. Most of our Ofsted-inspected academies are rated as ‘outstanding’, with inspectors commenting on how encouraging our schools are, as well as the extremely positive relationships we have with pupils and their families.”