THURROCK Tories have pledged to end Thurrock Council control of the borough’s schools.
The pledge is one of the key pieces of their manifesto.
Whilst Labour’s portfolio holder, Oliver Gerrish has embraced a role of “partnership-working” as more and more schools become academies, the Tory role is far more bullish and confrontational.
Over recent months, Tory shadow portfolio holder, Orsett councillor Mike Revell has been particularly vocal in council meetings on the subject of education.
Cllr Revell has also been highly critical of council officers who have been at loggerheads with many of the high-achieving heads.
The Tory manifesto states:
“We will reduce the amount of schools money that the council keeps centrally (currently over £10 million per year). We will pass the savings directly to local schools, for head-teachers and governors to set their own priorities.
“We will help schools work together to buy the support services that they decide they still need (some of our secondary’s have already saved up to 50% by doing this).
“We will end Labour’s culture of hostility towards free and academy schools, and work with them as equal partners in improving education for children in Thurrock.”
All senior schools in the borough apart from Grays School and Grays Convent are now academies whilst behind the scenes, a large number of primary schools are developing links with their “sister senior schools” and likely to have some form of academy status by 2013.
Surely just an oversight in the Conservative Manifesto for Thurrock as I can’t find any pledge to scrap the post of Portfolio Holder for Education?
If a Conservative controlled Council will end Thurrock Council control of schools why then would we need a Portfolio Holder for Education? Will the Conservatives pledge to scrap the role of Portfolio Holder for Education, thus saving the cost of the Portfolio allowance, otherwise we have a Portfolio Holder in control of nothing but still receiving a Portfolio Holders allowance?
How many staff in the Education department and what will their redundancy costs be? Or will the staff be transferred to other roles within the local authority – so there will be no real staff cost savings?
Perhaps some clarification should be sought?
Good points, Ed. Not all schools can make savings by buying-in services elsewhere: in some cases, Thurrock does in fact offer best value. There are also significant numbers of schools who do not feel they are controlled by the council, but would honestly say they feel supported by the council. No doubt there are areas of waste within the education dept in Thurrock Council. Last year’s online consultation asked for, and got, many suggestions for saving money within the council, some of them clearly sent in by people who work in that department.
Lastly, I’m sure the Thurrock academies are doing a good job, but haven’t the Tories noticed the number of other academies that Ofsted are not happy with, to the extent that many are going into special measures when inspected?
I think the conservatives are just being realistic
The schools are leaving anyway, its only Labour that is against Academies as they are supported by the unions, and the unions hate Academies. The schools do not always have a great relationship with the LA.
With all of these schools converting already, I would like to know if this department is at the same size as it was prior to the change.
Now now. Don’t be to critical of the Tory manifesto. You know where the “oap” allowance will go especially when one doesn’t have to do anything for it.
What the Conservative manifesto fails to mention is that irrespective of there being Labour or Conservatives in control of Thurrock Council school funding may be given directly to schools anyway under Government reforms.
On 26 March 2012 the Secretary of State, Michael Gove, published ‘School funding reform: next steps towards a fairer system’.
Michael Gove states in the forward to this document “I want a system where taxpayers’ money intended for education goes directly to those schools responsible for delivering it.”
So it would appear all the Conservatives are doing is plucking a current Government proposal and sticking it in their local election manifesto as if it is the local Conservatives that are proposing something radical – when in reality, irrespective who controls Thurrock Council after Mays elections, education funding is being reformed anyway.
We could have a Labour controlled Council implementing the funding reforms proposed in this local manifesto, not because they are stealing an idea from the local Conservatives, but because it is being imposed from Central Government.
I wonder what other pledges in this manifesto are actually Government proposals in the pipeline that are going to be imposed on local authorities anyway?
So, if Ed is right, the local Tories are actually doing the smart thing and including policies in their manifesto which are going to be imposed by Government anyway. What Ed fails to understand is that the majority of voters haven’t a clue what the Government policies are so won’t notice. Equally, many voters will vote without knowing what their local Party’s policies are too, they will vote red or blue because they always do (by and large, I know some will vote for other parties if they have options). I wonder if Labour are missing a trick by not doing the same as the Tories? It would be a bit of an own goal if they oppose policies that they are going to end up lumbered with anyway. Unless, of course, they reckon on losing overall control of the council in which case they may have plenty of ammo to use against the Tories when unpopular measures are passed?
Labour have used the same trick in the past. I recall their local election pledge to introduce community policing teams across Thurrock if they gained control of Thurrock Council, but forgetting to mention that the Police were going to do this irrespective of who ran the council. I believe June Brown, former Tilbury Councillor had a letter in the Gazette at the time exposing this con.
I also note in the Thurrock Conservatives manifesto pledges that are being introduced by the current Labour run authority in the very near future. Why we haven’t had Labour Councillors pointing out that the Conservatives are stealing their ideas is a mystery to me?
grays64 – Thurrock has two members of Parliament who receive very large communication allowances, one of whom has a regular column in the Gazette, and both of whom would appear not to want to be interviewed by the YourThurrock, surely it should be upto Thurrock’s two expensive, and somewhat silent, Members of Parliament to be explaining to the mere mortals of Thurrock exactly what the Coalition Government are proposing.
If the local Conservative politicans wanted to be honest with the electorate and not treat people like idiots (OK I know the words honest and politicians are like chalk and cheese or black and white) then their local election manifesto would explain this proposal is a current Government reform and not their radical local idea. Why be underhand in the way this is explained to residents?
At the end of the day is reforming the funding of local schools a big burning issue on the doorstep of Aveley, Tilbury, Chafford and Stanford-le-Hope? Will thousands of Thurrock residents decide this is the issue that will make them put their cross in the Conservative box?
A number of interesting points raised above. I think on school funding the key point is this – Tories believe in it, so if we get in we’ll get on and do it. That way Thurrock schools won’t have to wait until the wheels of Government force it to happen to get their hands on their own money! By contrast, one imagines Labour either actively oppose this, or are just indifferent (who knows – no sign of a local manifesto from Labour…)
Ed, I totally agree with what you say, of course the MP’s should be out and about explaining their policies but, unless they are up for election themselves, they never do. As you say, the Thurrock Tories could explain that some of their policies are handed down from Government but since when did politics have anything to do with being honest with the electorate? And that’s the problem. After years of bullsh*t from both main parties, why should anybody believe a damn thing in any of their manifesto’s?
Every election time we get the Labour and Tory Parties spouting a load of crap which we, as gullible voters, take them at their word on. Once the election is done, they forget about the electorate and do as they damn please. I haven’t seen any Party leaflets yet but, when they arrive, they will be going into the recycling bin, unread. That is all they are fit for.
I just wish there was a ‘none of the above’ box on the voting slip, it would probably win in Thurrock.
Ben – the rules governing the funding for schools is set by Central Government. I doubt a local authority can just rip up these binding rules and make their own up without a change in legislation from Central Government?
As the funding for 2012/13 has already been allocated the earliest a Conservative controlled Thurrock Council could implement these changes is 2013/14 – the very financial year Goves reforms wil impact upon – so no Thurrock Conservatives can’t implement these changes any quicker.
Schools already get their hands on their own money – these reforms mean it bypasses any local education authority control and is given straight to the school.
Ben – I believe you are a Conservative Council candidate this year – tell me the Conservative policy on building houses on the green belt and building more traveller pitches in Thurrock? How many houses will the Conservatives allow to be built in Thurrock and how many gypsy/traveller pitches will a Conservative controlled Thurrock Council build?
The best thing for any school is for both Central Government and Local Govenment to stop poking their noses into education, so many times the curriculum has changed and teachers are doing more paper work now than actual teaching, they should eb able to control their own budget and be autonomus in ther day to day activities.