Commenting on the statement by Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove that an academy or free school should be the first choice for local authorities planning to set up a new school in their area, Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, the largest teachers’ union, said:
“The Secretary of State is being totally disingenuous in seeking to imply that local authorities have the ‘choice’ to set up a free school or an academy.
“The fact is they have no choice.
“If they wish to set up a new school, to meet local demand for places, it is quite clear in the Education Bill that it will have to be an academy or a free school.
“The reality is that if they make another choice they will be overruled by the Secretary of State.
“To paraphrase the words of Henry Ford, ‘you can have any school as long as it’s an academy’.”
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