Over the last ten years or so, the government has brought a regime into schools that has battened down on teachers to teach reading and writing in a way that bores teachers and bores kids.
This week saw the launch of the "Our Schools, Our Colleges, Our Communities" campaign in London, organised by the UCU and NUT unions to fight back against the free market agenda in education.
"The management freedom given to academies should be rolled out across the whole state sector," said Richard Tice, chair of Northampton Academy school.
Members of the UCU union in higher education have voted to reject proposed changes to national negotiating structures. Some 61 percent voted no and 39 percent voted yes on a turnout of 27 percent.
Over 250,000 teachers in the NUT union will be balloted from Thursday of this week on whether to hold a one-day strike over their below-inflation pay offer. If teachers vote yes in the ballot it could lead to the first national teachers strike in over 20 years.
The "progressive" face of New Labour’s academy programme slipped this week, after a leading academy sponsor spoke of his desire to deny parents the right to appeal over exclusions and described teaching unions as a "block to reform".
National Union of Teachers (NUT) members at Darton High School in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, began striking for three days from Tuesday of this week, followed by another three day strike starting on Tuesday of next week.
UCU union members are currently being balloted over new national negotiating structures in the higher education sector. The ballot ends on Monday of next week.
