We are parents and young people at Hove Park School and other concerned members of the community. We want Hove Park School to remain within local authority control because we believe it will be better for the whole community - children, parents and teaching staff. We are calling on all governors to reject the idea of Hove Park School becoming an Academy.

We don't want our community school to become an academy because:

· Becoming an academy does not help pupils’ learning

An independent analysis of Department for Education statistics indicates that there is no evidence that academies perform better than non-academies in terms of GCSE results.

· The school would no longer be part of Brighton & Hove Local Authority

If Hove Park School became an academy there would be no local, democratic accountability. If you, as a parent, had a problem with the school, neither the local authority nor local councillors would be able to help –your only recourse would be to go to the Secretary of State for Education. And Hove Park School would lose its automatic entitlement to the range of high quality local authority services, from which the school has benefited in recent years.

· Fair Admissions Procedures would be threatened

There is a wide diversity of practice regarding admission to academies. The complexity of these arrangements means there is a lack of transparency for parents and a destabilising effect on the capacity of schools to achieve a balance of abilities amongst pupil intakes.

· Academies undermine the independent role of school governors

Governance arrangements for academies are very different to local authority schools which have a balance of places for elected parents and staff, the local authority and community. In an academy the sponsor always appoints the majority of governors.

· Conversion to an academy undermines and threatens school staff

Academies can employ unqualified teachers and set their own pay, condition and working hours for newly appointed teachers. This leads to a ‘two tier’ workforce and other problems.

· Hove Park parents need to be properly consulted on the proposal

We are asking the Head and school governors for a clear and transparent discussion/consultation with all existing and prospective parents, teachers, support staff and the local community so the whole school community can contribute to any decision making. Unless we are all appropriately convinced of the benefits of Academy status for our community school, we call on all stakeholders to reject the proposal for Hove Park School to become an academy.

We are deeply concerned about any proposal for the school to become an academy. If you are a parent, a potential parent, a pupil or member of staff at the school, or a local resident and you share our concerns please sign our petition.



Contact us at: handsoffhoveparksch@gmail.com