16 October 2008

Early Day Motions - Veredus And Academies

Ken Purchase is a Labour MP in Wolverhampton. He has an interesting Early Day Motion underway. EDMs are like straw polls amongst MPs, and they sometimes lead to pressure on the government through media attention, or private members bills.

His EDM is about the Department for Children, Schools and Families employing "the headhunting firm Veredus to recruit headteachers to work in academy schools under a completely separate procedure from normal recruitment processes."

Veredus has been part of the academy project for a while. Back in 2000, Sir Bruce Liddington was appointed by the Department of Education to give professional advice on the development of academy projects, while also a "freelance associate" for Veredus.

Purchase wants a moratorium, while an assessment of the impact of headhunting on neighbouring schools is carried out. Up to 1 000 schools around the country have started the new school year without a permanent head, and the government is employing a private firm to drain even more talent towards academies. Crazy, isn't it?

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