I went out campaigning last night, a mixed response but the majority I spoke to were Labour, many people were out. We held another conversation about Labour’s leadership of the council, this time about Education.
It is an area of controversy in the Ward and while there are massive constraints on what the Council can do, it needs to do better because the Party made promises in 2014 that it would improve Lewisham’s secondary schools. Effective action isn’t helped by the deliberate decoupling of the management of schools (by Thatcher/Baker), the Academies programme, (started by Blair, expanded by Cameron & May) and now the funding crisis as the Tories remove money from the schools programmes. Most of the schools funding comes from central government, and all the management decisions are taken by School Governors. The quality of the school is based on the quality of its leadership, both professional and the governors and this is evident in the northern parts of Lewisham Borough.
I understand the reasons for claiming success when Lewisham children get into Lewisham schools since Local Management of Schools means that the Council no longer takes these decisions but we need to do more. We need a Labour government committed to a National Education service, just as well there’s a general election on and that’s what they’re promising.