Co-op trusts are the way forward for schools

Privatisation is driven by the interests of finance capital now dominating the role of the capitalist class running our country.

As the coalition government reduces the funding for councils up and down the country, it is the education arm - not the social care arm - of the local authority that is the biggest casualty.

In the London Borough of Newham the education arm is becoming a co-operative trust working with headteachers to influence the use of the Direct Schools Budget.

We are building upon the good industrial relations we have with the Newham NAHT and education HR within schools to protect union facility time.

On the wider issue of accessing school assets for privatisation in the interests of finance capital we have been promoting the Schools Co-operative Society recognising that its co-operative ethos can develop a barrier to oppose the privatisation of schools' assets. This could have the potential of enabling schools in a given local authority to continue to work together as a family and embrace sixth-form colleges, which could not be done with the local authority, and eventually academies and free schools.

Robert is correct that local democracy is under attack but it cannot simply be opposed in the hope of maintaining it. In fact the accountable education committees disappeared some years ago under the previous government.

In opposing privatisation of schools we need to look at mechanisms where that local democracy takes on a different form to stop privatisation and working with the Schools Co-operative society provides such a mechanism.

Not only does it have the potential of putting up a barrier to the privatisation agenda in education but it also encourages keeping national conditions of service and pay for teachers and non-teachers in schools under its umbrella resulting from the very ethos of the co-operative movement.

Peter Smith

Secretary, Newham NUT