Every school in the borough should become an academy or free school is the vision of the borough’s Tory leader.
Councillor Nicholas Botterill, leader of Hammersmith and Fulham Council, in an exclusive interview with the Chronicle said: “I think that would be our ultimate aim – on a philosophical level. But we have to move at a speed which is practical and it depends on the circumstances of each school.”
Academies enable failing schools to turn around quickly and effectively, he said, highlighting the drastic improvements of Burlington Danes since joining the ARK academy provider.
“If a school starts to fail it could take a few years to improve – that’s somebody’s education being trashed in the meantime. We can’t just waste children’s academic years.”
He criticised teaching unions, which have resisted academy transformations nationally – and locally when Canberra Primary School in White City was forced to become ARK Swift Primary Academy in September.
“I know the trade unions don’t like academies but I think the trade unions in particular are responsible for the problems in our schools – their inability to move with the times and frustrating all the processes going on in schools.
“In Wales they have stopped publishing results, since then the Welsh primary education is considerably worse and it’s because of the unions. You cannot always be run by producer interests.
“The good thing about academies is bringing lots of other interests into education. Academies challenge the status quo and allow more flexibility and dynamism.”
In the lead up to the local elections on May 22, Mr Botterill said his party’s three priorities were council tax, parks and crime.
The authority has pledged to reduce council tax by three per cent this year, the lowest since 1999 and the third lowest borough in the country.
“I believe it’s morally the right thing to do,” said Mr Botterill.
“People shouldn’t be paying more tax than they need to. The cut adds up to a lot of money for a lot of people who have modest incomes in this borough. I don’t believe that Labour would’ve done that if they had been in power, they hadn’t done it in the 20 years beforehand.”
Crime in the borough is among the lowest in the capital and the authority has paid for 42 extra police officers in town centres.
Many of the borough’s parks have Green Flags, which Mr Botterill said is ‘important to virtually everybody. Very few people use social services or schools but many people use parks and walk the streets.”
Lastly, he said he was committed to making Hammersmith and Fulham a ‘borough of opportunity’ particularly for young people.
The council is doing this by providing more low cost housing in the borough, through the Home Buy and Right to Buy schemes, Mr Botterill said.
It is also committed to ensuring Westfield works closely with community groups in White City to provide jobs for local people first and foremost ahead of its extension plans.
Mr Botterill, 51, moved to the borough from Sheffield 20 years ago where he co-founded Teddies Nurseries. He has represented residents in the Parsons Green area for the last 17 years and became leader two years ago. The councillor lives in Fulham with his wife and two children.
“I got into local politics because I was fed up of tripping over black sacks in Shepherd’s Bush Road and wanted to get involved to do something about it,” he said. “I’m passionate about what I do.”
