Jeremy Corbyn at the NUT conference [Image: PA}.

Jeremy Corbyn has recieved a standing ovation from teachers as he condemned government plans for all schools to become academies as “the asset stripping of our education facilities”.

The Labour Party leader, who became the first leader of any political party to address the National Union of Teachers’ conference in living memory, pledged that Labour would support the union’s campaign to oppose the plan.

Later in its weekend conference delegates are expected to back an emergency motion warning of industrial action if the Government goes ahead with its plans – which would mean 17, 000 schools -mostly  primaries – becoming academies by 2022.  A one-day national  strike is planned before the end of the summer term.

In his speech to the conference, Mr Corbyn, who said he was the first Labour party leader ever to address the conference, told teachers: “This is an ideological attack on teachers and on local and parental accountability – an attack which was nowhere in their manifesto at the last general election.”

As part of the plan, the Government ssid they intend to scrap legislation whereby all schools have to have an elected parent representative on their governing body.

Mr Corbyn added: “The Tories want to shut parents out of having a say in how their children’s schools are run.

“I want schools accountable to their local communities – not to those pushing to be the first in line for the asset-stripping of our education facilities to be handed over to somebody else.”

Source: Jeremy Corbyn condemns Government plans to turn all schools into academies | UK Politics | News | The Independent

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