This year has been a dramatic one for schools in Liverpool – could we now see a major shift in how our local education system is run?
Teachers from LIPA Primary School on Upper Duke Street Liverpool strike, May 21 2025(Image: Wesley Holmes)
The past year has been a dramatic one in the world of Liverpool schools. We have seen strike action, damning Ofsted reports and even one city school forced to urgently close over safety concerns.
One thing that links the various schools involved in these news stories is that they are all academies – state-funded schools that operate independently of local authorities. Academies have more freedom over their finances, curriculum and staffing than local authority schools. While some will argue that academies can improve education standards, there are strong criticisms about the model, with critics saying they lack important oversight and accountability when things go wrong, while also reducing parental choice.
The movement against academies appears to now be gaining traction in Liverpool.
At the most recent full council meeting, Liverpool leader Liam Robinson brought forward a motion along with his fellow city councillor Joanne Kennedy, which proudly declared that the “era of forced academisation is over.”
This referred to the government’s Children’s and Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which proposes to repeal the existing duty for the Secretary of State to issue an academy order for schools that are deemed to be causing concern.
This means that instead of automatically forcing schools into academy status when they are failing, the Secretary of State will be able to decide on the most appropriate intervention.
In his motion, Cllr Robinson said: “This council notes that the Government has brought forward legislation to remove this existing legal presumption that new schools should be academies, allowing proposals for other types of schools, including those run by the local authority.
“The council notes that, concerningly, a number of multi academy trusts are unwilling to engage in meaningful negotiations with trade unions and have challenged union recognition.”
Cllr Robinson added: “Schools should have the opportunity to become academies, but only if this does not further reduce parental choice, following a full consultation of the school community.”
The motion comes after the ECHO has reported on a number of ongoing issues with academy schools in Liverpool.
This has included LIPA School, which is run by the LIPA Multi Academy Trust, and was recently the subject of a scathing Ofsted report, which placed the primary and secondary school into special measures.
Staff at the school, who have been involved in strike action earlier this year, have told the ECHO about the chaotic, dysfunctional and at times dangerous situation within the school, in which pupil behaviour is out of control and much of the senior leadership team is absent and staff morale is said to be at an all time low.
After the damning Ofsted report came out in June, things got worse for the school when the ECHO revealed the troubled school would have to shut down urgently before the end of term over safety issues.
Striking school staff at Gateacre School
LIPA isn’t the only academy in the city to have faced disruption this year. Earlier in 2025, the ECHO reported from picket lines outside Gateacre School, which is operated by the Northern Schools Trust.
Staff and union officials said industrial action was being held because of what they claimed were “appalling practices” at the trust, including “intimidation, bullying, workload issues” and the fact that the trust would not recognise trade unions.
One school that is facing disruption because of a move towards becoming an academy is Pinehurst Primary in Anfield. After a ballot by the National Education Union, more than 30 teaching staff started a series of strikes in July, with walk-outs set to continue on September 9 and 11.
As a result of the forthcoming action, the school has now told parents it will not be opening as planned on Wednesday September 3, pushing this date to Friday September 5.
The union says this action is being taken over the school’s plans to become an academy, a move staff say is being imposed on them without proper consultation. The school’s governing body said it believes that “applying for academy status and joining a multi-academy trust of our choice is firmly in the best interests of Pinehurst.”
For the National Education Union, the motion from council leader Liam Robinson has signalled “a significant shift in the local education landscape, particularly in light of recent trade union disputes and motions concerning academisation in Liverpool.”
Regional officer Bora Oktas said: “The case of Pinehurst Primary, as well as those at Gateacre and LIPA, has brought to the surface a growing resistance to forced academisation, not just from staff and unions, but increasingly from elected representatives.
“The motion passed by Liverpool City Council—strengthened by amendments highlighting the importance of union engagement—signals a clear change in tone. There’s a paradigm shift emerging: one that favours local accountability, meaningful consultation, and a renewed role for local authorities in school governance.
“This shift is being shaped by grassroots action, including picket lines, community mobilisation, and political lobbying. It’s also being echoed in national conversations about the future of education policy and the role of Multi Academy Trusts.”