| SPOTLIGHT |
The High Court has given permission to three claimants who argue the Department for Education's proposed operating model for its arms-length body, Oak National Academy, is unlawful.
Oak National Academy began operating in April 2020 as a charity providing online resources to teachers during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, in March 2022, the Government announced plans for the organisation to become an independent public body tasked with creating and publishing free curriculum packages.
As an independent public body, the organisation now creates 'curriculum maps' and provides free digital teaching resources for schools across England.
However, the British Educational Suppliers Association, the Publishers Association, and the Society of Authors, who are co-claimants in the proceedings, said that the plans for the new academy are "an unprecedented and unevidenced intervention” that risks causing damage to the school sector.
In granting permission for the hearing, Rory Dunlop KC said in his judgment that a ground concerning whether the Curriculum Body is an economic actor "raises an arguable point of law suitable for a substantive hearing".
A spokesperson for the three claimants said: "A judicial review has always been a route of last resort, but as the Government continues to press ahead with its plans for Oak – disregarding the concerns of authors, edtech innovators, publishers, schools, teachers, unions, and many others across the school sector – we are left with no other option to protect the autonomy of teachers, the experiences of learners, and the UK's world-class education resources sector. The court has recognised that these concerns deserve a proper hearing."
The statement later claimed that the £45m plans put strain on "already stretched" public funding for education.
It added: "It creates a one-size-fits-all state publisher that promotes a single curriculum, controlled by the ministers of the day. No existing provider can compete fairly with this. It will undo decades of work by publishers, tech innovators and others whose expert workforce have created our existing rich range of world-leading resources for school children across the country."
The Department for Education has been approached.
Adam Carey
