David Lammy's letter (Stop this bullying over academy status, 17 December) and Warwick Mansell's article (It's the end of state education, 20 December) were both wrong on motives and methods. Our motivation is simply to raise standards for children. Eight primary schools in Haringey are below the floor standard – the highest number in London, with five having been below for four or more of the past five years. Ofsted has said five Haringey primaries need significant improvement. Our support for academies is not based on an ideological whim but on evidence which started to accumulate under the Labour government. It has been backed up by independent reports from the London School of Economics and the National Audit Office. Schools in some of our most deprived areas, which were once underperforming, have been transformed thanks to the academy programme, supported by passionate sponsors and fantastic teachers.
Back in June, the secretary of state said the government would be targeting underperforming primary schools. He rightly did not "name and shame" local authorities or schools. Since then officials have had six monthly meetings with Haringey. They have also met local headteachers. At all stages we have been clear that our goal is school improvement and have sought to work with the local authority – as we have done successfully in many other parts of the country. So perhaps it is not our stance on academies which is ideological. All we want is a lasting solution to underperformance so children in Haringey can have the opportunities that exist in neighbouring LAs.
Jonathan Hill
Parliamentary under-secretary of state for schools
• The Department for Education spokeswoman cries crocodile tears for Downhills school. The truth is, the school and the local authority have worked hard on the weaknesses identified by Ofsted, and any fair inspection team would recognise this. Michael Gove wants an academy to claim all the credit for the school's hard work. Private sponsors would love to get their hands on Downhills; the work's all done for them. Results this summer will be the highest in the school's history. Schools in places like Tottenham need a lot of help, support and resources. The levels of poverty they deal with, and the challenges they face, are far beyond the understanding of a millionaire cabinet or a privately educated education secretary of state. These schools cannot be allowed to drift off by themselves; they are part of a local education service. They are safe havens for children and families, at the heart of deprived, transient and often volatile communities.
Far from explaining "the clear benefits of sponsored academy status", the DfE has floundered under direct questioning. There are no forced academies anywhere else in the country. Why should Downhills school be the first?
Julie Davies
London
• Michael Gove's one–man manic crusade to compel primary schools to become academies risks undermining the very fabric of our education system. While no one can underestimate the importance of ensuring that all children achieve a good grounding in the basic building blocks of maths and English, these are not the be all and end all of a child's education. It is the responsibility of every school to nurture the "whole child". Education in humanities, ICT, natural sciences, sport, dance, drama, social development, cultural and community understanding, all play a critical part in this process. The joy of being involved in early-years education is seeing each child explore the world around them and find where their talent lies. A school is failing to fulfil its full responsibility if it seeks only to be a factory churning out children who can pass exams but are unable to think critically for themselves.
The key issue for the governance of a school is that it has a direct responsibilty to its own area through governors who are parents or representatives of the local community – like me. We give our time voluntarily, using our skills and experience to exercise legal responsibilities for the welfare and education of the children. It is not anyone's place – Michael Gove included – to force any structure of governance on us. That is for us as governors to decide and to answer to those who put us there. Forcing any school into academy status destroys this local accountability and changes the whole focus of education. The inevitable destination in this move is the involvement of organisations whose principal motive is profit, not education or the welfare of children. And that is the end of community education, and we shall all be the poorer for it.
Stewart Goshawk
Billericay, Essex
• Remember when the Lib Dems were opposed to academy schools? In their last manifesto they said they'd get rid of them, two pages before the section about scrapping university tuition fees.
Martin Quinn
Tavistock, Devon