One of England’s biggest academy trusts is set to give up two special schools after deciding they would be better off in a specialist chain.
Lift Schools has said its decision to hand over the academies, both in Essex, “reflects a clear focus on securing [them] the right long-term environment, capacity and professional networks”.
One of the schools, Lift Pioneer, was rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted in 2019, while the other, Lift Columbus, was told it “requires significant improvement” last year.
Both schools cater for children with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) and severe learning difficulties (SLD).
The ‘right’ home
The trust stressed Columbus was “now in a much stronger position, with improved stability and a clear plan for continued improvement”. Pioneer, meanwhile, is “a recognised centre of excellence”.
But Lift added that “as part of its long-term strategic planning”, it concluded “the next phase of development for both schools is best supported within a specialist trust and offers deep, system-wide SEND expertise.
“This decision reflects a clear focus on securing the right long-term environment, capacity and professional networks that specialist schools need to thrive.”
The Bridge MAT – which runs five special schools and two mainstream schools across London and Norfolk – has been lined up to take the schools on.
Decision soon
Lift believes the proposal will give Columbus “sustained access to specialist SEND expertise to support” its improvement.
For Pioneer, it “provides opportunities to strengthen and extend its impact through collaboration, specialist leadership pathways and shared professional development across a wider SEND-focused network”.
The DfE is expected to decide on the transfer next month. If given the go-ahead, Lift plans to hand over the schools in September.
The move will leave Lift with just three special schools, which have different specialisms. The trust said it has “made clear” to its wider staff “that the plans only apply to their two PMLD and SLD schools”.
Writing for Schools Week, Lift CEO Becks Boomer-Clark said: “We do not believe that the long-term needs of pupils with profound and complex needs are best served within a predominantly mainstream trust, however strong its inclusive intent.”
Bucking national trend
It comes in the context of a national trend that has seen more trusts running both mainstream and special schools.
Analysis of government data conducted two years ago showed 212 trusts – nearly one in ten – had at least one special school, up slightly from 202 four years earlier.
This 5 per cent rise compares to the overall number of chains falling by 16 per cent over the same period. Meanwhile, the number of special school-only trusts dropped to 87, down from 107.
Government is expected to publish its proposals for SEND reform in a white paper in the coming weeks. These will focus on early intervention, setting up more specialist provision in mainstream schools – such as SEND units – and upskilling teachers.
However, Boomer-Clark argued that “if every trust believes it must be able to do everything, we will end up doing too many things thinly, rather than a few things really well”.
In her eyes, a “mature school system should allow for specialisation without stigma and for divestment without failure narratives”.
Trusts ‘more strategic’
The move also comes after it was revealed in November that Ormiston Academies Trust had applied to the DfE to give up one of its founding schools.
The move will see Ormiston Park Academy, the trust’s only academy in Thurrock, join the Unity Schools Partnership next year. The chains have worked together informally to drive improvement.
Education consultant Lucia Glynn said the case highlighted the shift towards MATs targeting “more strategic” growth. The priority in the early academy days was “for big trusts to grow and grow and grow”, she added.
With 45 schools on its books, Ormiston is the ninth-largest trust in the country. Lift, with 58 academies, is fifth.
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