A 16-school trust is set to merge with a group of specialist academies, as it bids to support children with “a broader range of needs”.
Reach South Academy Trust has announced the Transforming Futures Trust – which runs three special schools and one AP – has decided to join its ranks.
This comes after Schools Week revealed an explosion in the number of children with special needs was prompting mainstream schools to join academy chains that specialise in SEND last year.
Tom Leverage, Reach South’s CEO designate, said: “We are thrilled that Transforming Futures Trust have decided to join our family of schools.
‘Truly inclusive education’
“Their expertise in alternative and special education aligns perfectly with our mission to provide truly inclusive education for all.”
The move will take Reach South’s tally of academies to 20. It already runs three special schools.
The trust said the merger – expected to be completed in February – will build “its capacity to deliver high-quality education across a broader range of needs”.
Transforming Futures chair Carole Burgoyne added: “We have identified many opportunities for our children and young people to thrive and reach their full potential through this partnership and look forward to our staff being able to share their expertise in special and alternative provision education.”
Trusts look for specialist help
Analysis of government data last September showed 212 trusts – nearly one in ten – had at least one special school, up slightly from 202 four years earlier.
But this 5 per cent rise compares to the overall number of chains falling by 16 per cent over the same period.
About 29 per cent of the academies in the 212 trusts are special schools. That stood at 32 per cent in 2020 – suggesting MATs have taken on a growing number of mainstream schools.
Meanwhile, the number of special school-only trusts dropped to 87, down from 107.
Over 480,000 children have an education, health and care plan (EHCP). This is the highest figure on record and 11 per cent more than last year.
Warren Carratt, the chief executive of the Nexus MAT which runs 16 special and one mainstream school, previously said he has seen an increase in primary schools “opening discussions” on academisation, often because the trust could help and support pupils with SEND.
More trust mergers on the way
Government has promised to publish its proposals for SEND reform in a white paper this autumn. These will focus on early intervention, setting up more specialist provision in mainstream schools – such as SEND units – and upskilling teachers.
Speaking in Parliament last month, education secretary Bridget Phillipson insisted “there will always be a legal right to the additional support that children with SEND need, and we will protect it”.
This came after she refused to rule out scrapping EHCPs during an interview with the BBC.
The Reach South and Transforming Futures move is the latest in a string of recent mergers. In May, it was confirmed ministers had given the Archdiocese of Birmingham the go-ahead to create England’s second biggest multi-academy trust.
Plans for Futura Learning Partnership and the Olympus Academy Trust to form a 35-school MAT have also been greenlit.
The Compass Partnership of Schools and Eko Trust will also form a new 25-school chain stretching across London, Essex, Suffolk and Brighton next year.
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