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29 April 2026

Tag: academies

RSC headteacher boards rebranded as fresh elections loom

The headteacher boards which advise regional schools commissioners are set for a rebrand, as fresh elections loom for the roles overseeing the academy system. A tender notice for a contractor to run elections between September and March refers to “regional advisory boards”, with four roles up for grabs in each of the eight areas covered […]

Academy trusts’ cash stash rises to £3bn despite pandemic pressures

Academy trusts boosted their reserves and surpluses last year despite the upheaval of Covid, official figures show. New Department for Education data confirms a 20 per cent jump in the average trust’s reserves, up from £0.96 million a year earlier to £1.15 million. The figures cover the year to the end of last August however, […]

Death of the single academy? Leaked documents reveal DfE vision

Standalone and small multi-academy trusts will wither away as mergers fuel the growth of larger trusts, according to leaked Department for Education documents seen by Schools Week. The news comes as a Schools Week analysis suggests a merger was approved every five days over the past year. It lays bare the scale of growth in […]

‘Phoenix’ free schools should replace ‘stubborn’ underperformers, says report

The government should replace “stubbornly” underperforming schools with new “phoenix” free schools, rank multi-academy trusts on improvement and buy out PFI contracts to level up education, according to a new report. Research by the conservative think-tank Onward and the charity New Schools Network, which supports free schools, found that 200,000 children lived in areas with […]

RSC’s push to get communities on board not matched by academy guidance

The Department for Education has quietly removed the need for schools to be “answerable” to communities and parents from its governance handbook. It comes in spite of renewed emphasis in recent weeks on community involvement, with Claire Burton, the regional schools commissioner for south east England and south London, saying academising schools must show the […]

Teacher departures down 17% during pandemic, plus 4 more school workforce findings

Teaching’s increasingly young and diverse workforce continued to grow last year as staff departures slumped during Covid, new figures show. The Department for Education published its annual ‘school worforce in England’ data on Thursday, based on the November 2020 school workforce census. Here are the key findings.   1. Teacher numbers rise as staff stay […]

Speed read: ‘Academy trust handbook’ 2021 published as DfE rebrands key guide

The DfE has rebranded the academies financial handbook as the academy trust handbook, with ministers dubbing the latest edition a “one stop shop” for academy leaders. The update has also seen financial notices to improve renamed as “notices to improve”, to reflect that the warnings issued to academies sometimes cover “broader governance issues”. Baroness Berridge, […]