academies | Schools Week

The Education Secretary runs 70% of secondary schools – we’re stuffed if she’s now busy

So, here’s a problem: the education secretary is now directly responsible for around 4,000 English schools under the academy system. Unfortunately, the prime minister has staged a mutiny. The government is basically dead. We’re going to have to wait for 3 months for another one. What the heck happens now? The Prime Minister said on Friday […]

International schools firm set to take over second academy in the UK

An academy trust founded by a firm that runs British international schools in countries including Panama is set to take over its second school in the UK. The King’s Group Academies (KGA) will take over Ringmer community college, in East Sussex, in September. Lyndhurst junior school in Portsmouth joined the trust earlier this year. KGA was […]

Academy conversion: who do you have to consult?

Who do you have to consult when making the decision to convert to an academy – who needs to be involved and at what stage of the process? Jessica says: The question is asking about voluntary conversion. Involuntary, or forced conversions, have different procedures, which are not discussed here. First steps towards conversion The recommended first step […]

Three more deputy directors appointed to support regional schools commissioners

Four deputy directors have now been appointed to support regional schools commissioners and their rising workload. Schools Week revealed last week how the new senior civil servants were in the process of being appointed. We reported that Maria Dawes, head of school effectiveness at Babcock Education, was the first deputy director appointment. Names of three […]

Do “prison academies” make sense?

In light of Michael Gove’s plan for the prison sector to learn from schools, Peter Dawson of the Prison Reform trust explains why a move towards academy-style autonomy is welcome. Professional leaders enjoy telling others about the uniqueness of their personal challenge. One is often reminded of Ron Manager’s bleat that football management is “the ’ardest job in the […]

Top schools now profit from the struggles of the weaker

School improvement funding has moved from allocation based on need to survival of the fittest, says Kiran Gill As a policy rationalist I have to admit to being a New Labour (first term) education fangirl, starting with the infrastructure and funding for school improvement. Once upon a time, local authorities were expected to offer school […]

Super heroes don’t solve problems, they punch people

Watching Nicky Morgan getting beaten up by her own party over forced academy conversions, I suddenly realised the fatal flaw of her plan is not so much money, but the fact it relies on imaginary, magical people. The idea of every school becoming an academy is that headteachers can do it all. They can train […]

I worked on the last DfE white paper – and couldn’t resolve this academy mess

A new DfE white paper? Let’s hope it solves the academy mess, writes Matt Hood Tony Blair came to power in 1997 on a promise of standards and not structures. Ten years’ experience of transforming the public realm changed his mind. He left office reflecting that when it comes to raising standards it turns […]

Academy conversion is an unnecessary distraction – here’s how to survive it

Schools must become academies by 2022. Prolific education tweeter (@SchoolDuggery), and governor, Rachel Gooch advises what to do. Budget Day for the Chancellor coincided with budget day for the large secondary school where I am a governor. Like Osborne, the financial outlook was rather worse than we had expected a year ago. Unlike the […]