academy trust | Schools Week

‘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 […]

Struggling schools need ‘support, not public tellings-off’

An academy trust given a termination warning notice for one of its schools has called the procedure “demotivating” and “against the basic principles of education”. The Dean Trust was sent the notice by the Department for Education in May after its Dean Trust Wigan school was rated ‘inadequate’ after an Ofsted inspection in February last […]

Williamson’s policy adviser set to be new Ofqual boss

A former academy trust boss and policy adviser to Gavin Williamson has been put forward to be the new chief regulator of Ofqual. The government has named Dr Jo Saxton as its preferred candidate for the role, following approval by the prime minister. Simon Lebus has been in post in the top job on an […]

Cottages on Durand boarding school site listed for sale as dispute over proceeds drags on

A dispute over proceeds from the sale of a failed state boarding school is dragging on four years after it closed, with two cottages on the West Sussex site now listed for sale at £500,000 apiece. Durand Academy’s satellite boarding site at St Cuthman‘s, near Midhurst, closed in 2017 after the Department for Education withdrew […]

DfE officials plan schools white paper to deliver Williamson’s ‘vision’ for schools

Gavin Williamson has pledged to set out a “broader vision” for the school system later this year, with officials understood to be planning a white paper. That’s one of those key planks, finishing those reforms that were started back in 2010 Asked about his plans for schools, Williamson said the system would be “moving over […]

New academy rules put trust autonomy at risk, say sector leaders

Sector leaders are warning the new academy trust handbook could undermine board autonomy , and demanding the government confirm whether it spells “broader intervention” in future. Most of the changes to the rebranded 2021 edition, previously known as the academies financial handbook, are simply pulling in existing school guidance from elsewhere. Minister Baroness Berridge’s foreword […]

England’s largest academy trust gives up struggling school

England’s biggest multi-academy trust is set to hand a struggling Leeds school to another chain, ending a seven-year effort to turn around its fortunes. United Learning will transfer John Smeaton Academy to The Gorse Academies Trust (TGAT) in September. Sir John Townsley, TGAT’s chief executive, told parents in a letter that pupils would benefit from […]

DfE’s ‘Falcon’ turnaround trust tells staff there’s no such thing as a free lunch

The government’s turnaround “Falcon” trust has made cutbacks at a struggling academy that even the Department for Education’s cost-cutting consultants previously left untouched – telling some staff there’s no such thing as a free lunch. The Falcon Education Academies Trust took on its first school, Thornaby Academy in Stockton-on-Tees, last September. The trust was launched […]

£125k salary fails to attract boss for ‘orphan’ academy trust

An academy trust for schools struggling to find sponsors is facing its own struggle to find a chief executive – despite offering an annual salary of £125,000. Falcon Education Academies Trust was launched as part of a government pilot in 2019 to turn around “orphan” schools in the north of England. But Gareth Mason, its […]