academy trusts | Schools Week

‘It’s all about the money’: The REAL reason behind forced academisation

Why are the Conservatives intent on making every school into an academy? It’s not about standards, it’s all about the money, writes Mike Cameron. It is becoming clear to anyone with even a passing understanding of the issues that academisation is not a universal panacea that cures all of a schools ills. The evidence we […]

Education white paper’s ‘policy fantasies’ don’t address the real issues facing schools

The 2016 White Paper finishes the messy reforms began in 2010 to create a fully school-led system. I announced this to my teacher-friend over dinner last night. She hadn’t a clue what I was talking about. In 2010, a McKinsey report on the ‘best education systems in the world’ shaped policy wisdom on how to […]

White Paper: Erosion of local authorities could see a ‘wild west’ race to the bottom

The first thing that is striking about the White Paper is the change of tone from Michael Gove’s era as education secretary. While Michael Gove wanted to leave education up to the market and hope that “a thousand flowers will bloom”, Nicky Morgan has clearly decided the government needs to proactively boost capacity and give […]

What Is An Academy? (And other questions about converting schools)

The government has announced it wants all schools to become academies by 2022. But what are they? Editor Laura McInerney looks at questions about the policy, and tries to answer them straightforwardly. 1. Aren’t academies run by private companies? Is this just privatisation of schools? Not quite. We have to be careful with language […]

‘This revolution in governance does not include barricades’

The multi academy trust is an increasingly common form of school governance. Should governors embrace the change or make more fuss as they lose their decision-making powers? A school governance revolution, arguably as fundamental as devolving local management to schools after the Education Reform Act 1988, is going on largely unnoticed in England. The changes […]

Education bill: Who will pay the bills as academies are passed around between trusts?

With the late inclusion of academies and free schools in new coasting schools legislation, schools could be passed around like Premiership footballers, leading to worries over costs, warns Phil Reynolds. The government has been very clear in their vision to ensure that school performance is not ‘coasting’ and their target to make every school in […]

‘Partnering up is the future for academies’

In 2011, two thirds of primary academies were standalone – but by 2015 65 per cent were in a multi-academy trust. For many schools, outcomes have improved because they support each other The government’s academy programme is growing fast. Sixty five per cent of secondary schools and 18 per cent of primaries now operate outside […]

So you want to join an academy trust? Make sure you ask these 7 questions first

Many schools will be thinking about joining a trust or federation. This is probably a sensible response to rising costs, falling budgets, diminishing services and ever-more demanding accountability. But groups of schools come in all shapes and sizes. We have to look behind the label and discover what is really going on. These sorts of […]

The 5 things we look for in schools wanting to join our academy trust

Educationists often are asked to behave like used car salesmen to promote their wares, but always take a proper look under the bonnet before you make long-term commitments. When I’m considering schools that want to join the Ormiston Academies Trust (OAT) – and we’re not short of requests – I go through a number of […]