academy trusts | Schools Week

Academy ‘tipping point’ is 5 years away, says minister …. and 4 other things we learned at today’s education select committee

The academies minister Lord Nash and Education Funding Agency chief executive Peter Lauener took questions on academy trusts from MPs this morning. Here is what we learned… 1. The tipping point for full academisation will still come in 5 to 6 years The government may have abandoned its plans to force all schools to become […]

11 academy trusts now have more than 30 schools and are labelled ‘system leaders’

There are now 11 ‘system leader’ academy chains in England, but almost a third of academies are still operating within single-academy trusts, new research has revealed. A report released today by the National Foundation for Education Research (NFER) shows that 11 trusts are now over the 30-school threshold to become one of the government’s ‘system […]

Academy sponsored by ‘top-performing’ Bright Tribe ‘placed in special measures’

An academy run by a trust given extra government funding after being lauded by ministers has been put in special measures, with school staff issuing a vote of no confidence in the academy chain. More than 50 staff members at Whitehaven Academy, in Cumbria, have written an open letter today criticising the school’s sponsor Bright […]

Ridings Federation of Academies issued with financial notice to improve over potential ‘£1 million deficit’

A trust in charge of two academies has been issued with a financial notice to improve – and the threat that its funding could be terminated if a reported £1 million deficit is not balanced out. The Ridings Federation of Academies, which runs the Winterbourne International Academy and Yate International Academy in Bristol, has been told […]

Plymouth Cast trust criticised over leadership and safeguarding failings

A trust that qualified to be a “system leader” under government plans to rank academy chains has been criticised for failing to provide improvement support after an inspection by Ofsted. Ten of the 36 academies run by Plymouth CAST trust were inspected as part of a focused inspection in October after concerns over the trust’s […]

Try before you buy: the new way for multi-academy trusts to takeover schools

Academy trusts are taking struggling schools on loan for a year as part of a “try before you buy” scheme. Multi-academy trusts (MATs) are being signed up on short-term deals to provide leadership support for schools enduring turbulent times, allowing both parties to scope each other out before a possible takeover. Speaking at the National […]

The 8 most important findings from the government’s new-look academies report

The Education Committee has today published a “dry run” of how the Department for Education plans to report finances in the academy sector. It reveals more than 100 academy chiefs are paid more than £150,000 – with two staff receiving bumper pay-offs of up to £200,000. The dry run, covering the 2014-15 financial year, has […]

Academy trusts wanting cash to grow ‘rejected’ by DfE

Cash handouts to help academy trusts expand are not reaching all the chains that want them, says a senior government official. Applications for the latest round of sponsor capacity funding – government cash available for trusts that want to take over new schools – closed in July. But a senior government official told the MAT […]

Virtual lessons no ‘panacea’, says trust’s technology director

Academy trusts that want to set up “virtual centres of excellence” should be “cautious” about expected results, warns a technology director at a chain that already delivers online lessons. The education green paper published last month encourages trusts to educate their high-attaining pupils in “centres of excellence”, which can be “virtual” to get around potential […]