Academies

Read the stories behind the photos: www.education.gov.uk/academies

September 2013

Freedom in delivering the curriculum

Ability to set own pay and conditions for staff

Greater control of the budget

Freedom to change the length of terms

But some things are the same

Academies have to comply with the Admissions, exclusions and Special Educational Needs (SEN) laws and relevant codes, like all maintained schools

1. What are academies?Academies are independent non-profit making state-funded schools providing greater freedom & flexibility to heads & teachers

Education Reform

Academies are a key part of the government’s education reforms:

Giving freedom and autonomy to teachers and school leaders

Providing real choice for parents

Raising standards and turning around underperforming schools

Using freedoms Platanos College in Lambeth has an innovative

curriculum model for lower ability Key Stage 3 pupils, teaching them in smaller groups, using a primary model

The Mosley Academy, Burton upon Trent found that as an academy they have more influence with the local authority and have negotiated a lower price for their finance package

Trinity Academy in Halifax changed term dates and found that less time away from learning in the summer meant that pupils regressed less by the time they returned to school

Working together

Collaboration and partnership are now embedded in the school system, and this is also the case for Academies. Academies, by virtue of their funding agreement, have to ensure that the school will be at the heart of its community, collaborating and sharing facilities with other schools and the wider community

The number of Academies in chains is growing - benefits include shared services, economies of scale, broader curriculum offer, opportunities for staff and pupil movement, and career development opportunities

Over 100 high performing schools are now sponsoring weaker schools and helping to raise standards

Become a sponsor Over 100 high performing academies are now sponsoring

weaker schools and helping to raise standards

Sponsor capacity fund launched

Altrincham Grammar School for Girls converted to Academy status as an outstanding school in August 2011. They are now sponsoring three schools in Manchester - Cedar Mount High School (became an academy in August 2012), and Gorton Mount and Stanley Grove primaries (both became academies in September 2012)

Outwood Academy Adwick in Doncaster opened in 2009 sponsored by the Outwood Grange Academies Trust. In 2012, 56% of pupils achieved five good GCSEs (including English and maths) – up from 41% at the predecessor school in 2009

2. Academies are working The OECD have reported that in countries where schools have

greater autonomy over what is taught and how students are assessed, students tend to perform better

The latest Ofsted Annual Schools Report found that sponsored academies have been largely successful and have replaced many schools that were seriously underperforming, bringing new leadership and vigour

A study by the London School of Economics (LSE) found that not only had standards in earlier academies improved faster than in other schools, but also that schools in their locality had seen results improve

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Raising standards

Latest results for 2012 show academies are improving faster than the average for all state-funded schools

Results are also improving faster than a group of similar local authority schools

3. The changing education landscape

20023 academies

2009200 academies

2013 (September)2013 (September)

3304 academies

174 free schools

28 Studio Schools

17 University Technical Colleges (UTCs)

Over 50% of secondary schools are

open as academies or free schools

Across the country

Over 10% of primary schools

are open or in the pipeline to

become an academy

academy conversion is becoming

increasingly diverse - primary and special

schools are now converting, as are pupil referral units

136,000 teachers in Academies

30% of the teaching workforce19,000 in primary (8%)117,000 in secondary (53%)

Over 2.2m pupils attend

academies

4. How to become an academy

Schools that are ‘performing well’

Can convert to academy

status

Schools that are not ‘performing well’ but are above ‘the floor’

Can convert in a chain with a strong

school

Schools that are below ‘the

floor’

Can convert in a multi-academy trust (chain) with a strong school

Continue to be tackled through sponsored

approach

Worst performing

schools

‘performing well’ is determined by: Ofsted rating; exam results; comparison to similar schools

Schools are below ‘the floor’ if both exam results and pupil progression is below a certain level

Part of new initiative to secure academy solutions for underperforming primary schools

Sponsored academies Some academies, generally those set-up to replace

underperforming schools, will have a sponsor

The Department is currently working with local authorities to turn underperforming primary schools into academies with strong sponsors

Sponsors are held accountable for their academies and in particular for improving performance. The Department is increasing its focus on sponsor capacity and performance

As with maintained schools, if academies do not make the progress we expect, we will take further action. This may result in a change to the sponsorship arrangements

The number of academies in chains is growing

Can convert alone - but benefits from converting as a chain or joining an existing chain

Chains can be a multi-academy trust, an umbrella trust, or a collaborative partnership

Additional grant available to primary chains

We encourage primaries to convert in a chain

Types of chain

• The multi-academy trust model – a group of schools which work together under a single trust. This model has been in use for some time in sponsored academy chains

• Umbrella trust model –an overarching umbrella trust which has oversight of what is happening in each school and will be able to influence how the schools in the chain are run. Each school has its own academy Trust

• Collaborative partnership chains - very flexible, with no shared governance

MULTI-ACADEMY TRUSTMembers

Directors

Academy 1 Academy 2 Academy 3Local Governing Body/Advisory Body

Local Governing Body/Advisory Body

Local Governing Body/Advisory Body

Multi-academy trust

A special academy is an independent school organised to make educational provision for pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Converter special academies will have the same age range, gender, number of day places and residential places funded

Admissions to a special academy will be the same as to a maintained special school i.e. by way of a Statement of SEN. Local authorities retain responsibility for pupils with statements of SEN in academies

All teaching staff in special academies have Qualified Teacher Status

Special schools

Private Finance Initiative (PFI)

As of 1 April 2013, 95 PFI academies have successfully opened, and a further 94 are in the pipeline to become academies

When a PFI school becomes an academy, the school continues as part of the PFI contract, with the local authority continuing to manage that contract

Additional documentation and parties involved mean that it takes longer for a PFI academy to open 

Further guidance and model documentation for PFI schools is on the Department’s website  

Conversion process 1. Register

2. Apply

3. Academy order

4. Funding Agreement

5. Open

5. Funding

Academies receive their funding directly from the Education Funding Agency (EFA)

Principle is that schools should neither be financially advantaged or disadvantaged by becoming an academy

Ability to put money where its needed

£

£25k support grant is available for all schools to help with the conversion process

What next? Academies and Free Schools are helping to increase the

number of good school places, so that parents have real choice, and every child gets the opportunity of a first class education

We will continue to tackle underperformance by encouraging high quality sponsors to support struggling schools, creating new schools to respond to local demand, and also allowing good schools to expand without the restrictions and bureaucracy they have faced in the past

The Department is currently working with local authorities to turn underperforming primary schools into Academies with strong sponsors - the Prime Minister has announced that 400 will become Academies - or be well on their way – by the end of this year

This is happening alongside a focus on reform of the national curriculum, qualifications and the quality of teaching

6. We will support you

Visit the www.education.gov.uk to find out more about becoming an academy

Email: academy.conversion@education.gsi.gov.uk

We are working with local authorities and dioceses to resolve the issues that sometimes prevent conversion

Schools can now convert to academy status within around 6 months

We can support schools through the process of becoming an academy