The DfE Perspective

Colin Diamond – Deputy Director

Academies Performance and Brokerage – Central - Division

November 2013

Academies have changed the Education Landscape

Faith Academies

• 748 faith academies • 584 converters and 164 sponsored

• 422 Church of England academies• 316 converters and 106 sponsored

• 43.5% (90) of Church of England secondaries & 7.7% (338) of Church of England (CofE) primaries have applied to convert.

Church of England Schools:

It is vital to harness the expertise and capacity of high performing schools to support struggling schools. Over 80% of CofE schools are rated as good/outstanding by Ofsted

A good number of CofE schools are beacons of excellence, nurturing a positive ethos that encourages pupils from all backgrounds to thrive and achieve.

  Many are in Multi Academy Trusts. This model, where schools

support and challenge each other, is having an impact on standards.

Academies – Priorities

To encourage high performing schools - including special schools and PRUs - to become academies, giving them freedom to innovate and build on success;

To drive up standards in underperforming schools by becoming either sponsored academies or joining an academy chain with a strong school: with an increasing focus on underperforming primaries;

To ensure a supply of high quality sponsors who have the ability to lead sustained improvement in the most challenging of schools.

Why become an academy? Brings a number of benefits, including:

– freedom from local authority control,

– more control over how schools can use their funding,

– greater freedom over the curriculum. Schools in MATs - Collaboration is a defining feature of the academies

programme

– shared leadership; shared knowledge and good practice

– development of innovative leadership and succession planning opportunities

– Improved capacity to recruit and retain high quality staff;

– Opportunities for efficiency by centralising some support functions, increased negotiating powers when purchasing or agreeing contracts for services.

For underperforming schools:

– the guidance and expertise of a strong and proven sponsor to offer help, boost performance and strengthen lines of accountability

Successful academy sponsors Set a clear vision and ethos;

‘Partnership’ not just ‘Takeover’;

Provide strong leadership, clear governance, transparency and effective delegation;

Set strategic goals and challenge performance standards at all levels, supported by CPD and reward and recognition schemes;

Have robust methodologies for performance monitoring, including teaching quality;

Work to raise pupil and parental aspiration – and ensure support is in place for pupils who need it;

Deliver strong financial management and business planning systems and processes.

Any Questions?