«There is at present no convincing evidence of the
impact of academy status on attainment in primary schools,» says the report.
The principal advantages to school
leaders of academy status are that they are exempt from the national curriculum and the national pay regulations for teachers.
She said the
autonomy of academy status has allowed flexibility over the curriculum, while the freedom to set pay and conditions has helped staff recruitment.
In a report released earlier this year, the commons education committee also found «no convincing evidence of the impact
of academy status on attainment in primary schools», adding that while «some chains such as Harris have proved very effective at raising attainment... others achieve worse outcomes than comparable mainstream schools».
Freedom from LA control One of the clearest summaries of the
benefits of academy status came from the Academies Commission, which was set up by the Royal Society of Arts and the Pearson Think Tank, to examine the long ‑ term effects converting to academy status.
«To write to headteachers before the legislation supporting the
spread of academy status has even been published and laid before Parliament shows blatant disregard for the democratic process.
They also said that there is: «at present no convincing evidence of the impact
of academy status on attainment in primary schools.»
For many of the reasons already outlined above the new responsibilities will be too burdensome for many small schools and they will find the only way to balance the benefits and
responsibilities of academy status will be to join a MAT.
But he insisted conversion would happen by LA - maintained schools realising the
benefits of academy status and making the leap on their own.
There is no conclusive evidence of the impact
of academy status on attainment in primary schools.
After years of debate over the effectiveness
of academy status, the Education Policy Institute has now released data which it says shows the causal impact of academy status on school performance.