But Mr Hunt says that for both free
schools and academy trusts there has been a serious lack of oversight.
Schools Week recently reported that
schools and academy trusts are not making the most of the millions of pounds they pay into the apprenticeship levy, over a year after it was introduced.
In 2014, the UK's National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM) partnered with Shanghai academics to implement Asian styles of teaching in a small group of British
schools and academy trusts.
Schools and academy trusts are not making the most of the millions of pounds they pay into the apprenticeship levy, over a year on from its introduction.
Speaking to the Specialist
Schools and Academies Trust conference, the prime minister accepted that «sometimes the pace of reform has been hard, even confusing».
Tony Blair's personal fundraiser Lord Levy, Des Smith, a head teacher and member of the specialist
schools and academies trust, and businessman Sir Christopher Evans who lent Labour # 1 million before the last election, were arrested by the police as part of the cross-party probe.
London: National College for Leadership and Specialist
Schools and Academies Trust.
Since Schools Week started we've tracked the eight regional schools commissioners, civil servants who control all decisions on
school and academy trust openings, closures and significant changes.
He is a trustee of Teach First and on the boards of Future Leaders and the Specialist
Schools and Academies Trust.
And Specialist
Schools and Academies Trust chief executive Elizabeth Reid said academies set up to replace failing schools had «shown dramatic improvements in many cases».
Bill Watkin, operational director at the Specialists
Schools and Academies Trust, believes more flexible assessment would improve the current GCSE model.
Not exact matches
The church building still remains, but is now owned
and operated by the Carlton
Academy PTA from Nottingham
and is now used as an outdoor education facility for their pupils
and those from other
schools in the Redhill
Academy Trust
Joined at the event by Dr. Sandra Hassink, president of the American
Academy of Pediatrics,
and by Jessica Donze Black, head of the Kids» Safe
and Healthful Foods Project at the Pew Charitable
Trusts, Vilsack movingly described how, as the son of a drug -
and alcohol - addicted adoptive mother, he was shamed for being overweight which in turn impacted his performance in
school.
The move is the culmination of a long campaign by secularists, who first succeeded in getting creationism banned from all future free
schools, then future stand - alone
academies and then finally all future multi-academy
trusts.
Supporters of the campaign include the British Humanist Association, Professor Ted Cantle
and the iCoCo Foundation, the Association of Teachers
and Lecturers, British Muslims for Secular Democracy, the Campaign for State Education, the Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education, the Christian think tank Ekklesia, the Hindu
Academy, the Green Party, the Liberal Democrat Education Association, Liberal Youth, the Local
Schools Network, Richmond Inclusive
Schools Campaign, the Runnymede
Trust, the Socialist Educational Association,
and the General Assembly of Unitarian
and Free Christian Churches.
[37] The campaign has support from both religious
and non-religious organizations at both the national
and local level including the Accord Coalition, the Association of Teachers
and Lecturers, the British Humanist Association, British Muslims for Secular Democracy, ICoCo Foundation, the Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education, Ekklesia, the Hindu
Academy, the Liberal Democrat Education Association, Richmond Inclusive
Schools Campaign, the Runnymede
Trust, the Socialist Educational Association, the General Assembly of Unitarian
and Free Christian Churches.
As a consequence of this, the Methodist Church was required by the DfE to set up an
Academy umbrella, the Methodist
Academies and Schools Trust (MAST), or else lose control of its schools that become Aca
Schools Trust (MAST), or else lose control of its
schools that become Aca
schools that become
Academies.
Supporters of the campaign include the Accord Coalition, the British Humanist Association, Professor Ted Cantle
and the iCoCo Foundation, the Association of Teachers
and Lecturers, British Muslims for Secular Democracy, the Campaign for State Education, the Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education, the Christian think tank Ekklesia, the Hindu
Academy, the Green Party, the Liberal Democrat Education Association, Liberal Youth, the Local
Schools Network, Richmond Inclusive
Schools Campaign, the Runnymede
Trust, the Socialist Educational Association,
and the General Assembly of Unitarian
and Free Christian Churches.
It also featured promises of more education reforms, with the «best headteachers» working in more than one
school as
trusts,
academies and federations are expanded.
The government insists that in giving NHS
trusts and schools more freedom to govern their affairs, as in the case of foundation hospitals
and city
academies, they are reducing Whitehall control
and increasing participation of service users
and local people.
«Unlike maintained
schools,
academies have substantial discretion over the ways in which governance is undertaken
and some
schools and multi-academy
trusts have used this freedom to establish opaque
and ambiguous governance structures that undermine effective internal
school accountability.
The Campaign launched in June 2013,
and is also already being supported by the Accord Coalition, the British Humanist Association, Professor Ted Cantle
and the iCoCo Foundation, the Association of Teachers
and Lecturers, British Muslims for Secular Democracy, the Campaign for State Education, the Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education, the Christian think tank Ekklesia, the Hindu
Academy, the Green Party, the Liberal Democrat Education Association, Liberal Youth, the Local
Schools Network, Richmond Inclusive
Schools Campaign, the Runnymede
Trust, the Socialist Educational Association, the General Assembly of Unitarian
and Free Christian Churches
and a number of local campaign groups.
Both organisations remain UK companies
and will continue to serve
Schools,
Academies, Independents, Multi-Academy
Trusts and Further Education.
The funding also comprises # 1.4 billion of funding allocations for
schools, local authorities
and academy trusts to invest in improving the condition of the
school estate.
Regarding the New Line Learning
Academy, the regional
schools commissioner for South East and South London, Dominic Herrington, wrote a pre-warning notice letter to its operator, Future Schools Trusts, in No
schools commissioner for South East
and South London, Dominic Herrington, wrote a pre-warning notice letter to its operator, Future
Schools Trusts, in No
Schools Trusts, in November.
The report focuses on the arrangements for converting
schools to
academies, including the robustness, cost
and speed of the conversion process,
and the availability of sponsors
and multi-academy
trusts to support
schools to convert to
academies.
Dave Smith comments: «
Schools,
academies and trusts continue to need consultancy
and training support.
«We are delighted to be working to develop this new capacity with National Literacy
Trust, its extensive
school networks,
and their partners in the Aldridge Foundation
and Ormiston
Academies Trust groups of academie
Academies Trust groups of
academiesacademies.»
The DfE has been reluctant to be too prescriptive about the optimum size of a multi-
academy trust, but it is likely that over time we will see MATs grow from 3, 4, 5
schools, typically, to
trusts operating at least a dozen
and may be upwards of 20 — 25
schools, with there still being a place for
academy chains of 50 +
schools.
Those
schools that do not yet have
academy status attended the session presented by Tom Rees, headteacher and director at Northampton Primary Academy Trust
academy status attended the session presented by Tom Rees, headteacher
and director at Northampton Primary
Academy Trust
Academy Trust (NPAT).
The
Trust is responsible for all procurement for each
school, including the purchase of equipment
and resources the
academies require to provide the best level of teaching to its students.
A thousand pounds worth of equipment is now available on loan to pupils at Rockwood
Academy and Nansen Primary
School, both run by CORE Education
Trust.
Academisation is a relatively new education structure for
schools and with this comes need for
schools,
academies and multi
academy trusts (MATs) to share experiences
and advice.
The reception was attended by 150 business experts
and representatives from
academy trusts, who were encouraged to consider the full spectrum of ways they could work together to improve
school standards.
Weak governance was also flagged with four
trusts exposed as lacking in these areas — namely Theale Green
Academy Trust, Durham Free
School Limited, the Business
Academy Bexley,
and the Bishop of Rochester
Academy Trust.
Many local authorities are just as happy now to provide capital grant to
schools and academies to deliver additional
school places and the EFA is currently trialling local delivery of the Priority School Building Programme (which they had previously delivered centrally) with funding allocated to local authorities, dioceses and larger multi-academy t
school places
and the EFA is currently trialling local delivery of the Priority
School Building Programme (which they had previously delivered centrally) with funding allocated to local authorities, dioceses and larger multi-academy t
School Building Programme (which they had previously delivered centrally) with funding allocated to local authorities, dioceses
and larger multi-academy
trusts.
Venturing beyond havering Havering Education Services» Computing
and Online Safety team has also been asked to provide support services for Computing
and Online Safety (including Switched on Computing) for
schools,
academies and trusts outside of Havering including regular network meetings for
schools in Harlow, Basildon
and the London Borough of Redbridge.
Advising other
schools on choosing a cashless system, Sam Tse from South Dartmoor Multi
Academy Trust said: «Communicate with parents well in advance regarding reasons behind the change
and the benefits to themselves
and the
school.
When
schools become
academies, the legal responsibility for maintaining the school (both in physical terms and in relation to funding) passes to the academy trust with whom the Secretary of State has entered into «academy arrangements» (pursuant to the Academies A
academies, the legal responsibility for maintaining the
school (both in physical terms
and in relation to funding) passes to the
academy trust with whom the Secretary of State has entered into «
academy arrangements» (pursuant to the
Academies A
Academies Act 2010).
John F. Kennedy
School is a four to 19 special needs school within the Learning and Harmony Multi Academy
School is a four to 19 special needs
school within the Learning and Harmony Multi Academy
school within the Learning
and Harmony Multi
Academy Trust.
Free
schools, independent
schools,
academy schools and trusts are just a few of the changes that have emerged in recent years.
«Whether by founding or developing
academy trusts, joining governing bodies to provide oversight
and encouragement, or providing careers advice
and mentoring, I am today calling for more business leaders to play their part
and join the
schools revolution.»
Whilst this might not have been an issue for
schools becoming
academies on their own (as a single
academy trust) this is becoming more of an issue for multi ‑
academy trusts and particularly for sponsored
academies who may be reluctant to inherit either crumbling buildings or new buildings commissioned by a local authorities without a full set of warranties.
He deprecates claims made by, among others, the Heritage Foundation, the Education
Trust, KIPP
Academies, Abigail
and Stephan Thernstrom,
and Jaime Escalante's biographers, insisting that the achievements don't amount to much or couldn't be replicated or that the
schools engage in cream skimming.
There is, once again, commonality with the challenges faced by
academy trusts and schools who are facing similar deliberations about the management, co-ordination
and reporting of «quality» related activities.
Bids were invited around five research areas,
and the successful projects are: Tribe Arts; Alive
and Kicking Theatre Company; Leyburn Primary
School and Yorkshire Collaborative
Academy Trust (YCAT); ImpactEd, in partnership with Bright Futures Educational
Trust;
and Victoria
Academies Trust.
According to The Sutton
Trust, over the last year, the government has been more willing to move underperforming
academies from their chains
and Regional
Schools Commissioners have been actively re-brokering
academies.
Exhibitors at the Conference included Amadeus; Langley Waterproofing Systems; BlueSky; PS Financials, who discussed «Exploiting the opportunity for change within the Finance Function, when creating or growing a Multi
Academy Trust»; Civica with their Resource Financials; Capita SIMS; Bodet;
and the Association of
School and College Leaders.
This will include state - funded
schools and multi
academy trusts, charities
and research organisations, independent
schools and universities.
The Prime Minister is proposing that all
schools graded «requires improvement» would have new leadership imposed on them
and be taken over by an
academy trust if they do not have a credible plan to raise them to «good» or «outstanding».