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50-593: The Academy Transformation Trust ( ATT ), or alternatively the Academies Transformation Trust , is a multi-academy trust administering 21 academy schools across 10 local authority areas in England . It operates in the East of England , South East England , East Midlands and West Midlands . The Academy Transformation Trust was incorporated on 14 November 2011 and was founded by its then- CEO Ian Cleland as

100-481: A full list of active academy sponsors. In September 2017, the Wakefield City Academies Trust announced it was winding down and ceasing to trade as it hadn't the capacity to manage its 21 schools and asked the government to make an alternative arrangement. The Sutton Trust has verbalised the concerns that academies and particularly academy chains (MAT)s were not always delivering the results that

150-539: A major investment programme but also subject the company to new, heightened regulatory measures." Through to 2029, Thames Water is required to reduce sewage spills by 64%, cut leaks by 19% and reduce supply interruptions by two-thirds. In Scotland the term 'special measures' is defined by the Victims and Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2014 to describe systems put in place by the judicial system to protect vulnerable witnesses in courts of law. This can include measures taken to protect

200-619: A member of Sir David Bell 's Transformation Trust. Cleland was also the CEO of the Ormiston Academies Trust . It sponsored its first academy, Jubilee Academy Mossley, in August 2012 and subsequently grew throughout the 2012/2013 academic year . The trust had 14 member schools by the end of August 2013, with two more joining in September 2013, leaving a total of 16 schools in the trust. At this time,

250-587: A multi-academy trust with around 9,000 students. According to Clinton, the Academy Transformation Trust was "a bit loony" when she became its CEO, with "significant debt, 4 CFOs in as many years, management that wasn’t fit for purpose" and "very poor systems". The trust's school membership was largely decentralised, leading to a lack of collaboration between them. This resulted in unequal standards between many of its schools, with some performing well whilst others were falling behind. Clinton reorganised

300-405: Is Schoolsworks Academy Trust , West Sussex where the median hourly pay gap in favour of men is 62% – meaning that a woman is paid 38 pence for every £1 earned by a man. The Wakefield City Academies Trust , which managed 21 schools before its collapse, had a median hourly gender pay gap of 52%. The Kent Catholic Schools Partnership staff face a gender pay gap of almost 50%. In December 2018,

350-412: Is compared to a significant number being in special measures when they joined ATT and only 10% rated good." Cleland resigned shortly after making this statement, but had returned as CEO by July 2017. The EFA's investigation into the trust led to calls for more ministerial scrutiny against CEOs of multi-academy trusts who were considered too powerful. Multi-academy trusts led by a converter academy were

400-676: Is exempt from registration with, and oversight by, the Charity Commission for England and Wales . It is a multi-academy trust responsible for the operation and maintenance of its member schools. It must follow the stipulations of the Academies Financial Handbook and its funding agreement with the Secretary of State for Education. The trust's constitution and goals are covered by its Memorandum and Articles of Association . The trust also has trustees who are also its directors for

450-509: Is produced which is published on the NHS Choices website. Monitor may suspend some or all of the freedoms a Foundation trust has to operate as an autonomous body. Changes of the leadership of the organisation may be made. In March 2021 it was announced that the special measures process would be replaced by a new oversight framework where providers, commissioners, and health systems will be allocated into one of four ‘segments’ that determine

500-598: The Academies Financial Handbook within the trust. The investigation's findings were published in March 2017; multiple breaches were found. It was revealed that Cleland's leave of absence in November 2016 had been ordered by the chair due to significant concerns about his performance and behaviour and also due to inadequate financial management at the trust, which led to a significant reduction in trust reserves and subsequent financial difficulties. Cleland responded by using his powers as

550-648: The Academy Transformation Trust Further Education College ( ATTFE College ), an academy status sixth form college and independent training provider with four campuses in Nottinghamshire . It was formed from the academy conversion of the Sutton Centre Community College and The Dukeries College , which have since joined the trust, and is based out of these schools. In its most recent Ofsted inspection, which

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600-491: The Education Policy Institute found that English MATs had significantly higher annual turnover of secondary classroom teachers (19.5%) than local authorities schools (14.4%). Large MATs, with 10 or more schools, also had higher rates of pupil absence, suspension and unexplained departures than smaller MATs and local authority schools. Following mounting ongoing concern a league table was produced to name and shame

650-591: The Sutton Trust published a report, Chain Effects 2018, building on work they had done in previous reports on the effectiveness of MATs in improving the performance of disadvantaged children. Poorer pupils in 12 out of 58 chains analysed by Professor Merryn Hutchings and Professor Becky Francis, performed above the national average on key measures of 2017 attainment for disadvantaged pupils. Three chains – City of London, Diocese of London, and Harris – were significantly above

700-536: The CEO the next day. He served in an interim term. Sir Nick Weller took over as the permanent CEO on 1 November 2022, having stepped down from his previous position as CEO of the Dixons Academies Trust after serving for 16 years. The Academy Transformation Trust is a charitable company limited by guarantee with exempt charity status. This means it is regulated by the Secretary of State for Education and

750-719: The Department for Education (DfE). These were all schools that had been failed the Ofsted criteria. By 2010 there were 203 such schools, out of a total 3333. The Academies Act 2010 was passed by the incoming Conservative Government, It provided a bespoke statutory mechanism for maintained schools, both primary and secondary, to be forced or allowed to ‘convert’ to academy status. The DfE adopted various ‘model funding agreements’ for new academies. New academies called ‘free schools’ could be built. A local authority needing to build new school in its area had to seek proposals to establish an academy, in

800-463: The Secretary of State for Education, the trust's members and the localities that the trust covers. The CEO is appointed by the board of trustees and administers daily operations at the trust, while investing some of his powers to the trust's school principals so that they can manage daily operations in their schools. Each member school has a local governing body made up of at least one member of its staff and two parent governors . These bodies scrutinise

850-490: The average. However, in 38 of the 58 chains analysed, disadvantaged pupils performed below the state school national average. The Sutton Trust recommends that: Special measures Special measures is a status applied by regulators of public services in Britain to providers who fall short of acceptable standards. Ofsted , the schools inspection agency for England and some British Overseas Territories , and Estyn ,

900-586: The ban was lifted, ATT CEO Ian Cleland planned to continue expanding the trust's membership. By May 2016 the trust's membership had grown to 21 schools. At this time, the trust had warned over 100 of its schools' staff that they might lose their jobs or be made to reapply with a lower salary as a result of spending cuts. Trade union Unison claimed that the trust was trying to save £500,000 and also criticised CEO Ian Cleland's high salary of at least £180,000. A Channel 4 and Observer investigation later found in July that

950-419: The category. Monitoring of this action plan then passes to HMI (His Majesty’s Inspectors) who visit the school typically once a term for 1–2 days to evaluate progress. Once HMI are satisfied that the action plan has been completed and all points satisfactorily addressed, then they will refer the school back to Ofsted and ask them to schedule a second Section 5 Inspection . If Ofsted agree with HMI’s judgement,

1000-570: The central board. The board of directors originally were responsible to the Secretary of State for Education , through the National Schools Commissioner. In September 2014 eight Regional Schools Commissioners (RSCs) were formally appointed as civil servants within the Department for Education (DfE); were given responsibility for intervening in under-performing academies in their region and approving new free schools . Their role

1050-483: The company’s proposed business model. Firstsite subsequently was named Art Fund Museum of the Year 2021. On 11 July 2024, water regulator Ofwat put Thames Water into special measures, with a "turnaround oversight regime" subject to "heightened regulatory" scrutiny. The company had over £15.2bn of debt. Ofwat said: "Thames Water faces significant issues, and as it seeks to tackle them, our draft determinations will support

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1100-426: The form of a ‘free school’. They were no longer allowed to construct it themselves. In 2014, eight Regional Schools Commissioners (RSCs) were appointed as DfE civil servants. with the responsibility for approving new academies and intervening to address performance issues in academies. They have significant powers to influence to academies and local authority maintained schools. The academy trust model of governance

1150-464: The governance structure stipulated within their company documents, EFA guidance on best practice has significantly changed over time". Cleland also said that the trust's view on the report was to read it "in light of the transformational impact which ATT has had on the schools within The Trust. 90% of their secondary academies are good and 75% of their primary academies with none being rated inadequate. This

1200-433: The government had hoped for. They sponsored and published research challenging aspects of policy; the programme is called Chain Effects. Other, independent research has examined the impact of MATs. Bernardinelli et al (2018) found no positive impact from MAT status overall, but that pupils in small and mid-sized MATs tend to perform better, on average, than their peers in comparable maintained schools in both phases and, in

1250-496: The level of scrutiny and intervention they get. Under the new recovery support programme the equivalent of special measures is called intensive mandated support. According to the research group Dr Foster Intelligence , the decision to put 11 trusts into special measures in July 2013 is likely to have saved hundreds of lives. Arts Council England put English National Opera and Colchester’s Firstsite gallery into special measures in 2015 because of concerns over governance and

1300-497: The local authority and external providers. Monitor is responsible for putting NHS foundation trusts into special measures, while the NHS Trust Development Authority is responsible for other NHS trusts. This action is normally triggered by a Care Quality Commission inspection. An improvement director will be externally appointed and the failing Trust partnered with another high-performing Trust. An action plan

1350-744: The most likely to have these CEOs, however many began restructuring their systems of governance after the investigation into the ATT. One example of this system being retained was the Seckford Foundation Free Schools Trust in Suffolk , where the accounting officer was also a member and trustee. Sir David Carter, the National Schools Commissioner , warned of a "blurring of the edges of accountability” in these cases where CEOs were also trustees. By November 2017, there were 23 schools in

1400-484: The overall supervision of ‘local education authorities’ who were responsible for funding all such schools. This legal called maintaining then in 1988 schools gained legal autonomy. Sponsored academies were introduced from the early 2000s by the Labour government. The sponsor paid the capital cost and the revenue costs were paid by central government. A sponsor set up a charitable trust and individual contracts were signed with

1450-578: The primary phase, than comparable standalone academies. Conversely, secondary school pupils in larger MATs (with 16+ schools) tend to do worse compared to those in both standalone academies and maintained schools. Other studies have focussed on the wider impact of MATs. This includes Greany and Higham 's (2018) study of academisation and the Government's wider 'school-led self-improving system' reforms, which showed that MATs were contributing to fragmentation and reduced democratic oversight of schools. In 2024,

1500-413: The purposes of corporate law . They sit on the board of trustees , the major governing organ of the trust, and are either co-opted into their posts by other trustees or appointed by the trust's members, which are its main non-executive overseers. Trustees scrutinise the CEO, the local governing bodies of the trust's member schools and also the board of trustee's subcommittees , and do this on behalf of

1550-477: The regions where our academies are based, hence the maintenance costs". The money spent on restaurants was also claimed to be for staff and teacher events. Cleland and the trust's managing director Joyce Hodgetts went on an unexplained leave of absence in November 2016. Cleland returned by 21 December 2016. The Education Funding Agency (EFA) investigated the trust after its chair and board of trustees claimed there to be financial mismanagement and breaches of

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1600-509: The role assigned to them by the MAT board itself There is one central board of directors, who may call themselves the board of governors. The majority are appointed by the sponsor. They appoint the executive head teacher, and run the back-office services such as building, human resources and allocation of special fund. They may govern all the schools centrally or appoint local governing bodies with defined delegated powers which act as subcommittees to

1650-569: The school governors replaced by an appointed executive committee. If poor performance continues the school may be closed; an example was of the Frank Montgomery School in Kent. The current circumstances under which a school may be placed in special measures, and the procedures to follow, are stipulated by the Education Act 2005 . Prior to 2005, special measures were applied to any school which

1700-527: The school is then removed from the special measures category. During a monitoring inspection an HMI can change the nature of the Inspection to a Section 5, and remove the school from Special Measures upon completion. Support for schools that enter special measures comes in a variety of forms, and varies from local authority to local authority. Typically, though, schools will benefit from significant extra resources – both in terms of extra funds and consultancy from

1750-650: The schools inspection agency for Wales , apply the term special measures ( Welsh : mesurau arbennig ) to schools under their jurisdictions when they consider the school has failed to provide an acceptable standard of teaching, has poor facilities, or otherwise fails to meet the minimum standards for education set by the government and other agencies, when they judge the school lacks the leadership capacity amongst its management to ensure improvements. A school subject to special measures will have regular short-notice Ofsted or Estyn inspections to monitor its improvement. The senior managers and teaching staff can be dismissed and

1800-521: The spirit of the Academies Financial Handbook" and that Cleland had an "inherent" conflict of interest . The new chair claimed that the decisions made by the new trustees were the result of an independent investigation into Cleland and the previous chair's claims, however the EFA could not find any evidence of such an investigation taking place. The EFA's investigation concluded with a demand that

1850-461: The standards of their schools. The trust is registered in England and Wales and operates in the following English regions: the East of England , South East England , East Midlands and West Midlands . Its 21 academies are spread across 10 local authority areas . In 2020 these were Thurrock , Essex , Norfolk , Suffolk , Staffordshire , Nottinghamshire , Warwickshire , Sandwell , Walsall and Stoke . The Academy Transformation Trust runs

1900-987: The strength of these, they informed headteachers that their schools were failing and must apply to become academies and join an academy chain. In effect there were two inspection regimes: the education minister Damian Hinds told the 2018 NAHT this must change: “Ofsted inspectors should be the only people who should be inspecting schools…which means no more RSC-initiated visits that can feel like inspections with those extra demands for data, adding to bureaucracy.” Regional School commissioners do not stay in post for long, and often leave to become CEOs of multi-academy trusts. A number of private and charitable organisations run groups of academies. These major operators include ARK Schools , Academies Enterprise Trust , E-ACT (formerly Edutrust Academies Charitable Trust), Emmanuel Schools Foundation , Harris Federation , Oasis Trust , Ormiston Academies Trust , Tauheedul Education Trust and United Learning Trust . The Department for Education publishes

1950-436: The trust "undertake an independent review of governance arrangements, including the issues highlighted during our work and confirm in an action plan to the EFA how the required improvements will be managed." In a statement, Cleland claimed that the trust had "welcomed both the review and the findings, in particular guidance on how to improve current strategic and operational structures", further adding that "ATT were compliant with

2000-520: The trust claimed to be one of the largest multi-academy trusts in England. In February 2014 the government barred 14 multi-academy trusts, including the Academy Transformation Trust, from sponsoring any more academies or free schools because of their poor performance. The Academy Transformation Trust's ban was lifted in December 2014, causing opposition from an organisation that was against academisation. After

2050-555: The trust currently has 21 academies, they are: Multi-academy trust BESA, the British Educational Suppliers Association states that in November 2019 there are 1,170 Multi Academy Trusts in England that manage at least two schools: 598 have five or fewer schools, 259 have 6-11 schools, 85 have between 12-25 schools and 29 have 26 or more schools. The Education Act 1944 established a national system of primary and secondary education, with schools under

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2100-434: The trust had used £3,000 of taxpayers' money for Cleland's hire car and also £3,000 for " first-class rail travel and meals at top restaurants", despite Cleland having stated during May's spending cuts that the trust was suffering from "significant financial challenges". A trust spokesman defended Cleland, stating that his car was part of "his remuneration package. Ian's role requires significant, regular travel throughout

2150-486: The trust on regional lines, introduced a school improvement plan which the trust had lacked previously and also presided over a turnaround of the trust's deficit from £2.9 million at the end of 2018 to a £2 million surplus at the end of 2019, although the trust still had a debt which was expected by Clinton to be paid back in the summer of 2021. Clinton stepped down as CEO on 21 September 2021. Derek Trimmer briefly took over from her until 30 September, when Richard Elms became

2200-404: The trust's founder to dismiss the chair both from his position and as a trustee. He also used these powers to replace four trustees who had resigned. The new trustees were not independently appointed and one of them became the new chair. They reinstated Cleland and raised his salary by 1%. The EFA found that the removal of the previous chair in this manner was "not considered to be in accordance with

2250-609: The trust. Ian Cleland resigned again as CEO in this month, but had remained employed by the trust as of February 2018, when it was looking for a replacement. The trust fell into a £2.5 million deficit in this month, with the ESFA (which had replaced the EFA) providing it with financial support. A new CEO, Debbie Clinton, was appointed in September 2018. Clinton was also the acting CEO at the Diverse Academies Learning Partnership,

2300-505: The worst performers using the Progress 8 benchmark , which measures GCSE results after compensating for each pupil's performance at the end of Key Stage 2 . A summary of the league table for 2017 is: Trusts are exempt from all Teacher Pay and Conditions agreements. In March 2018, The Guardian revealed that they fail in gender equality. The study reveals several trusts where women face hourly pay deficit of more than 50%. The worst offender

2350-566: Was expanded in July 2015 to approve converter academies and assign sponsors. It remained unclear exactly what the limits to the role of Regional School Commissioner were and how they related to the elected Headteachers Board (HTB), to the Local Authorities , to Ofsted and the local community. Ofsted is a separate government department not answerable to the DfE. The regional commissioners ran shadow inspections of schools and trust, bypassing Ofsted. On

2400-505: Was failing to supply an acceptable level of education; potential for improvement under current leadership was not taken into account. Under the new rules, schools demonstrating such potential are instead given a notice to improve and reinspected after a year. Once an institution has been placed in special measures, they are presented with an action plan by the Local Authority detailing the key areas they need to develop in order to leave

2450-510: Was in June 2017, the college was given a grade of Good, having previously been graded Requires Improvement. The college's provision is concentrated in the former north Nottinghamshire coalfields where unemployment is above the national average. It offers apprenticeships , GCSE qualifications for English and mathematics, NCFE qualifications, NVQ qualifications, A-Level qualifications, BTEC diplomas and higher education diplomas . As of 2022,

2500-415: Was the one imposed on all: By 2017, the concept of academy chain was in retreat, the multi-academy trust was the predominant model of governance. The MAT contracts with the Secretary of State directly and schools run by a MAT have no separate legal identity. Each school is, in law, simply the local site through which the MAT delivers the central contract. Local staff and any local ‘governing body’ have only

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