61-573: Dixons City Academy is an academy in Bradford , West Yorkshire , England. The school was founded in 1990 as Dixons City Technology College which focused on a specialism of design and technology and product design . In 2005, the school converted into an academy and changed its name to Dixons City Academy. With the change of name was a change of focus as the school became a specialist performing arts school which allows it to select 10% of admissions purely based on ability in this field. In November 2018,
122-500: A private sponsor who could be an individual (such as Sir David Garrard , who sponsors Business Academy Bexley ), organisations such as the United Learning Trust , mission-driven businesses such as The Co-operative Group or outsourcing for-profit businesses such as Amey plc ). These sponsors were expected to bring "the best of private-sector best practice and innovative management" to academies, "often in marked contrast to
183-502: A 'Network of Teaching Excellence'to support schools with the new curriculum. In 2015, the department announced a major restructuring of the further education sector, through 37 area reviews of post-16 provision. The proposals were criticised by NUS Vice President for Further Education Shakira Martin for not sufficiently taking into account the impact on learners; the Sixth Form Colleges' Association similarly criticised
244-749: A full list of active academy sponsors. In 2019 there were 5,539 primary academies in England, of which 514 were forced away from local authority control after being failed by Ofsted . The Department for Education (DfE) paid out at least £18.4m to the academy trusts taking on these schools. The parents, governors and local authorities had no say in how this money was spent or how the assets were used. Since 2013–14, more than 300 primary academies have been rebrokered (receiving government setup money again) or moved between trusts. In 2017–8, seven trusts running primary schools closed leaving all their schools in search of another sponsor. This leads to uncertainty and expense as
305-467: A number of academies open and reporting successes, the programme continues to come under attack for creating schools that are said to be, among other things, a waste of money, selective, damaging to the schools and communities around them, forced on parents who do not want them, and a move towards privatisation of education "by the back door". The introduction of academy schools was opposed by teachers' trade unions and some high-profile figures within
366-648: Is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom . It is responsible for child protection , child services , education (compulsory, further, and higher education), apprenticeships , and wider skills in England . A Department for Education previously existed between 1992, when the Department of Education and Science was renamed, and 1995, when it was merged with the Department for Employment to become
427-533: Is a state-funded school which is directly funded by the Department for Education and independent of local authority control. The terms of the arrangements are set out in individual Academy Funding Agreements. 80% of secondary schools, 40% of primary schools and 44% of special schools are academies (as of October 2023). Academies are self-governing non-profit charitable trusts and may receive additional support from personal or corporate sponsors, either financially or in kind. Academies are inspected and follow
488-602: Is a planned agency that would will replace the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education over a 9 month period commencing in July 2024 subject to legislation. The Standards and Testing Agency (STA) is responsible for developing and delivering all statutory assessments for school pupils in England . It was formed on 1 October 2011 and took over the functions of the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency . The STA
549-548: Is also linked to the wider debate in the education sector as to the benefits or otherwise of the growing role of religion in the school system being promoted by the New Labour government in general, and Tony Blair in particular, with many academies (one estimate puts it at "more than half" ) being sponsored either by religious groups or organisations/individuals with a religious affiliation. A parliamentary report in 2015, entitled "Free Schools and Academies", recommends that "In
610-614: Is devolved elsewhere in the United Kingdom. The department's main devolved counterparts are as follows: The Department for Education released a new National Curriculum for schools in England for September 2014, which included 'Computing'. Following Michael Gove 's speech in 2012, the subject of Information Communication Technology (ICT) has been disapplied and replaced by Computing. With the new curriculum, materials have been written by commercial companies, to support non-specialist teachers, for example, ' 100 Computing Lessons ' by Scholastic . The Computing at Schools organisation has created
671-507: Is known as a multi-academy trust , although sometimes the terms academy group or academy federation are used instead. An academy chain is a group of trusts working together under a shared management structure. An academy is an independent state school governed by the Academy Agreement it makes with the Department for Education , and at that point it severs connections with the local education authority. The current advisory text
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#1732876058736732-560: Is published by the Department for Education. The city academy programme was originally based on the programme of City Technology Colleges (CTCs) created by the Conservative government under Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s, which were also business-sponsored. From 2003, the Government encouraged CTCs to convert to academies; did so (for example, Djanogly CTC is now Djanogly City Academy )
793-625: Is regulated by the examinations regulator, Ofqual . The Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) is responsible for regulation of the teaching profession, including misconduct hearings. Its predecessors include the National College for Teaching and Leadership (to 2018), the Teaching Agency (to 2013) and the Training and Development Agency for Schools (from 1994). The DfE is also supported by 10 public bodies: Education, youth and children's policy
854-615: Is the Academy and free school: master funding agreement dated March 2018. The governors of the academy are obliged to publish an annual report and accounts, that are open to scrutiny and inspections. All academies are expected to follow a broad and balanced curriculum but many have a particular focus on, or formal specialism in, one or more areas such as science; arts; business and enterprise; computing; engineering; mathematics; modern foreign languages; performing arts; sport; or technology. Although academies are required to follow some aspects of
915-680: Is the legal vehicle that enables schools to work together in a group in a single legal entity. The trust, therefore, creates the capacity for school improvement. As the legal entity, the trust can also create the conditions and the culture of improvement.” They also highlight the impact academy trusts have made in tackling the attainment gap in areas of the country such as the North. Academies have continued to be controversial, and their existence has frequently been opposed and challenged by some politicians, commentators, teachers, teachers' unions, and parents. Even after several years of operation and with
976-414: The 50% Rule requiring them to allocate at least half of their places without reference to faith. In terms of their governance, academies are established as companies limited by guarantee with a Board of Directors that acts as a Trust. The Academy Trust has exempt charity status, regulated by the Department for Education . The trustees are legally, but not financially, accountable for the operation of
1037-526: The Department for Education and Employment . The current holder of Secretary of State for Education is the Rt. Hon. Bridget Phillipson MP and Susan Acland-Hood is the permanent secretary . The expenditure, administration, and policy of the Department of Education are scrutinised by the Education Select Committee . The DfE was formed on 12 May 2010 by the incoming Coalition Government , taking on
1098-751: The DfE and inform the Regional Schools Commission. Governors open consultation with parents and staff, and with this information make a decision as to whether to proceed. Assuming they do, the Regional Schools Commissioner approves the decision to join the selected trust and the Secretary of State issues an academy order. The school staff to are transferred to the MAT in accordance with TUPE regulations, and land and commercial assets are transferred from
1159-458: The Fresh Start programme in a speech by David Blunkett , then Secretary of State for Education and Skills , in 2000. He said that their aim was "to improve pupil performance and break the cycle of low expectations''. The chief architect of the policy was Andrew Adonis (now Lord Adonis, formerly Secretary of State at the Department for Transport ) in his capacity as education advisor to
1220-777: The House of Commons questioned Henry Stewart, of the Local Schools Network, and Rachel Wolf, of the New Schools Network , on accountability and funding of academies and free schools. The Committee was review a report by the Auditor General, Managing the Expansion of the Academies Programme (HC 682), which had identified that in 2011-12 £96,000,000 had been diverted from supporting under-performing Local Authority schools to
1281-658: The National Apprenticeship Service and the National Careers Service . The EFA was formed on 1 April 2012 by bringing together the functions of two non-departmental public bodies , the Young People's Learning Agency and Partnerships for Schools . The SFA was formed on 1 April 2010, following the closure of the Learning and Skills Council. David Withey is the agency's chief executive. Skills England
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#17328760587361342-543: The National Curriculum , they are otherwise free to innovate; however, as they participate in the same Key Stage 3 and GCSE exams as other English schools, they teach a curriculum very similar other schools, with only small variations. Like other state schools, academies are required to adhere to the National Admissions Code, although newly established academies with a faith designation are subject to
1403-708: The School Standards and Framework Act 1998 . The school pays a proportion of its central funding to the MAT for shared services but can in theory take better measures to ensure best value. Whilst still in the fairly early stage of development, supporters pointed to emerging data showing "striking" improvements in GCSE results for academies compared to their predecessors, with early results showing that "GCSE results are improving twice as fast in academies as in state schools". In an article in The Observer , that regarded many of
1464-673: The Government's claims for academies with scepticism, journalist Geraldine Bedell conceded that: The article singles out the cited academy, Mossbourne Community Academy in Hackney , as "apparently the most popular [school] in Britain – at least with politicians" and "the top school in the country for value-added results". Since the early stages of the academies sector, the sector has grown substantially, and as of January 2022, more than half (53%) of all pupils in England are educated in an academy, and academies account for 39% of primary schools (40% of
1525-513: The Labour Party, such as former party leader Lord Kinnock . Lord Kinnock criticised the academies scheme, saying that they were a "distortion of choice" and risked creating a "seller's market" with "schools selecting parents and children instead of parents selecting schools". The House of Commons Education and Skills Select Committee reported in March 2005 that it would have been wiser to limit
1586-632: The Prime Minister in the late 1990s. Academies were known as City Academies for the first few years, but the term was changed to Academies by an amendment in the Education Act 2002 . The term Sponsored Academies was applied retroactively to this type of academy, to distinguish it from other types of academy that were enabled later. By 2024, about 80% of state-funded secondary schools were academies or free schools, and about 40% of primary schools were academies. Sponsored Academies originally needed
1647-445: The academies programme, followed by a further £400,000,000 in the financial year 2012-13. The Committee also questioned Chris Wormald , then Permanent Secretary at the Department for Education , who admitted that the Government had deliberately chosen to remove money originally allocated to support under-performing schools. Chris Wormald stated, "The Government took a very conscious decision that its major school improvement programme
1708-462: The academies sector responded to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic showed how strong and sustainable trusts are a resilient and protective structure for pupils and schools. Sector experts such as Leora Cruddas, Chief Executive of the sector body Confederation of School Trusts, support the concept of academy trusts being the ideal vehicle for school improvement, as, unlike in local authorities, “it
1769-490: The academy proposal from its inception but wants the scheme to go further. This accord was reflected in a remark made by Conservative spokesman David Willetts in 2006: I am more authentically Andrew Adonis than Andrew Adonis is. In 2004, the Liberal Democrats were reported as being "split" on the issue and so decided that academies should not be mentioned in the party's education policy. The position of Phil Willis ,
1830-582: The academy to a successful "Outstanding" Ofsted report 2 months later. In February 2020, the Trust was ranked second best performing in the country on the DfE's Progress 8 measure at 0.72, just 0.02 behind the lead MAT: Star Academies Trust of Blackburn. In June 2023, with the departure of Michael Feely, Raouf Mohammed earned the role of Principal of the Academy. Academy (England) An academy school in England
1891-424: The academy. The Trust serves as the legal entity of which the school is part. The trustees oversee the running of the school, sometimes delegating responsibility to a local governing body which they appoint. The day-to-day management of the school is, as in most schools, conducted by the head teacher and their senior management team. In Sponsored Academies, the sponsor is able to influence the process of establishing
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1952-482: The borough. The programme of creating academies has also been heavily criticised by some for handing schools to private sector entrepreneurs who in many cases have no experience of the education sector: such as the Evangelical Christian car dealer, Sir Peter Vardy , who has been accused of promoting the teaching of creationism alongside macroevolution in his Emmanuel Schools Foundation academies. This
2013-569: The case for schools in the Co-op Academies Trust (one of the larger business-supported trusts). They were expected to be creative and innovative because of their financial and academic freedoms, in order to deal with the long-term issues they were intended to solve. Originally all Sponsored Academies had to have a curriculum specialism within the English Specialist Schools Programme (SSP) . However, this requirement
2074-490: The dissolved Department for Business, Innovation and Skills . The department is led by the secretary of state for education . The permanent secretary from December 2020 is Susan Acland-Hood. DfE is responsible for education, children's services, higher and further education policy, apprenticeships, and wider skills in England, and equalities. The predecessor department employed the equivalent of 2,695 staff as of April 2008 and as at June 2016, DfE had reduced its workforce to
2135-480: The education spokesman at the time, was summarised as: … there [are] no plans to abolish either city academies or specialist schools if the Lib Dems came to power, though "they would be brought under local authority control". In 2005, Willis' successor, Ed Davey , argued that academies were creating a "two-tier education system" and called for the academy programme to be halted until "a proper analysis can be done". At
2196-416: The equivalent of 2,301 staff. In 2015–16, the DfE has a budget of £58.2bn, which includes £53.6bn resource spending and £4.6bn of capital investments. The Department for Education's ministers are as follows, with cabinet members in bold: The management board is made up of: Non-executive board members: As at 2 August 2016, the DfE has five main sites: The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA)
2257-702: The former Rhodesway School in Allerton, Bradford. His deputy Shirley Watson then became the Principal. Sir Nick Weller became CEO of the Dixons Academies Trust as it expanded, with Shirley Watson later becoming one of two Executive Directors (along with Luke Sparkes, former Principal of one of Dixons' highest performing schools: Dixons Trinity Academy, and four Executive Principals: Wesley Davies of Dixons McMillan; Michelle Long of Dixons Music Primary; Neil Miley of Dixons Kings; Clare Skelding of Dixons Allerton). Sir Nick
2318-467: The funding agencies to account. The governors of a school are persuaded to consider academy status, perhaps in response to an approach by a multi-academy trust (MAT). They have two choices: remain with their current local authority , or join a multi-academy trust; converting to be a stand-alone trust ceased to be an option prior to 2018. If they were only given a 'satisfactory' (now referred to as 'requir[ing] improvement') Ofsted rating, they don't have
2379-409: The lack of leadership experienced by the failing schools that academies have replaced" (known as predecessor schools). They were originally required to contribute 10% of the academy's capital costs (up to a maximum of £2m). The remainder of the capital and running costs were met by the state in the usual way for UK state schools through grants funded by the local authority. The Government later removed
2440-497: The local authority. The school can change its mind until documents are sent to the Secretary of State in order to be signed; this is usually around three weeks before the agreed conversion date. There are legal costs involved, and £25,000 is given to a converting academy to cover these costs. The local authority must grant a 125-year lease to the academy trust for the land. School land and playing fields are protected under Section 77 of
2501-519: The meantime the Government should stop exaggerating the success of academies and be cautious about firm conclusions except where the evidence merits it. Academisation is not always successful nor is it the only proven alternative for a struggling school". In 2016 a major study by the Education Policy Institute found no significant differences in performance between academies and local council run schools. The original City Academy programme
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2562-628: The new Academic year in September 2010. By 23 July 2010, 153 schools in England had applied for academy status, lower than the prediction that more than 1,000 would do so. In spite of the expanding Academy programme, in August 2010 Gove announced that 75 existing academy rebuild projects were likely to be scaled back. Nevertheless, by September 2012, the majority of state secondary schools in England had become Academies. Monthly updated information on existing academies and free schools, and applications in process,
2623-658: The new trust will rebrand and parents must pay for new school uniform. New rules, staff and systems are set in place. Department for Education King Charles III [REDACTED] William, Prince of Wales [REDACTED] Charles III ( King-in-Council ) [REDACTED] Starmer ministry ( L ) Keir Starmer ( L ) Angela Rayner ( L ) ( King-in-Parliament ) [REDACTED] Charles III [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The Lord Reed The Lord Hodge Andrew Bailey Monetary Policy Committee The Department for Education ( DfE )
2684-482: The power to make the decision. The governors assess the MATs available and willing to take them on. Ethos and values, geographical mix of schools and practicality, how individual schools have succeeded in retaining their identity, value for money, and the trust's capacity to support the development of schools and staff are all factors that are compared. The governors then select a partner trust. They then register interest with
2745-488: The previous year. and, at 1 November 2013, it stood at 3,444. The Education Funding Agency monitors financial management and governance of academies. In March 2022, a report by parliament's Public Accounts Committee found that academy trusts paying a staff member more than £100,000 had increased from 1,875 to 2,245 in 2020–2021 from the previous financial year. The committee concluded that lack of financial transparency undermined parents' capacity to hold school leaders and
2806-451: The primary school population), 80% of secondary schools (79% of secondary school pupils) and 43% of special schools (40% of special school pupils). This growth in the academies system coincides with the improvement of Ofsted judgement across schools, with 88% of all schools rated Good or Outstanding, an improvement from 68% in August 2010. Research from the University of Nottingham into how
2867-476: The programme to 30 or 50 academies in order to evaluate the results before expanding the programme, and that "the rapid expansion of the Academy policy comes at the expense of rigorous evaluation". The Select Committee was concerned that the promising results achieved by some academies may be due to increased exclusions of harder-to-teach pupils. They noted that two Middlesbrough academies had expelled 61 pupils, compared to just 15 from all other secondary schools in
2928-584: The requirement for financial investment by a private sponsor in a move to encourage successful existing schools and charities to become sponsors. Sponsored Academies typically replaced one or more existing schools, but some were newly established. They were intended to address the problem of entrenched failure within English schools with low academic achievement, or schools situated in communities with low academic aspirations. Often these schools had been placed in " special measures " after an Ofsted inspection, as has been
2989-519: The responsibilities and resources of the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). In June 2012 the Department for Education committed a breach of the UK's Data Protection Act due to a security flaw on its website which made email addresses, passwords and comments of people responding to consultation documents available for download. In July 2016, the department took over responsibilities for higher and further education and for apprenticeship from
3050-497: The reviews for not directly including providers of post-16 education other than colleges, such as school and academy sixth forms and independent training providers. In 2018, The Department for Education confirmed their commitment to forming positive relationships with the voluntary and community sector. In 2020 the department began funding the National Tutoring Programme which employed private companies to deliver
3111-543: The same rules on admissions, special educational needs and exclusions as other state schools and students sit the same national exams. They have more autonomy with the National Curriculum , but must ensure their curriculum is broad and balanced, and that it includes the core subjects of English, maths and science. They must also teach relationships and sex education, and religious education. They are free to choose their specialisms . The following are all types of academy: An academy trust that operates more than one academy
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#17328760587363172-530: The school was judged "outstanding", in an Ofsted inspection. The school founded the Dixons Academies Charitable Trust, Ltd. which includes Dixons Allerton Academy , Dixons Kings Academy , Dixons McMillan Academy , Dixons Trinity Academy and Dixons Unity Academy . Founding principal Sir John Lewis retired from the school in 2006 and was succeeded by Sir Nick Weller. Weller became Executive Principal in September 2011 when Dixons took over
3233-472: The school, including its curriculum, ethos, specialism and building (if a new one is built). The sponsor also has the power to appoint governors to the academy's governing body. The Labour Government under Tony Blair established academies through the Learning and Skills Act 2000 , which amended the section of the Education Act 1996 relating to City Technology Colleges . They were first announced as part of
3294-704: The subsequent election, Academies were supported by all three main political parties, with a further cross-party initiative to extend the programme into primary schools currently being considered. In 2010 the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats coalition government announced plans to expand the academy programme with the Academies Act 2010 . In May 2010 the then Education secretary Michael Gove wrote to all state schools in England inviting them to opt out of Local Authority control and convert to Academy status. Gove also stated that some academies could be created in time for
3355-739: Was a 2003 conversion. Academies differ from CTCs in several ways; most notably, academies cannot select more than 10% of pupils by ability, whereas CTCs can. Academies have been compared to US charter schools , which are publicly funded schools largely independent of state and federal control. A number of private and charitable organisations run groups of academies, known as Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs). 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
3416-474: Was attacked for its expense: it cost on average £25m to build an academy under this scheme, much of which was taken up by the costs of new buildings. Critics contend that this is significantly more than it costs to build a new local authority school. Some operators are paying senior staff six-figure salaries, partly funded by central government. In December 2012, the Public Accounts Committee of
3477-629: Was formed on 1 April 2017 following the merger of the Education Funding Agency and the Skills Funding Agency. Previously the Education Funding Agency (EFA) was responsible for distributing funding for state education in England for 3- to 19-year-olds, as well as managing the estates of schools , and colleges and the Skills Funding Agency was responsible for funding skills training for further education in England and running
3538-606: Was made Knight Bachelor by Queen Elizabeth II for services to education in 2015, and his report to HM Treasury and the Department for Education on schools in the Northern Powerhouse region was published in November 2016. Michael Feely, former Deputy Headteacher at Our Lady's Convent Roman Catholic High School in London and England Youth international football player, was appointed as Principal of DCA in September 2018, leading
3599-806: Was removed in 2010. By May 2010 there were 203 Sponsored Academies in England. The Academies Act 2010 sought to increase the number of academies. It enabled all maintained schools to convert to academy status, known as Converter Academies and enabled new academies to be created via the Free School Programme . At the same time the new Conservative-led Coalition Government announced that they would redirect funding for school Specialisms [i.e. Technology College Status ] into mainstream funding. This meant that Secondary Schools would no longer directly receive ring-fenced funds of £130K from Government for each of their specialisms. One way to regain some direct control over their finances and retain specialist funding
3660-491: Was the academies programme." In December 2018, the Sutton Trust published a report on the effectiveness of MATs in improving the performance of disadvantaged children, with its authors noting that "Our five-year analysis of sponsor academies' provision for disadvantaged pupils shows that while a few chains are demonstrating transformational results for these pupils, more are struggling." The Conservative Party has supported
3721-496: Was to become a Converter Academy and receive all of their funding direct from Government, with the possibility of buying in services at a cheaper rate. This, along with some schools wanting more independence from local authority control, meant that many state secondary schools in England converted to academy status in subsequent years. By April 2011, the number of academies had increased to 629, and by August 2011, reached 1,070. By July 2012 this number reached 1,957, double that of
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