More information from the Department for Education today on the progress of the Academies Programme. According to this press release more than one in ten schools is now an Academy. There are now 407 Academies, 203 set up by the last government, and 204 set up by the Coalition since September 2010 (the figures may be slightly misleading as it is not clear how many of the 204 were already in the pipeline to become Academies before the Coalition programme began). 46 schools are opening as Academies in this week alone. As at 5th January 2011 there were 390 applications to become Academies (including those which have already opened) and 248 Academy orders have been signed.371 secondary schools are now academies, which is 11% of the total.
It is also possible to read case studies on the DfE website of schools which have recently converted to Academy status. Perhaps needless to say, these are all very positive about the benefits of converting to Academy status, but this BBC news report contains some less complimentary views. The teachers’ unions are, generally speaking, hostile to the idea, with the deputy general secretary of the ATL union saying that the “academies policy leads to anarchy, breaking up the local education system, preventing sensible and efficient planning, and opening up free-floating schools to private firms with profit motives.“
Tags: Academies