Transcript EFFECTIVE CHAIRING

Becoming an Academy
What it means for
Clerks and the
Governing Body
Clerks’ Briefing Sessions September 2010
What is an academy?
Academies are publicly-funded schools
which operate outside of local authority
control. The government describes
them as independent state-funded
schools.
Essentially, academies have more
freedom than other state schools over
their finances, the curriculum, and
teachers' pay and conditions.
Funding
• A key difference is that they
are funded directly by
central government, instead
of receiving their funds via
a local authority.
The curriculum
• Academies do not have to
follow the national
curriculum. They can
choose their own
curriculum, as long as it is
"broad and balanced"
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Don't academies exist
already?
• Yes, there are more than 200 of them in
England at the moment, all secondary
schools. They were established by the
Labour government, seen as a way of
turning around the worst-performing
schools and schools in disadvantaged
areas.
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What is the government's vision
for academies?
• The coalition wants all schools to have
the chance to become academies,
including primary and special schools,
as part of an "education revolution".
• …the government says becoming
academies will "give schools the
freedoms and flexibilities they need to
continue to drive up standards".
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Change of focus
• However, in contrast to Labour, the
coalition is focusing first on the top end
of schools. It wants to enable schools
judged "outstanding" by Ofsted to
convert into academies by September,
although it then wants successful
schools to mentor struggling ones.
• 1500 schools registered an interest in
the summer – just 142 schools have
become academies, 3 in Essex.
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What is a free school?
• Free schools are schools which will
be set up by groups of parents,
teachers, charities, trusts, religious
and voluntary groups. They will be
set up as academies and will be
funded in the same way - directly
from central government.
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So is there a difference
between free schools and
academies?
• Essentially not, because free schools will
be established as academies. But the
free schools programme will give
parents and teachers the chance to
initiate in the creation of a new school if
they are unhappy with state schools in a
particular local area.
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What happens to the
schools left under local
authority control?
•They will stay as they
are.
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How will academies be
regulated?
• They will be subject to inspections
by England's schools inspectors
Ofsted as other schools are.
• The results of their public exams
will continue to be published.
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The Department for
Education has produced a
list of "Frequently asked
questions" on academies for
its website.
http://www.education.gov.uk/ac
ademies/faqs
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Which schools can apply to
become academies?
• Only schools (primary, secondary
and special schools) that have
been rated outstanding overall in
their most recent Ofsted inspection
are eligible to convert to academies
through this process.
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What will the responsibilities
of the governing body be?
• The governing body will be responsible
for establishing the academy trust.
• The academy trust (a charitable
company limited by guarantee) will then
enter into a funding agreement with the
Secretary of State for the running of the
academy.
The academy trust
• An academy trust is a charitable
company responsible for the
running of the academy and has
control over the land and other
assets. It has a strategic role in
running the academy, but
delegates management of the
school to the governors.
Will academy governing
bodies continue in their
current form?
• There is no requirement for
outstanding schools converting to
an academy to have an external
sponsor.
What are the rules around
appointing the governing
body?
The governing body will be appointed by
the academy trust. The process for
governor elections is set out in the
articles of association and agreed
between the academy trust and the
Secretary of State.
How much additional
responsibility and liability is
involved for the governing body
and how is it protected/insured?
• The academy trust (a charitable
company limited by guarantee) is
the legal entity that will be
responsible for the running of the
school and entering into contracts.