Reform Academy

Bold ideas, big conversationsReform’s report, 'Academy chains unlocked', presents results from the first survey of academy chain chief executives. It recommends reform to the funding and oversight of chains to raise standards across the country. Since first introduced under Labour, academy schools have been the main way that governments have sought to raise the standard of schools. Their popularity with policymakers means that two fifths of state-educated children in England now attend an academy. While there are different forms of academies, all have greater responsibility over the curriculum, staffing and finances than other state-funded schools. Yet the evidence that academies have improved school education is not clear cut. Labour’s academies have almost certainly led to sustainable improvements in pupil outcomes. However, the Coalition Government’s academies have had variable impact, with some lowering, some sustaining and others improving education in those schools, depending on the starting point of the school. Taken in its entirety, the evidence suggests that the recent academies are not having the transformative impact on education that was expected by government. The Conservative Government has changed its approach to academies. It now expects all new academies to join or establish an academy chain – groups of two or more academies run by the same sponsor – believing that chains will help unleash the potential of academies to spread educational excellence across the country. Yet, as with individual academies, the evidence on academy chains shows variable impact on pupil attainment. There is a dearth of information explaining why, as no research has established a full enough picture of what academy chains do.