Schools Week reported this week that the DfE are planning to start their plans for academisation in the next half term. The Department is looking to create “strategic delivery plans” which will outline how it will reach their goal of a fully academised school system. They will focus on working with trusts, councils, dioceses and other groups to prioritise academisation in its 55 education investment areas (EIAs), six of which are in the North East. The new strategy includes plans to look at successive ‘requires improvement’ schools that are not yet in a ‘strong’ trust, merging Trusts without capacity, and local proposals for Local Authority multi-academy trusts.
The Department for Education introduced the Schools Bill this month, with the bill making additional provisions for the regulation of academies. The Bill aims to simplify the regulatory system with a ‘common rulebook’ of statutory trust standards. Schools North East will be sending out a detailed ‘Bitesize Briefing’ to our Partner Schools next week with a complete summary of the latest DfE proposals. Schools North East also held a ‘White Paper’ roundtable last week with maintained and academy leaders from the region, to discuss the implications of the WHite Paper and the Bill currently going through parliament; the Stakeholder Briefing for this will be coming out next week as well. You can read our Stakeholder Briefings on the Schools North East website.
Schools North East is planning to host 3 information events across the region in the new Autumn term when the details around academisation are clearer and DfE plans are refined. These information sessions are to support Head Teachers, Governors and SLT in maintained schools, SATs and small trusts, helping them to navigate the new environment which has been laid out in the education White Paper; they will aim to help them understand the new landscape and come to grips with the key decisions and questions facing them. You can register your interest for the events now.
