Academy hubs to be set up in the region
Northumberland and Tees Valley have been earmarked for new ‘high-performing’ academy hubs in a Government drive to tackle areas of ‘greatest need’.
Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan, announced nearly £5m will be given to five academy chains to set up seven hubs across the North to drive up standards in northern schools. The plans were first announced in February, when Chancellor George Osborne and the Education Secretary Nicky Morgan promised the North will “benefit from a £10 million injection of expertise”. The statement is available to read here.
The Department for Education listed the five chosen sponsors, followed by a brief description:
1.REAch2, who have set up a new entity called ‘REAch4’ to work in the north – REAch2 now sponsors 49 schools across the country
2.Outwood Grange Academies Trust, a sponsor set up by the ‘outstanding’ Outwood Grange Academy in Outwood, near Wakefield
3.Wakefield City Academies Trust, which has already successfully opened 16 schools across the northern fund regions
4.Tauheedul Education Trust, a sponsor with an excellent track record in running schools – all of its schools inspected so far are rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted
5.Bright Tribe, a well established sponsor with a proven track record of successfully managing geographically dispersed academy hubs, making it well-matched to the challenge of working in the north
Bright Tribe was recently chosen as a sponsor for Grindon Hall Free School in Sunderland, after the school was placed in special measures by Ofsted last year. Its founders protested against the DfE’s decision, arguing the sponsor is not a suitable fit for the school – you can read our article on that here.
Nicky Morgan: one nation education (speech transcript)
Nicky Morgan: no tolerance of areas where majority of pupils fail (press release)
What do we know about the 5 academy chains set for £5m windfall to improve northern schools? (Schools Week)