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‘Councils beat academy trusts at boosting failing schools’

Councils are best when it comes to boosting the inspection grades of inadequate schools, analysis of official figures suggests.

Researchers looked at how much schools rated inadequate by Ofsted in 2013 had improved by the end of 2017.

Those schools that had remained council maintained were more likely to be good or outstanding than those that had become sponsored academies.

The government says academy status helps schools raise standards.

But the Local Government Association, said the research, which it commissioned, “clearly demonstrates the excellent track records councils have in turning round failing schools”.

Under changes introduced in 2016, all schools rated inadequate by Ofsted must now become “sponsor-led academies”, which means being taken over by an academy chain or multi-academy trust and no longer being maintained by their local authority.

Read the full article on the BBC.

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