Changing the current duty to issue academy orders to failing schools to a discretionary power
02/09/24 – The Government announced that, with the exception of schools already due to convert to academies, the policy of intervening where a school receives two or more consecutive judgements of ‘requires improvement’ under the ‘2RI’ policy will change.
17/12/24 – Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which included measures to ‘introduce greater flexibility for the government to intervene in failing schools, changing the current duty to issue academy orders to a discretionary power. Currently the Secretary of State has to issue an academy order to all maintained schools that are judged by Ofsted to be in a category causing concern – schools requiring special measures or requiring significant improvement. That means they are converted into sponsored academies. Repealing the duty to issue academy orders will allow the Secretary of State the flexibility to determine what the most appropriate action is to drive school improvement in each individual case. School improvement may be supported by the new Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence (RISE) teams.’
08/01/25 – Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill had its second reading.