Reasons for rise in academisation?

The Department for Education’s South West regional director Hannah Woodhouse spoke recently at the Westminster Education Forum’s  “Next steps for England’s schools system” webinar and confirmed that interest in converting to academy status was the biggest since 2018.

The main reasons reported were, trusts ‘making a case’ that academisation can improve staff development and pupil outcomes and concern over ‘viability’ of smaller schools.

It was also reported that she stated that the number of single-academy trusts (SATs) has halved over 18 months, with more trusts merging. There was, she said, “much more consolidation” of small trusts coming together and SATs joining MATs, especially in the South West.

Confederation of School Trusts (CST) chief executive Leora Cruddas said the benefits of being part of a trust were becoming “increasingly clear” as the school trust system matures, she is reported as saying that trusts can “help support and develop schools, teachers and the wider sector in more meaningful ways than standalone schools”.