The expansion of the academies programme is key to the Government's mission of transformational change in educational opportunities across the country. As we work towards our target of opening 400 academies, Ministers have decided that the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA) will act on behalf of the Secretary of State to deliver a range of academy functions in funding, supporting and challenging academies.
The DCSF will retain responsibility for the commissioning and opening of new academies. The Secretary of State will also still remain ultimate responsibility for all academy functions.
The YPLA will carry out academies functions, across the full age-range, such as payment and calculation of grants and supporting and challenging academies on behalf of the Secretary of State. The YPLA will also form part of the wider 16-19 system, together with local authorities - working in their regions and sub-regions - and Government Offices. One of its primary roles will be to support local authorities' commissioning of learning and skills for 16-19 year olds.
Over time, and as the academies programme continues to grow, the regional structure of the YPLA will mean that it can offer academies the necessary support and a more personalised service than the Department will be able to provide. There will be no change in the day-to-day role of academies; nor will academies lose their autonomy or freedoms as a consequence of this change. We believe that this arrangement will benefit academies as they will receive support and challenge from a regionalised national agency with a more detailed understanding of the local context of education services.
We are keen to involve academies and sponsors in discussions to ensure that we meet their needs and expectations in establishing these new arrangements.
Have your say
The Secretary of State will issue policy guidance for the YPLA on fulfilling its functions on academies. To ensure that this guidance meets the expectations of academies and sponsors we would like to invite you to comment on the draft version of the guidance here.
The YPLA and the commissioning and funding of sixth forms
For academy sixth forms, the Secretary of State will continue to be involved in decisions for new academies. After an academy is open, we expect that potential increases in the number of academy places would be considered by the 14-19 partnership in the same way as for other providers, taking account of the local context and the needs of learners. In the rare cases where local agreement is not possible, the YPLA, acting on behalf of the Secretary of State and with regard to his guidance, would seek to broker agreement and ultimately - as the funding body for academies - would make the final decision.
Apprenticeships, Skills, Children & Learning (ASCL) Act
The Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act has completed all its parliamentary stages and received Royal Assent on Thursday 12th November.
The new Act will allow the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA) to act as the Secretary of State's agent to deliver finance and quality assurance of standards functions for academies. This is the best way of supporting the expansion of the Academies programme. As we work towards our target of opening 400 academies, we want to ensure that academies continue to receive the necessary support that the DCSF currently provides. We believe that this arrangement will benefit Academies as they will receive support and challenge from an agency with both a national and regional presence. The regional structure of the YPLA, will allow a more detailed understanding of the local context of education services.
The Official Opening of The Petchey Academy by the Secretary of State - Rt Hon Ed Balls
The Petchey Academy, Hackney 2 was officially opened by the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families on May 14, 2008. Click here (Word 960 KB) for a copy of the speech.
Conference Speech
Feb 2008 Read the Andrew Adonis speech to the National Academies Conference in London. Download Word document (80 KB).
SPEECH
Read the speech made by Andrew Adonis, Minister for Schools, at the Headmasters' Conference, Bournemouth on October 2, 2007. Download speech (Word 75 KB).
ACADEMIES ON TRACK TO GIVE VALUE FOR MONEY SAYS NAO
Alan Johnson says: "Academies work and are worth it"
23 February 2007
Independent watchdog the NAO has confirmed that Academies are "on track to deliver good value for money" and the Government’s flagship programme is raising attainment in deprived areas.
Among the other key points of a positive report from the National Audit Office today are:
Performance is rising faster than in other types of schools;
Academies are narrowing the attainment gap by raising the attainment of pupils from deprived backgrounds - Academies admit higher proportions of pupils eligible for free school meals and with special educational needs than both the national average and the average in their catchment area;
Performance is better than their predecessor schools and pupils' achievements in 2005 and 2006 show a strong trend in rising attainment;
Academies are popular with parents;
Academies display the major factors NAO consider important to turning around a school's performance - including high quality leadership and governance and improved teaching and learning.
Academies are also improving attendance faster than other schools.
Most Academy buildings are of high design quality compared to other schools;
Sponsors have played an important part in raising aspirations and contributing to a positive ethos.
Former Education Secretary Alan Johnson said:
"The NAO has now officially confirmed that Academies are improving results among the most deprived children in the country and on course to deliver good value for money.
"Academies work - and are worth it.
"This is the first time that the official independent watchdog on Government spending has reported on Academies and I am delighted it is such a positive report.
"As the NAO says, Academies must rise to the challenge of maintaining these improvements and I am sure they will do so. Along with last year's positive PricewaterhouseCoopers report and a series of encouraging Ofsted reports, the evidence for Academies is stacking up."
Latest exam results also show:
Increases in 5 good GCSEs outstrip the national average. Academies replaced some of the worst schools in the country whose performance was well below the national average. Since Academies have been in place, GCSE results have been improving fast. In 2006 the average increase across Academies of pupils getting 5 good GCSE results is nearly 8 percentage points (outstripping the national average of 2.6 percentage points).
Including English and Maths the improvement rate is above the national average. The improvement in the percentage of pupils getting five good GCSEs including English and Maths in Academies has improved by 6.2 percentage points this year alone - six times better than the national average improvement rate of 1 percentage point. The improvement for five A*-C GCSEs including English and Maths is 9.7 percentage points compared to their predecessor schools.
Academies are twice as good as the schools they replace. The comparison with the poor results of the schools that Academies replaced is striking, with a doubling of the percentage of pupils getting five A*-C grades (improving from 21.3% in 2001 to 41.5% in 2006).
Positive signs for the future with increases in KS3 results. Provisional results for Academies (excluding former CTCs) at Key Stage 3 in 2006 show English has improved by 5 percentage points to 57%, Maths by 9 percentage points to 63% and Science by 10 percentage points to 54% - KS3 results are an important indicator of future success at GCSE.
The Department will study carefully the NAO's comments on the capital costs of some of the early Academies, but notes the NAO finding that: "It is difficult to make direct comparisons with other new schools owing to differences in location, school size, site constraints and age range of pupils."
We also welcome the NAO praise for the quality of Academy buildings: "compared with other new schools, most academies are of good quality, having benefited from a process that has given architects and users sufficient time to consider the design fully".
We also announced last year that future Academy building projects will be part of the Building Schools for the Future programme, to improve the efficiency of procurement and achieve significant savings.
The NAO confirm that Academies receive broadly similar funding to schools in similar circumstances. We are already working on some of the improvement points they raise and have learnt lessons from the early days of the programme, such as improving the efficiency of the building and procurement process.
For example, the Department now appoints directly construction project managers to monitor each Academy project and funding agreements are not signed until projects have reached a more detailed stage of design.
The report notes that many established Academies are developing positive links with schools in their area and the Department encourages more partnership between Academies and other members of the local family of schools.
PRIME MINISTER'S ANNOUNCEMENT TO DOUBLE THE NUMBER OF ACADEMIES
November 30, 2006
In a recent speech to the Specialist School and Academies Trust Conference, the Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair announced a doubling of the number of Academies to be opened from 200 - 400. This is a huge vote of confidence in the Academies Programme and reflects its success, and popularity with pupils and parents.
There are 46 Academies open at present and the Government is committed to have at least 200 open or in the pipeline by 2010.
GCSE results in Academies have been encouraging. In 2006 the number of pupils achieving 5 or more A*-C GGSE results including English and Maths improved by 6.2 percentage points, six times better than the national improvement rate of 1 percentage point.
Almost all academies are oversubscribed on opening and for each year afterwards, which is an indication that parents in the locality of Academies are voting confidently for their children's education.
ACADEMY PROGRAMME REACHES HALFWAY MARK TOWARDS 200 NEW SCHOOLS
16 March 2006
Today the Prime Minister announced there are currently 100 Academies open or in the pipeline - half-way to the established target of 200 Academies. Education Secretary Ruth Kelly also welcomed the milestone.
Education Secretary Ruth Kelly said: "Academies have come a long way in a very short time, considering the first three opened in 2002, and it is good news for some of our most disadvantaged communities that sponsors and local authorities across the country have been inspired to embrace the exciting opportunities they bring.
"Thousands more children are set to benefit from the innovative Academy approach which is already paying off with better exam results and improved pupil behaviour in areas which suffered decades of neglect, as recent Ofsted reports confirm.
"While 27 Academies are open, there are a further 73 at feasibility or implementation stages.
"Academies are inclusive all-ability schools, working with other schools and businesses to provide education to meet the needs of the local community. They help regenerate communities, open their facilities to other schools and share much-needed expertise.
"The facts dispell the myth that Academies are only for privileged children. The average number of children eligible for free school meals in Academies is 34% compared to a national average of 14% . These are just the children we need to help - seven out of 10 children on free school meals leave school without five good GCSEs.
"Academies work - that's why they're popular with parents and oversubscribed. They are schools local people can be proud of . Academies have improved the number of pupils getting good GCSE results by almost three times the national average (nearly 8 percentage points compared to 2.6 percentage points ). The evidence shows the Government was right not to accept the underachieving schools they replaced .
"Academies raise the aspirations of pupils, so more of them do well at school and go on to further and higher education and better jobs.
"Recent Ofsted reports are a testament to the excellent job being done in Academies in London, Bristol, Walsall, Manchester and other areas. They have had to cope with major challenges, inheriting education in disadvantaged areas and tackling social exclusion.
"A good example of the difference an Academy can make is Mossbourne Academy, which serves the community previously failed by Hackney Downs school, which went into special measures before closure. Its Ofsted report, published last week, praises the leadership of its headteacher Sir Michael Wilshaw, its good quality teaching, innovative approach to tackling underachievement and good attendance and behaviour."
"Walsall Academy's Ofsted report praised its attendance rate as outstanding and its students for excellent behaviour, smart dress and taking pride in their school. Walsall also has three times as many pupils (67%) who got good five good GCSEs in 2005 compared to the predecessor school's results in 2002.
"Ofsted has noted the rapid improvement in behaviour which has resulted in students working diligently and getting better results. Academies have trailblazed such innovative proposals as Saturday morning detentions featured in the Education Bill.
"When we first announced Academies we said the aim was to break the cycle of underperformance and low expectations in areas with some of the worst educational achievement records in the country. The evidence so far - from Ofsted reports and improved exam results - shows we have done just that.
"The challenge now is to spread these benefits to other parts of the country. The 100 Academy projects we have either opened or have in the pipeline will bring new hope to areas which have looked admiringly at the improvements they have made.
"The message of success is spreading among schools, local authorities and potential sponsors - Academies are here to stay, and they are making a big difference for the better."
