Review launched into how government works with academy trusts

The Department for Education has launched a review of how it works with academy trusts, which will look at the standards trusts are held to, and the thresholds at which the government uses its powers to intervene in rare cases of underperformance.

It will also look at how the government supports the growth of existing strong trusts and the creation of new strong trusts, helping trusts improve schools.

The review will conclude by the end of 2022, and is intended to give clarity on how the powers in the Schools Bill, currently going through parliament, will be applied.

The review will look at how to retain and maximise academy trusts’ innovation, and reduce regulatory burdens, by producing clear standards that are transparently enforced.

It will look at improving how intervention works against the new standards, by producing proportionate thresholds for the use of new powers in the Schools Bill for intervention in academy trusts themselves, and focusing government action on preventing failure before it occurs.

The review will also consider how to commission new academy trusts and the expansion of existing trusts, helping make sure there are no ‘cold spots’ of the country where a school does not have an option to join a strong trust that is a good fit for its needs

It will be chaired by the Schools Minister Baroness Barran, and be directly informed by an Expert Advisory Group including the Ofsted Chief Inspector Amanda Spielman, Confederation of School Trusts Chief Executive Leora Cruddas and LSE Professor of Political Science and Public Policy Martin Lodge, alongside further representatives from the academy trust sector to be confirmed shortly.