Academisation improves education for 350,000 children, DfE says

The Department for Education (DfE) has claimed that the education of 350,000 children has been transformed after their previously underperforming schools were turned into sponsored academies.

The DfE cited Ofsted data from the latest inspection results, which revealed 350,000 children now study in sponsored academies rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’, in schools which were previously labelled as underperforming.

The news arrived just before National Primary School Offer Day (Monday 18 April) and is aimed at reassuring parents that the school places available are better than ever before. Last year 95.9 per cent of parents received an offer at one of their top three preferred primary schools.

The data also suggested that record levels of children are now attending good or outstanding schools, an increase of 1.4 million since 2010.

Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said: “Due to the turbocharged sponsored academy programme hundreds of thousands of children are now getting a better education - a key driver in our mission to spread educational excellence everywhere.

“Parents who find out on Monday which primary school their child will attend can be reassured that the government is doing more than any before to ensure all parents have the choice of a good local school. There are now a record number of good or outstanding schools in England - a testament to the hard work of our excellent teachers and the impact of our reforms.

“Our white paper reforms are the next step in achieving excellence everywhere by putting control in the hands of the teachers and school leaders who know their pupils best, alongside new measures to more swiftly tackle failing and coasting schools. We want to work constructively with the sector to deliver this and ensure standards continue to rise.”