Reviewing research and evidence on the academisation of the school system, this report will make for useful reading for anyone interested in recent education policy, especially around academies.
Plan A+: unleashing the potential of academies
Synopsis
This report investigates the reasons schools are becoming academies; the extent to which they are using academy freedoms to innovate and improve outcomes; and whether giving schools more autonomy is sufficient to drive innovation and improvement.
It found that while many academies are innovating and striving to improve the quality of their education, few were using the autonomy they possess in order to radically change their workforce or educational offer. It also found that only a third of schools said that obtaining freedom from the National Curriculum was a reason for them becoming an academy.
The report concludes that simply giving schools more autonomy does not ensure that they will innovate and improve. It claims that school-to-school collaboration is an important mechanism for improving the quality of teaching, and that such collaboration enables the highest quality continuous professional development, and as such should be encouraged and supported.