Posts tagged "Academies"

Schools: Facts and Figures

Posted on September 6, 2012 by mabear | Comments (0)

With Free Schools, many more academies, University Technology Colleges and even Studio Schools opening this September we have a rapidly changing education system. What I’ve tried to do is summarise these changes, pulling together information from several sources, to provide an overall picture of UK schools.

Free Schools

The Government has today announced that 55 new Free Schools will open this September. The first 24 Free Schools opened in September 2011 while a further 114 have been approved to open in 2013 and beyond.

Free Schools aim to achieve higher standards and offer a genuine alternative. They are funded by the Government but have greater freedoms than local authority-run schools. They are run by teachers – not local councils or Westminster politicians – and have freedom over the length of the school day and term, the curriculum and how they spend their money.

Of the new Free Schools opening this September:

  • 19 are primary schools, 19 are secondary schools and seven are all-age schools. There is one 14-19 school and one 16-19 school. Five are alternative provision schools – the first Free Schools of their type – and three are special schools.
  • The schools are spread across England. They are primarily concentrated in areas of deprivation or areas where there is a shortage of school places. 25 of the 55 schools are located in the most deprived 25 per cent of communities in the country. 33 of the schools are in areas where there is need for more school places.
  • 12 have been set up by teachers, 19 by parent or community groups, 9 by charities and 13 are set up by existing education providers. Two existing independent schools will join the state sector as Free Schools.

Academies

As of 1 July 2012 there are 1957 academies open in England. These academies are listed in the all open academies spreadsheet available to download from the associated resources section of the DfE web site. This information is updated once a month.

The location of open academies can also be seen on our publication list spreadsheet, also available to download, shows details of schools which have formally applied for academy status and progress towards conversion, including all academies that have opened in the academic year 2011/12.

Academy applications have continued at the rate of 50 – 60 per months. The current numbers are:

  • 2311 applications receives
  • 2160 applications approved

University Technology Colleges

University Technical Colleges (UTCs) are the best-known model of technical academies. They specialise in subjects that need modern, technical, industry-standard equipment – such as engineering and construction – and teach these disciplines alongside business skills and the use of ICT.

On 29 May 2012, 15 new University Technical Colleges (UTCs) were approved to enter the pre-opening stage. This takes the total number of UTCs that are in pre-opening stage to 32.

UTCs are spread across England and specialise in demanding technical subjects, including advanced engineering, digital technologies and bio-medical sciences. Almost 200 major national and local employers have been involved in developing these projects. Working in partnership with universities and employers, UTCs will provide a new generation of school leavers with the technical knowledge and skills that industry demands.

The Government is set to deliver the 24 UTCs by 2014 that were committed to in the Budget 2011, and create opportunities for more than 20 000 young people to train as the engineers, scientists and technicians of the future.

You can download a list and a map of the UTCs approved to open in 2012 and beyond, and the UTCs already open, from the ‘Associated resources’ part of the DfE web site.

Studio Schools

Studio Schools are innovative new schools for 14- to 19-year-olds, delivering project-based, practical learning alongside mainstream academic study. Studio Schools offer academic and vocational qualifications, but teach them in a practical and project-based way. Study is combined with work placements with local and national employers who are involved in the school.

Learning in this way encourages students to develop skills like punctuality, good communication, reliability and team working, whilst gaining a strong grounding in English, maths and science.

These new schools, which are set up with the backing of local businesses and employers, are part of the Government’s drive to ensure the education system responds to demands from employers for the skills they need to grow and prosper. Employers say that ensuring our young people have these important skills should be a top education priority for the Government.

12 new Studio Schools have been approved to open in 2012.

Maintained Schools

To complete the picture here are the latest school numbers from the DfE:

Regions All Primary Secondary 16-18
East Midlands 2316 schools 1888 schools 560 schools 387 schools
East of England 3014 schools 2452 schools 835 schools 526 schools
London 3113 schools 2412 schools 945 schools 710 schools
North East 1239 schools 1022 schools 301 schools 165 schools
North West 3560 schools 2845 schools 887 schools 525 schools
South East 4096 schools 3275 schools 1212 schools 813 schools
South West 2807 schools 2289 schools 730 schools 478 schools
West Midlands 2702 schools 2079 schools 761 schools 521 schools
Yorkshire and the Humber 2493 schools 2049 schools 555 schools 366 schools
Total number of schools : 25340 20311 6786 4491

Schools: The Changing Landscape

Posted on February 17, 2012 by mabear | Comments (1)

We are currently going through a major structural change in the UK education system as schools covert to academies and new institutions such as UTCs, Free Schools and Studio Schools appear on the scene. So what are these new institutions? How many are they? What further expansion might we expect? Here’s a summary of the current situation which I’ve extracted from the DfE web site – www.dfe.gov.uk

Academies

New academies open on the 1st of each month. As of February 2012 there were 1580 open academies. In total 1861 applications have been received, of which 1629 have been approved. This means that there are at least 49 more approved academies that will convert in the coming months and the likelihood of many more between now and the end of the year. With this number there is now a critical mass of academies representing over 50% of the total number of secondary schools in England. The Academies programme has yet to reach Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Briefly, the main differences of an academy include:

Academy Freedoms

  • freedom from local authority control
  • the ability to set their own pay and conditions for staff
  • freedoms around the delivery of the curriculum
  • the ability to change the lengths of terms and school days.

Academy Sponsors

Some academies, generally those set-up to replace underperforming schools, will have a sponsor. Sponsors come from a wide range of backgrounds including successful schools, businesses, universities, charities and faith bodies. Sponsors are held accountable for the improving the performance of their schools. They do this by challenging traditional thinking on how schools are run and what they should be like for students. They seek to make a complete break with cultures of low aspiration and achievement. The sponsor’s vision and leadership are vital to each project.

Academy Funding

Academies receive the same level of per-pupil funding as they would receive from the local authority as a maintained school, plus additions to cover the services that are no longer provided for them by the local authority. However, academies have greater freedom over how they use their budgets to best benefit their students. Academies receive their funding directly from the Young People’s Learning Agency (an agency of the Department for Education) rather than from local authorities.

In addition to the growth in academies, several other new school ‘types’ have emerged:

Free Schools

The first 24 Free Schools opened in September 2011. So what is a Free School?

Free Schools are non-profit making, independent, state-funded schools. There is not a ’one-size-fits-all’ approach. They are not defined by size or location: there is not a single type of Free School or a single reason for setting them up. Free Schools could be primary or secondary schools. They could be located in traditional school buildings or appropriate community spaces such as office buildings or church halls. They could be set up by a wide range of proposers – including charities, universities, businesses, educational groups, visionary teachers or committed parents – who want to make a difference to the educational landscape. They might be needed because there simply are not enough school places in a local area and children have to travel too far to the nearest school. The thing which unites all Free Schools is that they are being set up in response to real demand within a local area for a greater variety of schools. 

A further 54 schools have been approved and will open in September 2012 or beyond.

University Technical Colleges

UTCs are academies for 14-19-year-olds. They focus on providing technical education that meets the needs of modern employers. They offer technical courses and work-related learning, combined with academic studies.  All UTCs:

  • are sponsored by a local university and employers. It is also usual for FE colleges and other educational institutions – like established academy trusts – to work in partnership with them;
  • specialise in two curriculum areas (e.g. engineering and science);
  • teach core GCSEs alongside technical qualifications, and we expect them to offer young people the opportunity to achieve the English Baccalaureate;
  • focus on disciplines that require highly specialised equipment, for example, engineering, manufacturing and construction;
  • teach these disciplines alongside developing young people’s business, ICT and design skills to prepare students for a range of careers and continuing education at 19; and
  • have 500 to 800 students.

The Baker Dearing Educational Trust plays a key role in developing partnerships and advising on applications for UTCs.

Two UTCs are already open – the JCB Academy in Staffordshire, and the Black Country UTC in Walsall. Three more UTCs have been fully approved to open in either Sept 2012 or Sept 2013 and a further 13 applications are progressing through the approval process. This gives a total ofr 18 against the government target of 24.

Studio Schools

On 14 December 2011, 12 new Studio Schools were approved to enter the pre-opening stage. They are spread across England and are a new type of 14-19 school that allow young people to prepare for work, while gaining core qualifications and valuable employability skills. Pupils in a Studio School will experience an innovative curriculum built around project-based learning, with part of the timetable devoted to meaningful work placements and pupils over 16 paid a real wage. They are small schools – typically with around 300 pupils – delivering mainstream qualifications through project based learning.

Students work with local employers and a personal coach, and follow a curriculum designed to give them the employability skills and qualifications they need in work, or to take up further education.

The first two Studio Schools opened in September 2010 in Luton and Huddersfield with a further four opening in September 2011 in Leicestershire, Durham, Manchester and Maidstone.

In summary the educational landscape is rapidly changing. New types of schools are emerging, the role of the local authority has diminished, schools have far greater independence (and responsibility) and funding is direct from the YPLA rather than through the LA.

Academy Update – September

Posted on September 28, 2011 by mabear | Comments (0)

The momentum in the Academy programme continues. Here is the latest data from the DfE website at:

http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/leadership/typesofschools/academies/b0069811/open-academies-and-academy-projects-in-development

As of 1 September 2011 there are 1,300 academies open in England, including 12 special academies. These Academies are listed in the All open academies spreadsheet available to download from the associated resources section of this page. This information will be updated once a month.

The location of open academies can also be seen on the academies map where you can click into areas and then view details for each academy.

The Publication list spreadsheet, also available to download, shows details of schools which have formally applied for academy status and progress towards conversion, including all academies that have opened in the academic year 2011/12.

This information will also be updated monthly as more academies open.

To put these fugures into context, the majority of open academies are secondary schools and the UK has approx. 4,000 in total. So, the 1300 Academies represent nearly 1/3 of the secondary school population with many more institutions having made applications.

The other significant development is that of Free Schools. These represent a much smaller number than Academies, but nevetheless represent a significant change in education provision within the UK.

http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/leadership/typesofschools/freeschools

24 Free Schools opened in September 2011 as can be seen from the interactive map:

http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/leadership/typesofschools/freeschools/b0066077/free-schools-opening-in-2011

What’s the Latest on Academies?

Posted on May 11, 2011 by mabear | Comments (0)

Figures released today (May 10) show that more than 1000 schools have now applied to become academies. 240 schools have applied in the last month alone. 

As of today: 

  • 1070 schools have applied to be an academy since June 2010
  • 647 of these applications have been approved
  • 384 have already converted
  • a third of all secondary schools are either now academies, or in the process of becoming an academy
  • schools are becoming academies at a rate of two every school day.

The total number of open academies, including those opened under the previous government, now stands at 658. 

Outstanding schools were invited to apply for academy status from June 2010. This offer has since been extended to special schools and any other school that is performing well. 

Strong schools that convert to academy status are expected to support other local schools that could benefit from improvement. So far, more than 800 schools are benefiting from this support. 

Academies are free from local and national government control. They are able to focus their time and resources on meeting the needs of their pupils and school, rather than answering to local or national politicians and bureaucrats. 

Education Secretary, Michael Gove, said today: 

More than a thousand schools have now applied to be academies. A third of secondary schools are now either an academy or have started on the road to conversion. This represents a fundamental shift in power away from government and towards teachers. Teachers, not politicians or bureaucrats, know best how to run schools. 

Schools want the freedom to decide what is best for their pupils. They want to be free to innovate in the classroom, inspiring pupils to learn. Academy status gives them that freedom and is the reason why even more schools will follow these pioneers in the following months and years. 

Schools have welcomed the opportunity to become academies. 

Des MacPhee of Norton College, North Yorkshire, said 

We want to secure Norton College’s ‘outstanding practice’ and be recognised as a Teaching School which leads a collaborative and school-led partnership focused on school improvement. The Trust will enhance outcomes for all of its learners by using the additional flexibilities brought about by academy status. 

Here are the updated list of academies and their location on a map:

http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/leadership/typesofschools/academies/a0069811/open-academies-map-and-schools-submitting-applications

Contact Matt Eccles in the Adobe UK Education team to talk about academies: meccles@adobe.com

Becoming an Academy – What are the licensing implications?

Posted on March 30, 2011 by mabear | Comments (0)

With the large number of schools that have either become an academy or are now applying, an increasingly common question is ‘What are the licensing implications?’ First though it is necesary to explain the problem ……

When a school becomes an Academy they may or may not change their name. However, what they always do is change their status to become a Limited Company. An Academy will be run by a charitable compnay limited by guarantee and known as ‘the Academy Trust’. As a company it will be subject to company law and to the requirements of the Registrar of Companies (Companies House). In other words the school undergoes a complete change of status. For those schools converting in April, they will close as a school on March 31 and open on April 1 as an Academy Trust.

So, what are the implications for assets such as software licences? Many organisations will require a formal licence transfer, but this could create a huge administrative overhead for customers and partners, so instead we are asking schools/academies to provide the information necessary to complete a ‘Change of Name’ form that is much quicker and simpler.

The attached is the form which we will submit on behalf of the customer once all the details are complete.

ACON - Change of Name Form

Programme for International School Assessment

Posted on December 8, 2010 by mabear | Comments (0)

Michael Gove has commented on the UK’s ranking and performance relative to other countries around the world. The PISA study of school systems shows the UK in decline.

The headline results for England are:

Subject  Rankings for England
 
  2000 (32 Countries) 2006 (57 Countries) 2009 (65 Countries)
Reading 7th 17th 25th
Mathematics 8th 25th 27th
Science 4th 14th 16th

Secretary of State for Education Michael Gove said:

Today’s PISA report underlines the urgent need to reform our school system. We need to learn from the best-performing countries.

Other regions and nations have succeeded in closing the gap and in raising attainment for all students at the same time. They have made opportunity more equal, democratised access to knowledge and placed an uncompromising emphasis on higher standards all at the same time. These regions and nations – from Alberta to Singapore, Finland to Hong Kong, Harlem to South Korea – should be our inspiration.

While each of these exemplars has their own unique and individual approach to aspects of education, their successful systems all share certain common features. Many have put in place comprehensive plans for school improvement which involve improving teacher quality, granting greater autonomy to the front line, modernising curricula, making schools more accountable to their communities, harnessing detailed performance data and encouraging professional collaboration. It is only through such whole-system reform that education can be transformed to make our nation one of the world’s top performers. 

 Key points from the report can be found at: http://www.education.gov.uk/inthenews/inthenews/a0070008/secretary-of-state-comments-on-pisa-study-of-school-systems

The full report can be found at: http://www.oecd.org/document/61/0,3343,en_2649_35845621_46567613_1_1_1_1,00.html

All this inevitably means more changes to the UK education system as the government attempts to accelerate progress and catch-up with the rest of the world. We can see the huge push towards academies and the devolution of funding away from Local Authorities and directly to the schools. This has the effect of increasing a school’s discretionary expenditure, which in turn is an opprotunity to demonstrate the value of ‘Creativity in the Classroom’ and Adobe products in raising academic achievement.

We’ll be making much more of ‘Creativity in the Classroom’ over the coming year, using it as an umbrella campaign to raise awareness of Adobe technologies and their value in driving change and improving educational outcomes. 

If you want to see the Government’s direction of travel I would suggest reading Michael Gove’s whitepaper which is a surprisingly easy read!

http://www.education.gov.uk/inthenews/pressnotices/a0068673/schools-white-paper-published

Academies: Here to Stay

Posted on September 3, 2010 by mabear | Comments (0)

After the dangerous dogs act the second piece of legislation passed by the new coalition government was the Academies Act. There’s no doubt that this is a critical policy by the government to free schools from Local Authority control and provide them with far greater autonomy. But is it going to be successful? As a Governor going through an evaluation of Academy status at the moment it is clear that momentum is building with a number of schools likely to convert for January 1, 2011 and an even bigger number for April 1, 2011. This latter date coicides with the financial year and will make sense to many schools as the ideal time to become an Academy.

This is definitely an initiative to watch and I suspect that we’ll get a running total of academies over the coming months as the government continues to encourage, push and cajole more and more schools. Here’s the latest information from Michale Gove:

Michael Gove, Education Secretary, today (Sept 1) announced that 142 schools have accepted the Government’s offer to become an academy since the Academies Act became law just over a month ago. These schools have made a commitment to work with other schools and share their expertise. This is the first wave of converters in a rolling process that allows schools to convert at any stage.

The running total of schools that will become academies this academic year is 216 so far. The current breakdown is as follows:

  • 142 schools converting to become academies: 32 are opening this week and a further 110 schools have had Academy Orders signed which means they are on track to convert to academies over the coming months.
  • Of the 142, there are 7 primary schools which become the first ever primary academies to open. The Government has said that special schools will also be allowed to become academies from next year.
  • 64 new academies replace failing schools this September plus a further 10 opening by April 2011. This is record progress; it took five years for 15 city technology colleges to open, and four years for the first 27 academies to open.

Michael Gove said:

This Government believes that teachers and head teachers, not politicians and bureaucrats, should control schools and have more power over how they are run. That’s why we are spreading academy freedoms. This will give heads more power to tackle disruptive children, to protect and reward teachers better, and to give children the specialist teaching they need.

This year’s GCSE results saw academy pupils improving at nearly three times the historic rate of state school improvement.

Notes to editors

  1. A full list of all schools becoming academies for this September term is available to download. Download the list as a pdf (pdf, 45kb). Download the list as a spreadsheet (excel, 46kb). A list of applications for academy status, and Academy Orders is also available to download. Download the list as a pdf (pdf, 60kb). Download the list as a spreadsheet (excel, 47kb).
  2. For further information and responses from Heads of new academies, read the full press notice.
  3. The list below gives the number of academies opening each year under the previous Government:
  • 3 opened in 2002
  • 9 opened in 2003
  • 5 opened in 2004
  • 10 opened in 2005
  • 19 opened in 2006
  • 37 opened in 2007
  • 47 opened in 2008
  • 70 opened in 2009
  • 3 opened in January 2010

Total: 203