Government white paper reveals schools will be ‘incentivised’ to become academies
The Government is reportedly planning to incentivise schools to convert to academy status, as part of its over-arching plans to achieve 100 per cent academisation by 2030.
Media reports suggest that the upcoming white paper will confirm the Government’s long-term plans to achieve academisation of all schools by the end of the decade, despite Education Secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, having previously gone on record stating that he would not set an “arbitrary” deadline.
However, to achieve its long-term goal, the DfE is now planning to adopt a softer approach. Rather than forcing schools to become academies – a proposal which the then Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan had to shelve following a widespread outcry – it now plans to offer schools incentives to convert.
Exact details of the incentives being planned by the DfE have yet to be confirmed.
So far, around 10,000 schools, or 45 per cent, have become academies in the past 11 years, meaning that the DfE will need to ramp up its efforts to convert the remaining 55 per cent of schools in the next eight years.
However, there are large regional variances. In the North West, for example, just 26 per cent of schools are currently academies. The South East also lags behind with just 39 per cent of its schools currently registered as academies, compared to the South West region where 58 per cent of schools have already converted. Contact us for advice.
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