Responding to the government press release on the next steps
towards all schools being in, or in the process of joining,
multi-academy trusts by 2030, Geoff Barton, General Secretary of
the Association of School and College Leaders, said:
“While this plan sets out a number of technical steps to
encourage full academisation and every school in a multi-academy
trust, it does not address two crucial questions.
“The first of these is the lack of a compelling argument that
this is the right direction of travel. There is a need to tidy up
a messy and fragmented system – which is of the government’s own
making – and we do agree with the benefits of families of schools
working together. However, while many multi-academy trusts do
excellent work, this is not the only model of collaboration that
is available. Successful stand-alone trusts and local authority
schools may well wonder why such a significant structural change
is needed.
“The second unanswered question is what happens if schools do not
play ball and go along with the government’s wishes. Will
stronger forms of leverage and compulsion be introduced at a
later date? The Department for Education’s lack of clarity on
this point is not helpful and leaves a grey area of whether this
plan is an ambition on its part that it hopes to achieve by
encouragement, or a more ominous fait accompli. It really should
be setting out its intentions so that the discussion can take
place in an environment of full disclosure.”
