Asked by: Heidi Alexander (Labour - Swindon South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will provide a list stating the value of each grant that has been awarded by her Department to each academy sponsor matched to a school with an Academy Order; and what the average value is of those grants that have been made under the provisions of the Education and Adoption Act 2016.
Answered by Edward Timpson
As of 24 October 2016, there have been 33 grant payments made as a result of an Academy Order being issued under the provisions of the Education and Adoption Act 2016. They consist of the following:
Grants Paid | Total |
1 part payment of grant of £45,000 | £45,000 |
22 grants of £70,000 | £1,540,000 |
2 grants of £80,000 | £160,000 |
7 grants of £90,000 | £630,000 |
1 grant of £110,000 | £110,000 |
Grand Total | £2,485,000 |
This brings an average cost of £75,303 supporting these sponsored academies. The details of the grant amounts can be found on page 4 of the Sponsored academies funding Advice for sponsors document. This guidance is published online and can be accessed via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/511128/sponsored_academies_funding_advice_for_sponsors.pdf
This does not include any award of sponsor capacity fund (SCF) which may previously have been made to relevant sponsors as part of their developing greater capacity to support schools.
Asked by: Heidi Alexander (Labour - Swindon South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, (a) on how many occasions and (b) in relation to which schools since 2010 an Academy Order has been rescinded due to the inability of the Regional Schools Commissioner to secure a sponsor.
Answered by Edward Timpson
Since the Education and Adoption Act came into force in April 2016, the Secretary of State has been under a duty to make an Academy Order in respect of any maintained school that has been judged by Ofsted to be inadequate. Regional Schools Commissioners, acting on behalf of the Secretary of State, ensure that the maintained school becomes a sponsored academy as swiftly as possible, after considering the circumstances in the school, and then identifying the most suitable sponsor.
No Academy Orders have been revoked to date.
143 Academy Orders have been made since the new duty came into force. It is too soon to give an annual average of how long it has taken to match a school to a sponsor under these new arrangements.
Asked by: Heidi Alexander (Labour - Swindon South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average period of time was between an Academy Order being issued and a sponsor being named for schools in each year since 2010.
Answered by Edward Timpson
Since the Education and Adoption Act came into force in April 2016, the Secretary of State has been under a duty to make an Academy Order in respect of any maintained school that has been judged by Ofsted to be inadequate. Regional Schools Commissioners, acting on behalf of the Secretary of State, ensure that the maintained school becomes a sponsored academy as swiftly as possible, after considering the circumstances in the school, and then identifying the most suitable sponsor.
No Academy Orders have been revoked to date.
143 Academy Orders have been made since the new duty came into force. It is too soon to give an annual average of how long it has taken to match a school to a sponsor under these new arrangements.
Asked by: Heidi Alexander (Labour - Swindon South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidelines her Department has issued on the time to be taken by a Regional Schools Commissioner to name a sponsor for a school that has been issued with an Academy Order.
Answered by Edward Timpson
Since the Education and Adoption Act came into force in April 2016, the Secretary of State has been under a duty to make an Academy Order in respect of any maintained school that has been judged by Ofsted to be inadequate. Regional Schools Commissioners, acting on behalf of the Secretary of State, ensure that the maintained school becomes a sponsored academy as swiftly as possible, after considering the circumstances in the school, and then identifying the most suitable sponsor.
No Academy Orders have been revoked to date.
143 Academy Orders have been made since the new duty came into force. It is too soon to give an annual average of how long it has taken to match a school to a sponsor under these new arrangements.
Asked by: Heidi Alexander (Labour - Swindon South)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many interim executive board applications she received in each of the last five years; how many of those applications were approved; and how many schools subject to an interim executive board subsequently became an academy or are in the process of becoming one.
Answered by Edward Timpson
The Department for Education does not maintain a record of all applications from local authorities to install Interim Executive Boards (IEBs). Our records show that in the last five years the Secretary of State has approved 325 local authority IEBs. Of these 127 have subsequently opened as academies and a further 36 have been approved to open as academies.
The total number of approved local authority IEBs can be broken down across academic years as follows:
In academic year 10-11, 32 were approved.
In academic year 11-12, 62 were approved.
In academic year 12-13, 88 were approved.
In academic year 13-14, 108 were approved.
In the current academic year, 35 have been approved.
The Education and Inspections Act 2006 enables local authorities to apply to the Secretary of State for consent to constitute the governing body as an IEB. An IEB can be used to accelerate improvement in standards and attainment and provide challenge to the leadership of the school to secure rapid improvement. IEBs can also be used where there has been a serious breakdown of working relationships within the governing body of the school.