Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what powers are available to her to improve the performance of academy schools.

We are committed to a school system in which all children have access to a good school place. Regional Schools Commissioners (RSCs) are responsible, on behalf of the Secretary of State, for holding all academies, including multi-academy trusts (MATs), to account and will intervene where necessary to bring about rapid improvement.

The main triggers for RSCs taking action are concerns regarding educational performance, financial management and governance. In the first instance, RSCs will look to provide the trust that runs the academy with support to secure improvements itself – for example through diagnostic visits from education advisors or arranging school–to-school support. In serious cases, RSCs have the power to issue warning notices setting out the improvements that are required and by when. Ultimately, the Education and Adoption Act 2016 provides the Secretary of State with powers to remove an academy from a MAT where it has been allowed to fail or coast, and transfer it to a new trust.

More detailed information about powers available for taking action in academies and how decisions are taken by RSCs are set out in the Schools Causing Concern Guidance and the RSCs Decision Making Framework, both of which are available on GOV.UK at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/schools-causing-concern--2

and

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/577885/RSC_decision_making_framework_December_2016.pdf