Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her Department's criteria are for intervening in order to close a multi-academy trust.

It is crucial that underperformance in the school system is tackled rapidly. Regional Schools Commissioners (RSCs) consider the performance of Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) in their area at appropriate points in the academic year (such as following exam results) and at key stages of their growth. Where an RSC has concerns about a MAT there is a range of support they can offer and measures they can take. Ultimately, the Education and Adoption Act 2016 provides the Secretary of State with powers to remove academies from a MAT where they are failing or coasting, and transfer them to a new trust. RSCs take decisions in the name of the Secretary of State and their functions are set out in a decision-making framework, available on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/517565/RSC-Decision-Making-Framework.pdf

RSC powers of intervention are set out in the Education and Adoption Act 2016, Schools Causing Concern guidance and in individual academy funding agreements.

The Schools Causing Concern guidance describes what decisions RSCs will make and the arrangements for RSCs to take formal action in academies that are causing concern. The guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/510080/schools-causing-concern-guidance.pdf

The Department’s White Paper Educational Excellence Everywhere, committed to testing further how we can develop the legal framework for academies to ensure that underperformance is addressed swiftly and that the system has the right balance of intervention, review and stability. We want to continue to engage widely on this in upcoming months.