Recent Governments have tried to move all schools to academies. Is that about to happen under Labour?

The path of Labour policy seemed less concerned with school structure and more about on-the-ground school improvement. The white paper ‘Every child achieving and thriving’ is promising  that all schools are to be part of “high quality school trusts” although no exact timescale is given. The working assumption may mean that schools are to be part of academy trusts, although this not clear. It is possible though we may see a surprising resurrection of abandoned academy policy, heralding an uncertain future for maintained schools. 

If school trusts mean academy trusts, it is likely to precipitate a rush for maintained schools to organise groupings ready to establish new academy trusts, or to align themselves with existing academy trusts. It is unclear whether maintained schools will be allowed to form school trusts within the maintained sector. This is something perhaps to flesh out in the forthcoming consultation with schools. More detail of how the policy will be implemented and what funding will be available is needed. Previously the Labour Government withdrew the conversion grant, so something will be needed in its place to meet the costs of all schools joining school trusts.    

The white paper does provide for local authorities creating school trusts. Whilst it is to be expected that the local authorities will play an important planning role, it is clear their involvement in the day-to-day operation of the school trust will be limited. We assume that this would amount to a minority stake of less than 20% of the trust’s membership/trustees reflecting well-established current restrictions for academy trusts.

The white paper also hints at “standalone” schools being moved to school trusts, although this is not explicitly stated. Some standalone academy trusts, especially historic schools, may wish to retain their single academy trust status. 

Full implementation of the reforms is said to apply from the 2028-2029 academic year, with commitments given to the school community to work with them in consultation. New commissioning guidance is anticipated, and it will be fascinating to see how the academy trust and maintained school landscape will evolve. Various questions arise:   

• Will standalone schools be allowed to form school trusts?
• What will be the minimum size for any new school trust?
• How will the Regional Directors set their policies about allowing new school trusts to form?
• What will be expected of current academy trusts so that they will be allowed to expand to absorb current maintained schools, and what funding will they receive ? 

It also needs to be considered what this area of the white paper means for schools designated with a religious character, especially those within the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church. Over a third of maintained schools are so designated. The churches have always been significant players in the education space, with the Church of England being the larger contributor. The churches will be key partners with the Government if the aspirations are to be met. For further reflection on what these developments may mean for dioceses, Lee Coley, Stone King’s Head of Faith Sector, explores the issues in his article Some musings for diocesan boards of education on ‘Every Child Achieving and Thriving’.

If the white paper will lead to full academisation, is there sufficient capacity within the system to take on the remaining schools? If new trusts are not favoured, will this result in the need for more cross-diocesan academy trusts or Roman Catholic/Church of England academy trusts? It certainly means dioceses, and their boards of education, will have to revisit their strategies and proactively engage with the remaining church-maintained schools to plan their destination. 

It may take some time before new policies and legislation are in place to allow a timeline for all schools to join strong trusts. Before then, we are likely though to see a great deal of activity and discussions between neighbouring maintained schools as they seek to retain control of their destinies and plan their future together.