Times Educational Supplement - TES:
More autonomy turned out to be mere rhetoric
28 July 2017
The rise of academies promised more power for schools - but, with government still clinging to the reins, heads haven't been able to raise standards as expected. However, this system may yet deliver - if ministers ring the changes, writes James Croft.
The Academies Act of 2010 purported to take school autonomy to a new level. The jury is still out on whether this could make a difference for pupil outcomes, but doubts have, justifiably, begun to emerge. While there is evidence of a positive impact in pre-2010 sponsored academies, recent research from the London School of Economics finds no trace of post-conversion improvement in previously "good", "satisfactory" or "inadequate" converters, as well as a concerning degree of heterogeneity.