Academy schools - information for parents

 There has been much interest in the media recently on the Government’s Academies Bill, which aims to give schools much greater freedom in how they are run.

Academies are classed as independent state schools, which opt out of council control and have freedom to determine their own policies on things like the curriculum, school hours, term dates and staff pay. As independent schools, academies are not maintained by the local authority.

Primary, secondary and special schools are all able to apply to be an academy, but unlike the policy of the previous government, where lower-achieving schools were candidates to become academies, only schools which have been rated outstanding in their most recent Ofsted inspection are now currently eligible to convert to academies. Schools which have not been rated as outstanding are able to register their interest in becoming an academy and will be able to apply later in the year.

Once an application is successful, schools can choose when they would like to open as academies; for most schools this will be at the beginning of the autumn term 2010 or spring term 2011. Special schools will be able to open as academies from September 2011.

It is important that parents understand what academies are and what it will mean in relation to the education of their children. Below are links to frequently asked questions on the Department for Education (DFE) and National Governors Association (NGA) websites.