DCSF Announces
Consultation on Accreditation of Academy Sponsors, School Providers and School Groups
The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) announced on 21 October
2009 a consultation for a new accreditation process for Academy Sponsors, School
Providers and School Groups. The accreditation process seeks to ensure improved
standards in schools which are currently low attaining or otherwise underperforming.
The proposals also set out a process for selecting sponsors to future Academy projects.
The DCSF will be holding a number of events at which stakeholders
can express their views, which will be fed into the consultation. The response date
for the consultation is the 22 January 2010. The results of the consultation and
the Department’s response will be published on their e-consultation website by the
end of March 2010.
Accredited School Providers and Accredited School
Groups
Under the proposals, there will be two categories of accreditation,
Accredited School Providers (ASP’s) and Accredited Schools Groups (ASG’s). ASP’s
will be educational institutions, or other organisations applying with an educational
institution, that wish to run one or two schools. All lead sponsors of Academies
and lead partners of Majority Trusts and Federations will be required to seek and
obtain accreditation as an ASP before they can be selected for a project. Academy
sponsors who are not educational organisations will need to apply with an educational
co-sponsor or partner to gain accreditation.
The ASG accreditation will be for those providers
who wish to run three or more schools. Any organisations which already partner two
or more schools or sponsor two or more Academies will be required to be accredited
before they can be selected for further projects. It is anticipated that LA’s will
apply the same principles when selecting Majority Trusts and Federations where these provide support and improvement in underperforming schools. The DCSF has stated
that it does not expect Academy sponsors or National Challenge Trust and Federation
lead partners to be accredited for projects on which they are already acting.
Gaining Accreditationn
Organisations who wish to be accredited will be asked to
submit
a proposal which should include evidence to demonstrate that they possess
the relevant expertise, track record and capacity to support improvement in underperforming
schools. Providers will be asked to demonstrate:
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Sound governance;
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Effective leadership and management; |
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Provide a strong model for managing and improving schools;
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Keep a track record of improving outcomes for children and
young people; and |
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Present a capacity to achieve transformational change in
the schools they are supporting. |
The DCSF will assess all applications against a published
criterion and (where essential) visit the organisation to gain a better understanding
of their proposal. Applications for ASG accreditation will be reviewed by a committee
which will then make a recommendation to the Secretary of State for a final decision.
Academies
The DCSF will continue to work with LA’s to identify underperforming
schools that would benefit from becoming an Academy. For each new Academy proposal,
the DCSF will invite declarations of interest from all ASP’s and ASG’s who have
expressed an interest in sponsoring Academies in the region. In some cases, the
DCSF will also advertise locally to encourage organisations with
local ties to apply.
If any organisations wish to declare an interest in sponsoring an Academy but are
not accredited, they must first submit an application for accreditation to assess
the organisation’s suitability to act as a lead sponsor. Where an ASP or an ASG,
proposes to act on an Academy project with a co-sponsor organisation, if the co-sponsor
is not accredited, the consortium’s declaration of interest must contain a short
application by the non-accredited organisation to illustrate their suitability.
Further due diligence checks will also be carried out on the co-sponsor to determine
their suitability.
In cases where there are too many organisations declaring an interest, the DCSF
and LA will shortlist up to four providers who will be invited for a brief discussion
and presentation with a LA and DCSF panel on how they would establish and sustain
high performance at the Academy and implement their proposals effectively.
De-Accreditation
The consultation paper states that the accreditation of an
organisation is likely to be removed if the organisation no longer meets the criteria
for accreditation. The reasons for de-accreditation include;
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The performance of the ASP falls, to the extent that it would
not meet the criteria for accreditation if it sought it; |
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There is no improvement in the performance of the school
being supported by an ASG over an agreed period; |
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The performance of the school being supported by an ASP is
adversely affected by their involvement (as shown by a range of evidence); or |
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The organisation, or those who govern or manage the organisation,
has been found to have acted illegally.
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If the first 3 reasons apply, a warning letter will be issued to the ASP to express
concern about the situation and to define a period in which the issues are to be
rectified. A failure to comply with the conditions set out in the warning letter
will result in an organisation’s accreditation being removed and a complete prohibition
from taking on further projects. Any organisation found to be acting illegally will
have its accreditation removed and the LA/DCSF will take emergency action and intervene
in the school being supported.
Primary Schools
The consultation notes that primary schools would also be able to benefit from the
support of ASPs and ASGs. The consultation does not go so far as to propose the
introduction of Primary Academies though, stating that stand-alone primary Academies
are not a proportionate or cost effective response to primary school underperformance.
Conclusion
The Academy sponsor selection process has been criticised
in the past for lacking transparency. The Government hopes that the proposals will
reduce the overall burden for Academy Sponsors by making the selection process more
uniform and transparent. It is debatable though whether the proposals will be far
reaching enough to satisfy those Academy opponents who advocate public consultations
on Sponsor selection.
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For More Information Contact:
Graham Burns
TPP Law Limited
53 Great Suffolk Street
London SE1 ODB
t 020 7620 0888
f 020 7620 0778
e info@tpplaw.co.uk
Email: Graham
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