As Academies are established in disadvantaged areas where generations of pupils have been denied access to a first class education, they are the key element in the drive to raise standards; raising aspirations and creating opportunity in some of the most disadvantaged communities in the country.
The Government sees Academies as engines of social mobility and social justice, and there is a growing body of evidence that they are working - the NFER research, independent reports from Ofsted, the NAO and PricewaterhouseCooper - as well as GCSE and Key Stage 3 results.
NFER research conducted on behalf of the Local Government Association ("Admissions: who goes where? Messages from the statistics", published July 2006) found that:
Academies appeared to be situated in areas where the community populations included higher proportions of children eligible for free school meals (FSM); with special educational needs (SEN); of black or ethnic minority origin; and of lower key stage 2 (KS2) ability.
Academies admit higher proportions of pupils eligible for FSM than the proportion living in the local postcode districts.
Academies admit higher proportions of pupils with SEN compared to the proportions living in the local postcode districts.
Academies admit a lower proportion of pupils of higher KS2 ability compared to the proportion living within the local postcode districts.
Around half of the 100 most deprived Local Authority Districts in England will have at least one Academy in them by September 2008. (Deprivation based on the rank (extent) of the 354 Local Authority Districts in England as listed in "The English Indices of Deprivation 2004" published by ODPM.)
The School Census return completed each year by all state funded schools includes information on the school population - e.g. number of pupils, number of pupils known to be eligible for Free School Meals, etc. Returns for 2007 show that:
The proportion of pupils with SEN (with and without statements) in Academies is 29.5% - compared to an average of 19.2% for all schools.
The 2007 School Census shows that the proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals (FSMs) in Academies is 33.8% - compared to an average of 13.1% for maintained secondary schools.
Sponsors contribute significantly to school improvement
Leadership and governance is very goodin Academies
In general, standards are rising at a faster rate than national average and against comparison schools
No evidence that Academies have negative impact on neighbouring schools in terms of pupil profile
Number of FSM pupils has risen in academies over time, though proportion has fallen. Academies are meeting the needs of a wide range of pupils.
High levels of satisfaction from parents, pupils and staff, though some mixed responses on some questions
There are on average 3 applications for every place at Academies.
On Pupil profile/admissions and exclusions PwC says the proportion of FSM children has declined at a faster rate than other schools - nearly a 6% drop.
PwC also reports that the absolute number has risen compared to their predecessor school. The fall in proportion does not mean that FSM numbers have declined, more are attending AS WELL as more children from other backgrounds. This is a good thing, and shows the schools are getting a genuinely comprehensive intake. Many of the predecessor schools had unrepresentative intakes.
The School Census showed that Academies take higher percentage of pupils on FSM, with EAL and with SEN than their LAs, than their catchment areas, and if all children attended their nearest school.
PWC also state, "no strong quantitative evidence that changes in the profile of Academy pupils have been at the expense of the OIS group."
The 36 Academies which have been open long enough to have results in both 2007 and 2008 have seen an increased of 11.5 percentage points in the percentage of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 gaining 5 or more A*-C grades at GCSE and equivalent (up to 55.2%). This is more than twice the increase seen nationally (Maintained mainstream, CTCs and Academies) of 4.6 percentage points. If we include English and Maths, Academies have increased by 4.3 percentage points (up to 29.5%) compared to 2.5 percentage points nationally.
Comparing the 62 Academies which have results in 2008 to their predecessor schools in 2001 (the last year of checked data), there has been a 32.3 percentage point improvement in the percentage of pupils achieving 5+ A*-C from 23.2% in 2001 to 55.5% in 2008 and this improvement is nearly twice that seen over the same period nationally. Academies have also almost doubled the percentage of pupils achieving 5+ A*-C including English and Maths, going from 14.9% in 2001 to 29.7% in 2008. Nationally the increase is 10.3 percentage points from 38.8% in 2001 to 49.1% in 2008.
The National Audit Office report published in Feb 2007 found that found that:
GCSE performance in Academies has improved compared with predecessor schools.
GCSE performance is improving faster in Academies than in other types of school, including those in similar circumstances.
Taking account of both pupils' personal circumstances and their prior attainment, Academies' GCSE performance is substantially better, on average, than other schools.
Comparing Academy results in 2007 (37 Academies) with those of predecessor schools in 2001, Academies have improved their KS3 performance at twice the national average in English, maths and science. The proportion of pupils achieving level 5 has increased:
in English by 22 percentage points (37.9% to 59.9%);
in maths by 18.9 percentage points (from 40.1% to 59%); and
in science by 15.1 percentage points (36.7% to 51.8%).
Academies overall are three times oversubscribed. The brand new Academies, without an underperforming predecessor school, have nearly six applicants for every place. Academies directly replacing previously underperforming schools have more than two applicants for each place, and are now filling nearly 25% more places than the schools they replaced.
To date 29 academies have had full OFSTED inspections. In their most recent section 5 inspections, one Academy - Haberdashers' Aske's Hatcham Academy was graded as outstanding in every single respect. 21% were graded Outstanding in terms of overall effectiveness, 10% outstanding in Teaching and Learning and 20% outstanding in Leadership and Management. 31% were graded Good regarding Overall effectiveness, 48% Good in Teaching and Learning and 31% Good in terms of Leadership and Management. Key to the future success of academies is their outstanding leadership and management.
The National Audit Office concluded that Academies are "popular with parents and staff" and are "on track to deliver good value for money". (National Audit Office, "The Academies Programme”, February 2007).
The City Academy, Bristol, which opened in 2003 specialising in Sports, is sponsored jointly by John Laycock and the University of the West of England. In 2001, the predecessor school had only 22% of its pupils achieving five or more good GCSE passes. For the past two years, the City Academy, Bristol has raised this proportion to more than 50%.
The numbers of students staying on post-16 has increased significantly, with well over 90% of pupils now staying on into the 6th form. Successful higher education applications have also trebled over the past three years.
The Academy delivers a range of vocational options taken by all students across the 14-19 age range. 153 businesses are working alongside the Academy in delivering programmes that are best on "real life contexts". This support includes mentoring support for every Key Stage 4 students.
The University of West of England provide two governors who together support the Academy with its self evaluation processes and ensure that practice is rigorously monitored at every stage of delivery.
