The knowledge, skills and attitudes needed for a lifelong learning society should be fostered from the start in the school system and reflected in the curriculum offer for all children as they prepare for adulthood. We are therefore pleased to welcome this guest article from Dr Tim Coulson CBE, former Director of Education for Essex County Council and since 2017 Chief Executive of the Unity Schools Partnership, an academy trust of 30 primary, middle and secondary schools in the East of England, and an LEI member.
Who owns the copyright to inventing academies? The answer is that all three of the main political parties have played a part in their development.
The first academies were a Labour Government response to the challenge of improving the country’s worst performing schools. The idea was to give schools a licence to innovate, by freeing them from many of the usual restrictions around teaching and management. This plan was, however, based on learning from the previous Conservative Government's work on City Technology Colleges – badged as publicly funded 'independent schools in urban areas'.
In 2010, the - then - new Conservative-led Coalition Government introduced academy freedoms for excellent schools as well as terrible schools. Over the fourteen years that followed this developed into all schools having the opportunity to 'convert' to become an academy and the joining up of schools into 'multi-academy trusts' where freedoms were more often at the trust level than for the individual school.
We now have the latest new Government publishing its Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which came out at the end of 2024. It includes sensible reforms in social care but the headline news has been about its approach to academies. So what is it trying to achieve? To begin with, the thoughtful Secretary State for Education, Bridget Phillipson, has signalled a nuanced understanding of the role that multi-academy trusts play in our education system. At their best, trusts are engines of innovation in curriculum, behaviour, and pedagogy, transforming life chances for children in some of the most disadvantaged communities. Undoubtedly a small minority of trusts have misused their freedoms, leading to underperformance or, worse, unethical practices, and the sector should welcome scrutiny that ensures accountability.
One of the most significant contributions of the academies programme has been the ability to innovate outside the constraints of the national curriculum. This freedom has empowered schools to develop rigorous, knowledge-rich curricula tailored to their communities. In this Bill the Government proposals to require all schools to adhere to a baseline curriculum reflects valid concerns. Parents deserve clarity and confidence in the standards their children’s schools uphold.
Teachers’ pay and conditions is another area in which the proposed reforms need to strike a balance. Any changes to the freedoms that academy trusts enjoy in this area must square the perfectly reasonable wish that all teachers should experience similar rights at work with the need to nurture real innovation. Less discussed in the government’s recent comments on this subject has been an apparent desire for some of the innovations which are not currently allowed in rules for non-academies - radical ideas like a 9-day teaching fortnight to allow teachers time to plan properly - to become more readily available. It makes sense to mandate the same set of pay and conditions for all schools, as the bill does, but only if such a move also brings reforms that bake flexibility into the system.
Perhaps the most exciting element of Phillipson’s emerging vision is her recognition of trusts as vehicles for system-wide improvement. High-performing trusts have demonstrated that sustainable success comes from driving excellent pupil behaviour, bespoke school improvement strategies, innovative staff development programmes, and strategic resource allocation. These freedoms must be preserved if trusts are to drive transformation at scale.
However, undertaking this kind of work at scale is not straightforward. The temptation to overregulate or impose one-size-fits-all solutions risks undermining what makes trusts effective. Trusts thrive on autonomy and tailored approaches. The challenge is to share best practices across the system without diluting the distinctiveness that fuels their success.
It is heartening to see Labour ministers engage with the academies movement with renewed confidence, as we have seen recently. The task before us is urgent and vital. Every child deserves an education that transforms their life chances, regardless of their background. School trusts have proven they can deliver on this promise. With thoughtful support from government, they can go further, driving excellence across the system and shaping a brighter future for all.
*The views expressed in guest articles are those of the author(s) and not necessarily shared by LEI. We find it essential to present differing approaches, and foster meaningful debate and discussion.
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