New sign of academy numbers plateauing
The number of schools leaving their local authorities to take on academy status registered its lowest September figure for four years last month, and seemingly* its third-lowest ever since Michael Gove set up the policy in its current form back in 2010.
In a new sign that academisation seems to be approaching a plateau, only 124 institutions newly took on the quasi-independent status last month.
This figure was only just over half the number of 211 for the corresponding month last year, and the lowest since September 2015.
September, which of course is the start of the academic year, is traditionally the busiest month of the year for academy openings. So this latest news may herald a further slowing-down in the number of new academies.
As Education Uncovered revealed last month, the number of schools applying to take on academy status dropped significantly last academic year compared to the figure for 2017-18, which itself had been a fall on the previous year.
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By Warwick Mansell for EDUCATION UNCOVERED
Published: 14 October 2019
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