Academy chain criticised over school standards

A MAJOR ACADEMY trust has been criticised again by Ofsted after a focused inspection of seven of its schools -including one in Yorkshire.
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Ofsted found that the quality of provision for too many pupils in E-ACT was not good enough.

However the academy trust said that the focused inspection of its schools had recognised “substantial progress had been made”.

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Ofsted acknowledged that since the last focused inspections in 2014 the academy chain was now taking a more “robust and direct approach to school improvement.”

And it said most leaders were taking effective action to remove weaknesses of underperforming academies.

However the education watchdog said that a review of all of the trust’s 23 academies showed more than half were not providing a good standard of education and five were rated inadequate.

Ofsted also found that pupils achieve better in E-ACT primary schools than they do in secondary schools and it urged the trust to address this disparity urgently.

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The watchdog said that more pupils were reaching the expected levels in reading, writing and maths by the end of primary school than previously.

Ofsted do not give judgements on academy chains overall but in recent years have carried out focused inspections at several schools within one trust and then made comments about the role and performance of that academy sponsor.

Commenting on the new Ofsted letter to E-ACT the trust said: “We are pleased Ofsted recognises the substantial progress that has been made within E-ACT, particularly in relation to the performance of our primary academies.

“It was also encouraging to see that all of the recommendations made are already being implemented, and have been for some time.

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“Over the past year, we have overhauled the way that E-ACT is run, and the way that our academies operate, so that children and young people genuinely have an excellent education during their time with us. This is now beginning to bear fruit, but there is more work to be done.

“We are clear that performance needs to improve in our secondary academies, and we are focusing relentlessly on the quality of teaching through our Raising Achievement Boards across the Trust. Ofsted recognises that the focus on improved teaching is a constant feature of each academy, and we are confident that the changes we have made – both structurally and educationally – will result in a similar step-change in our secondary academies, and further improvements across our primaries.”

E-ACT was previously criticised by Ofsted in 2014 for failing to take effective action to improve its schools which had fallen into special measures.

The academy chain handed over control of 10 of its schools amid concerns over its capacity. This including three in Yorkshire: Purston in Featherstone, Leeds East and Leeds West.

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At the time Purston had been rated as inadequate placed in special measures. The school, which is now called Featherstone Academy and sponsored by Rodillian Academy Trust, is now rated as requiring improvement.

Leeds East had also been rated as inadequate in 2013. It was then supported by Leeds West, a fellow E-ACT school in the city, which was and is rated as good.

However both schools were thrown into turmoil when E-ACT withdrew early in 2014.

They were taken on by the newly formed White Rose Academies Trust, backed by Leeds City College.

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Leeds East was taken out of the inadequate category early last year in an Ofsted report which praised its progress. It is now rated as requiring improvement.

The latest focused inspection of E-ACT schools includes one in Yorkshire, Pathways Academy in Sheffield, which was rated as requiring improvement.

E-ACT had previously attracted controversy after its former chief executive, Sir Bruce Liddington, was paid a salary of more than £280,000.

The trust was also one of the first to be linked to academies in Yorkshire a decade ago in the early days of Labour’s city academy programme.

The academy sponsor, which was formerly known as EduTrust, was in line to take on what was Rhodesway School in Bradford, in 2007, although this move never went ahead.

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