Academy chain seeks to keep local control

Michael Wilkins, the chief executive of Outwood Grange Academies Trust, told the Yorkshire Post that it had declined offers to run academies as far afield as Norfolk because its leaders want to be able to have a “hands-on” approach to their schools.

“All of our academies are no more than an hour and a quarter – drive up the A1 to Teesside and down it to Worksop and across to Scunthorpe,” he said.

The trust currently sponsors eight academies in Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire and is planning to expand to 11 by the end of the year. He said that Outwood had successfully raised standards at each of the schools it has taken on because it ensured it had the capacity to provide support them before expanding.

Outwood Grange in Wakefield became an academy in 2009. Since then the trust has taken on five more secondary schools; Outwood Academy Adwick in Doncaster, Outwood Academy Valley and Outwood Academy Portland in Worksop, Outwood Academy Brumby, Scunthorpe and Outwood Academy Ledger Lane and Kirkhamgate schools which are both feeder schools to the original Outwood Grange.

Mr Wilkins said: “The reason we have Outwood in the name of all of our schools is not because we are interested in empire building but because we want to be held accountable. We want people to know that we are in these schools.”

The trust is now working at City School in Sheffield and Oakfields Community College in Middlesbrough with a view to converting them to academies. It is also in discussion with two other schools. Outwood currently has two executive principals, two associate executive principals and a team of subject directors who move from school to school within the chain.

Mr Wilkins has earned £182,000-a-year since 2009 having taken a voluntary pay freeze.

A trust statement said: “The salary of chief executive has been set by the trust to reflect the size of the role and the remunerations levels within the education sector. The chief executive of Outwood Grange Academies Trust is responsible currently for six secondary academies and two primary academies, with this due to increase to eight secondary academies and three primary academies by January 2014.”