Academies, autonomy, equality, and democratic accountability: reforming the fragmented publicly-funded school system in England

West, Anne ORCID: 0000-0003-2932-7667 and Wolfe, David (2019) Academies, autonomy, equality, and democratic accountability: reforming the fragmented publicly-funded school system in England. London Review of Education, 17 (1). pp. 70-86. ISSN 1474-8460

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Abstract

This article focuses on the transformative academies policy in England. Based on an analysis of documentary evidence, we argue that the policy has resulted in the fragmentation of the state-funded school system and stark variation between academies, with those within multi-academy trusts (MATs) having no legal identity. We examine the variation between funding agreements, the control by central government, the role of MATs and the governance of academies. We propose policy options to improve the current incoherent and fragmented set of provisions, including restoring the legal identity of schools in MATs and allowing academies if they so wish, to convert to maintained schools.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://www.ucl-ioe-press.com/journals/london-revi...
Additional Information:	© 2018 The Authors
Divisions:	Social Policy
Subjects:	L Education > L Education (General)
Date Deposited:	01 Nov 2018 09:07
Last Modified:	17 Nov 2024 02:09
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/90528

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