Becky Francis: Why aren’t all academy chains boosting results for their poorest students?

Becky Francis wrote for The Conversation about our Chain Effects report.

There is an increasing polarisation between how the best and worst chains of academies in England are helping their poorest pupils to achieve and progress at school. Our new research has found a growing gap between the most effective chains, where the results of the most disadvantaged students continue to improve, and the least effective chains, which have got worse.

The sponsor academies programme was intended to alter the fortunes of struggling schools in some of the nation’s poorest communities. Started by Labour in 2000, it was intended that helping these schools with the support of philanthropic, educational and business partners would improve the educational outcomes and future lives of young people from the least privileged backgrounds.

Since then, the size of the academies programme has increased dramatically. Five years ago there were about 200 academies, today there are more than 4,000. With the post-election pledge by Nicky Morgan, the secretary of state for education, to turn many “coasting” schools into academies, the new government shows no sign of slowing down its expansion.

The Sutton Trust charity has just published Chain Effects 2015, a report that I have written with lead-author Merryn Hutchings, and Philip Kirby, looking at how well 34 different chains of academies are doing in providing for their disadvantaged pupils.

Read her full article here.