Tell me about academy schools vs. other state schools

[PirateWeasel]

As far as I can tell, it's basically a difference in where the funding comes from... am I right? But how do they compare in terms of quality of teaching and care for the pupils? Are there any teachers/parents with experience who can give me an insight? I'm completely clueless! I remember once upon a time academies were generally failing schools, but is that still the case?

School governor in both - the difference is funding. And some academies (Multi Academy Trusts etc) are starting to feel the pinch just as much as the state maintained schools. Look at the school, not the label is my advice. And remember that Ofsted reports are just a view of the school at the time of the inspection, a lot can change in even 6 months. There are good and bad academies and good and bad maintained schools.