Academy schools questions

[bigmove2020]

Hi. I'm moving to the Uk from abroad and I'm checking out schools in the area we are moving to. Can anyone tell me what is the difference between academy and state (is that the right word) primary schools. I'm looking at the school websites and I can't see an obvious difference. I have been out of the Uk for a long time so missed this change

day to day there will be very little difference.

An academy school is theoretically under the direct oversight of the Secretary of State for Education instead of under the oversight of the Local Education Authority for the area. An academy doesn't have to have a board of governors and can be controlled by a private company. When academies were really being pushed there were big funding incentives (bribes) for schools to convert to academies but that has dried up now. I have heard that the reason for the push was that the LEAs are mostly far too socialist politically and the academisation of schools allows a piecemeal deconstruction of a socialist education sector being gradually replaced by a reinvented Tory model (I know Blair was a big fan of academies, you have to consider him Tory-lite for this theory to hold water)

Local Education Authorities are obliged to find a school place for every child in their area but academies are not obliged to make a place available for a particularly difficult to educate child. there is some anecdata about academies being over enthusiastic about excluding difficult pupils and getting them moved to LEA schools in order to improve their averages.

when assessing an academy school, take a look at the holding organisation. some academy trusts are really good educational charities who are doing a brilliant job. others look less appealing.

Thank you so much

be aware though that the system for allocating school places is very bad for people moving into an area. most schools allocate places on the basis of how close you live geographically and you can only apply from your current residential address, not a future address. this means that either you have to wait till you have moved before applying, or if you apply before you move you will only get a place in an undersubscribed school. in most areas the only schools with places available will be the ones that no one wants their kids to go to. the application processes are different if a child is to enter one of the years at the start of a new schooling stage (which years can vary according to whether a county is generally divided into primary & secondary or junior, middle and senior), what age/s is/are your child/ren?

My child will be five in August. I would be happy for them to start in reception or year one. He would be fine either way

If they are 5 in August they will go into year 1 so you will need to look for a school that has a place in Y1, unusual in a lot of areas, or go on waiting lists.

He would be year 1. Unlikely he would be considered for deferred entry in R at this stage. Class sizes are restricted to 30 in infant years so you may find you have little of any choice of school, wherever you choose to live.