What do you all think about school academy chains (Ark etc.)?

[Tailypo]

Inspired by the thread about the new Charter School in Great Yarmouth, I was just wondering what your thoughts are about academy chains (particularly Ark and/or the Harris Federation?)

Would be interested to hear your thoughts.

How long have you got?

TKAT are the worst

I could write for hours on this particular chain of incompetence. I have seen decent little schools destroyed by this brand. The wilful and deliberate lying about GCSE results –the DfE reprimanded that HT. The whole sale sacking of staff on drummed up misdemeanours to the point of one suicide , one sectioning . Not employing qualified teachers. Cheating in live GCSEs. Falsifying coursework. Actually intercepting exam scripts and altering them.

(BTW if the Daily Mail is reading - I'd give an interview on this and be named and have paperwork and back up social media screenshots and conversations to prove it)

2105 article - half way down - nothing has changed

Trust’s ‘dysfunctional’ relations with DfE

One of England’s largest academy chains has a “classically dysfunctional” relationship with the Department for Education and a far-from-perfect one with other agencies, including Ofsted. So says a submission to the Commons education select committee by a consultant who has worked closely with the Kemnal Academies Trust (TKAT), a chain of 41 schools. The committee is investigating the work of regional schools commissioners (RSCs), the eight officials appointed last year to supervise the creation and operation of academies.

The evidence from Joe Nutt, an associate with the consultancy firm Deloitte, seems devastating given his close involvement with the trust. Earlier this year, he undertook a review for TKAT, interviewing more than 30 senior figures close to the chain.

www.theguardian.com/education/2015/sep/29/class-veg-college-cuts-vocational-education

The exam board, Ofsted, Ofqual, Exam Officers Association - none of them want to know. It's a complete political hot potato.

Harris also cheat in exams

www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/flagship-academy-teacher-cheated-harris-federation-pupils-science-coursework-rewritten-to-improve-8940442.html

Gosh Darcey that's awful!! I had no idea. Didn't know there was a culture at Harris of cheating in exams either, but I had heard that the general working culture there can be unpleasant and challenging.

Anyone got any views on Ark?

Bumping

Academies are the reason that half of teaching posts are filled with unqualified 'teachers'.

www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2017/09/12/half-teaching-posts-filled-unqualified-teachers-national-audit/

Teachers have to have QTS to work in LA schools.

That Harris story is one teacher in 2013. There's no culture of cheating in exams, well no more than one story about Eton this summer

It's definitely a challenging place to work as you'd expect of the most difficult schools in the country, all in London.

No experience of Ark, but I worked for a MAT which was a soul-destroying experience. It was SEND children who were most affected.

In my experience, trusts managed by the schools themselves are a bit better.

Financial irregularities are also a big concern:

schoolsweek.co.uk/midlands-mat-handed-financial-notice-over-significant-failings/

There are LOADS of stories like this.

This MAT just gave up on 21 schools:

www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-news/troubled-wakefield-city-academies-trust-give-all-21-its-schools