Academies are state schools which are independent of local authorities and directly accountable to the Department for Education. They were originally intended to raise educational standards and aspirations in deprived areas, often replacing schools with long histories of under-performance. From May 2010 the Programme was opened up to all schools, creating two types of academy: 'sponsored' academies, usually established to raise educational standards at under performing schools in deprived areas; and 'converters' created from other types of school, with outstanding schools permitted to convert first. By 5 January 2011, there were 407 academies: 271 sponsored and 136 converters..
There is a clear difference between sponsored academies seeking to raise educational standards in deprived areas and the new converter academies, which already perform well academically.
sponsored academies have performed impressively to date, achieving rapid academic improvements and raising aspirations in some of the most deprived areas in the country. In many cases this has been achieved through high-quality leadership, (effective school leadership in the future will need to be more transformational, participative and adaptable. As school autonomy increased so the post of headteacher became more complex which, in turn, is cascaded into the working lives of other members of staff.), a relentless focus on standards, (high quality and standards are not necessarily the same thing. The focus on quality inevitably focuses on the learner as opposed to other stakeholders, such as political parties or even the media, who appear to be more concerned with ?results? than the educational and social development of young people.), and innovative approaches to learning and to the school timetable; (Schools, by necessity, are very creative, and innovative approaches have been used to solve what might seem to be the most insurmountable of difficulties. The will is there, staff are enthusiastic, the children are motivated and the learning is inspirational.).
Many academies have inadequate financial controls and governance to assure the proper use of public money, and the DfE and YPLA have not been sufficiently rigorous in requiring compliance with guidance.
As the Programme expands, there are increased risks to value for money and proper use of public money.
The Department has failed to collect all the financial contributions due from sponsors.
The Department and the Agency have struggled to administer and monitor the relatively small number of academies to date, and must now cope with a rapid expansion across many more schools.