Academies sent warning letters

The Government has written to 34 sponsored academies run by 25 trusts since September 2011

More than 30 academies have been sent warning letters amid serious concerns about their performance.
The letters, sent by the Department for Education (DfE), warn the schools to raise their game or face action - which could ultimately include being taken over by a different sponsor.
In total, the Government has written to 34 sponsored academies run by 25 trusts since September 2011.
Sponsored academies are state schools that were previously under local council control and considered to be struggling which have been taken over by an outside sponsor appointed to turn them around.
The DfE said that it would not tolerate consistent under-performance in any type of school, which is why the letters had been sent.
Seven of the academies to receive letters are run by one sponsor - the Academies Enterprise Trust (AET). A further four are run by four different Church of England dioceses. These are the Diocese of Oxford, Rochester Diocesan Board of Education, the Diocese of Salisbury and the Diocese of Bath and Wells Board of Finance.
The letters are the first warning to the schools that they must make substantial improvements, and those that fail to do so receive a warning notice.
Warning notices have been sent to academies in two cases - St Aldhelm's Academy, in Poole, run by the Diocese of Salisbury and Basildon Upper Academy in Essex, run by the Stanton Lane Trust. Both received notices in June last year.
It is understood that since receiving its letter, Basildon Upper Academy has made a number of changes, including appointing a new governor and a new interim principal with a proven track record in leadership. It has also carried out a review of education and made other senior appointments.
A Church of England spokeswoman said: "Dioceses are working to ensure the effectiveness of all their schools. If the DfE or diocesan sponsor identify particular concerns over performance, they will be addressed decisively to make sure all children continue to receive the highest quality of education."
A DfE spokesman said: "The majority of sponsored academies are thriving under great leadership. Their GCSE results are improving far faster than in other state-funded secondary schools.
"This is despite sponsored academies taking over from schools that were consistently under-performing, which can take time to reverse.
"But results in a minority of sponsored academies remain stubbornly low. We will not tolerate long-term under-performance in any school - including in an academy.
"That is why this Government issues pre-warning letters and warning notices. The evidence shows that academies respond well to these warnings, achieving on average much better GCSE results afterwards.
"However, as with maintained schools, if these academies still do not make the progress we expect, we will take further action. This may result in a change to the sponsorship arrangements."
The DfE said that since receiving letters, many of the academies had taken action to improve standards.
On average, at the eight academies issued with letters in 2011/12, the proportion of pupils gaining at least five Cs at GCSE including English and maths improved by around 16 percentage points in the summer of 2012.
The GCSE results for 2013, which are yet to be published, are expected to show another increase, the department added.
A spokesman for the Diocese of Bath and Wells said: " The Diocese of Bath & Wells is aware of the pre-warning notice and is working with The Taunton Academy principal and governors, and Somerset County Council as the co-sponsor to prepare a response."
An AET spokesman said: "We share the department's commitment to the highest levels of academic performance and we are acting to ensure a rapid and sustained improvement in these academies.
"The AET academies listed by the department have a history of underperformance and have been with AET only for a short time.
"Many of these schools have a significantly higher proportion of special educational needs and Pupil Premium pupils than the national average.
"Many of our pupils start life in our schools with attainment levels well below the national average for their age.
"Our response to these challenges is to set ambitious targets for the progress that we expect pupils to make. Our culture of high aspirations is reflected in significant improvements in test and examination results across the board in the 21 Primary and 24 Secondary academies open for the full 2012/13 academic year.
"Overall the proportion of pupils achieving 5 A to C grades, including English and maths, increased by 5 percentage points this summer, well above the national average. Two of the schools listed, Everest Community Academy and Eston Park Academy, made significant improvements in their GCSE results this summer."