Two in three academy chains 'fail' poorer pupils, study finds

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Angela Rayner, Labour’s shadow education secretary, said: “This report is a stark reminder that the academies programme is failing to support many disadvantaged children, and is not the answer to the challenges facing our schools. “Academisation in and of itself does not improve educational standards or outcomes for children, yet the government has continued to treat it as the solution at a time when it has slashed school budgets and seen teacher numbers fall.” Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said: “The foundational myth of the academies programme, that it would boost educational attainment among young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, must now be laid to rest as just that: a myth. In fact it’s done the opposite, with two-thirds of academy chains performing below the national average for disadvantaged pupils.” The union leader called for schools who have been failed by trusts to return to local authority control – and she urged for a wholesale return of schools to a system of “democratic oversight”. Paul Whiteman, general secretary of heads’ union NAHT, said: “Converting to academy status can be a positive step for schools, but as this report, and other evidence shows, academy conversion is not an automatic guarantee of lasting improvement, or a better education for all pupils.” He added that all schools, regardless of type, face the same barriers to success – including funding cuts, teacher shortages and accountability pressures.