MP John Healey put down the following Parliamentary Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which academies, from which academy groups, have breached their funding agreements since May 2010; when each such breach occurred; and what the reasons for each such breach were. On 25 April 2013 Secretary of State Michael Gove...
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David Wolfe's blog for anyone concerned about 'academies' or 'free schools' and the law
academies general thoughts
Academies breach their funding agreements
conversion to becoming a “sponsored academy” – what does it mean?
The Department uses words like “partner” to describe the relationship between a school and its “sponsor” but that seems very misleading to me. As indeed does the word “sponsor”. I recently attended a presentation given by one of the Department’s “Academy Brokers” – apparently employed (or engaged – I am not sure whether he...
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How much do academies use their legal ‘freedoms’ in practice
See pages 44 and onwards in the Pearson Commission report on academies here. The report identifies the following ‘freedoms’: set their own curriculum, subject to teaching a broad and balanced curriculum that includes English, mathematics, science and religious education set the length of their school day and term appoint their own staff and set...
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No longer a presumption that new schools will be academies?
The legal presumption that new schools should academies is in tatters after a court judgment given on 14 December 2012. On 16 November 2012, the British Humanist Association (BHA) and Richmond Inclusive Schools Campaign (RISC) learnt that they had lost their legal challenge to Richmond’s decision to give the go ahead a Catholic Voluntary...
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New draft SEN bill would enhance pupil/parent rights in relation to academies
On 3 September 2012, the Department published the long-awaited draft SEN bill. Here is the Ministerial Statement which announced the draft. And here is the draft itself, being published now for pre-legislative scrutiny (i.e. comment before it is even formally a bill, the new way). It is potentially the biggest shake up in SEN...
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Academies told they can employ unqualified teachers
Up to now academy and free school funding agreements have required them to employ qualified teachers. The Department has now changed the model agreements so that academies and free schools created in the future will not be constrained in that way. The new model agreement now says this: “… the Academy Trust shall, in...
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Upper Tribunal decides that SENDIST can, after all, hear appeal for a place at an Academy
In this post I explained how the SENDIST had decided that it could not hear an appeal seeking a placement for a child with a statement of SEN at an academy which was refusing to agree to take the child. Anyway, the Upper Tribunal (UT) has now quashed that decision and held that the...
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How long is a school day? How long is a piece of string?
One of the much vaunted ‘freedoms‘ which academies ‘enjoy’ is the ability to decide on the length of the school day. Anyway, from September 2012, maintained schools will enjoy pretty much the same freedom, because the Secretary of State has revoked the old ‘Circular 7/90′ which specified minimum day lengths and the like in...
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SENDIST decides it cannot hear appeal by parent seeking academy place for their statemented child (UPDATED POST)
THE CONTENTS OF THIS POST HAVE NOW BEEN OVERTAKEN BY A DECISION OF THE UPPER TRIBUNAL AS DESCRIBED HERE. WHAT FOLLOWS BELOW IS THE ORIGINAL POST, UNCHANGED, IN CASE ANYONE WANTS TO SEE HOW THIS ISSUE EMERGED. ________________________________ As explained here there have been rumblings for some while about whether SENDIST would start...
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SEN Green Paper – what does it do for Academies?
UPDATE 3 SEPTEMBER 2012 – THIS IS NOW OVERTAKEN BY EVENTS – SEE THIS POST On 15 May 2012, the Coalition Government published its long-awaited Response to the consultation on the SEN green paper. It makes wide ranging proposals about changes to the framework of Statements of SEN most of which raise no particular...
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a can of worms
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Academies breach their funding agreements
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conversion to becoming a “sponsored academy” – what does it mean?
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How much do academies use their legal ‘freedoms’ in practice
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Local Government Lawyer guide to academy conversion
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“Academies and Lies” – documentary film about forced conversion of Downhills School to a Harris academy
David Wolfe is a lawyer who has specialised in public law, including education law, since 1992. He works as a barrister, advising, writing, training and acting in court on behalf of parents/children, schools and NGO’s around issues such as admissions, exclusions, SEN and school reorganisations. For several years, he was also a part-time chair of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal.
Over the last 6 years, academies have been a particular focus of his work. David has appeared in most if not all of the major cases in the High Court and Court of Appeal dealing directly with academies and has followed, with great interest, the legal shifts which have taken place as the approach of Governments (Labour and coalition) to academies has altered over that period.
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