Fallibroome MAT to take on E-Act's Winsford Academy

The Fallibroome Multi-Academy Trust  - accounts - has been confirmed as the new sponsor of Winsford Academy, effective from September 1, after the Department for Education withdrew E-ACT’s right to sponsor the secondary school - according to the Chester Chronicle.

Lion Academies Trust to take over E-Act's Hartsbrook free school

Lion Academy Trust will take control of E-Act's Hartsbrook free school from September, with Hartsbrook being renamed and rebranded, according to Haringey Today and The Tottenham Journal (which said: 'LAT, based in Leyton, north-east London, already runs three primary academies in Leyton and Walthamstow. Only one has been visited by Ofsted inspectors, who decided during a brief visit that the school was maintaining its good practices.)

MAT told to improve and drop joint sponsorships with Ormiston and E-Act

From DfE: Pre-warning notice to University of Chester Academies Trust (UCAT)
A letter from Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools Lord Nash to the directors of the University of Chester Academies Trust regarding the unacceptably low standards of performance of pupils at the:

Have multi-academy trust accounts complied with new transparency rules?

(UPDATED June 16) The government provided a list 'of all academy sponsors with 10 or more academies' after an MP put the question to the Secretary of State for Education. This post looks at the accounts of the multi-academy trusts (MATs) on that list and what they have provided under new transparency rules.

One of E-ACT's withdrawn schools will close

From the BBC: 'The Sherwood E-Act Academy, in Gedling... which had to find a new sponsor after E-Act pulled out... will close for year 7, 8 and 9 students, while GCSE pupils will stay on until their exams finish... Sherwood Academy pupils will be offered a place at The Carlton Academy from September while GCSE students will come under the supervision of the Redhill Academy in Arnold (which had been in talks to take over the school).'

Free school bid picked two sponsor chains later forbidden from growing

From the Daventry Express: Middlemore Residents Association has admitted defeat for now in its in bid to bring a free school to the 
Daventry estate (Northamptonshire)... Initially E-ACT... was chosen (until) it was given notice to improve... the group then worked with the David Ross Education Trust (DRET) before DRET was told by the Department of Education to concentrate on existing academies rather than build new ones.

Schools minister re-iterates 'batched inspections'

From They Work for You: Responding to a question from Bill Esterson, Edward Timpson, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education, said: 'Ofsted already inspects academy chains through batched inspections of schools within chains. It has recently undertaken focused inspections of academies within the E-ACT multi-academy trust and has previously inspected a group of academies within the AET chain. This has shown to be an effective approach and there are no plans to widen Ofsted's role to inspect head offices.'

Leaked document report.

Leaked document reveals sponsor grading system

From the Guardian/Observer: says a 40 page document 'reveals the existence of an internal DfE grading system for the sponsors... (adding) that of the 72 sponsors in the new "north-east London and east region" set to be monitored by a regional commissioner, 71% are in the two worst categories out of four.'

New trust to take on two E-Act academies in Leeds

From The Yorkshire Evening Post: 'Leeds West and (Leeds) East Academies, were among 10 schools which E-ACT has agreed to give up amid concerns about its performance... Now the schools have announced that they are set to be sponsored by a trust created by Leeds City College - (The White Rose Academies Trust )

Head of Hartsbrook free school: business as usual til new sponsor found

From the Haringey Independent: Interim principal Brendan Plunkett said...
And Local Schools Network: 'raises a wider question about the use of inexperienced staff in positions of responsibility at free schools...'

Four failing schools (2 of them E-Act) make Brent the worst in London for failures

From Brent and Kilburn Times: 'A total of 84 (Brent) schools were inspected last year with 18 of them (21 per cent) being rated outstanding, 49 (58 per cent) good, 13 (15 per cent) required improvement and four (five per cent) inadequate.'

Lincoln College - growing sponsor with a £250m Saudi deal

From The Lincolnshire Echo: Trent Valley Academy (TVA), one of the 'E-Act 10' is considering Lincoln College as its new sponsor - Lincoln College currently sponsors The Newark Academy and the Lincoln University Technical College which is due to open in September 2014. It also recently announced a £250m deal with Saudi Arabia.

Head of Ex E-Act academy says he wants a local sponsor

From the Chester Chronicle: Andrew Taylor-Edwards, head of Winsford Academy, told the Chester Chronicle that charging parents for a new school uniform if the name changes will not be tolerated, adding: ' we hope for a sponsor led by experts who will offer further inspiration and who have the capacity to effectively coordinate an academy trust so students feel the direct benefits.

Council wants to sponsor ex E-Act academy (short term?)

From The Chester Chronicle: At a full council meeting on Monday night, executive member for education and children Cllr Mark Stocks said he would write to the Government to say that the council is ‘prepared to provide school improvement support to Winsford (E-Act)Academy in the medium term, until another suitable sponsor is found for the school’.

Redhill Academy Trust may take on E-Act's Sherwood Academy

From The Nottingham Post: 'Sherwood Academy in Gedling is seeking a new sponsor after E-Act was forced to give it up because of concerns over standards.

E-Act's Buckinghamshire cluster will not shrink or grow

From Get Bucks: 'A SCHOOL in the process of becoming an academy will no longer be taken over by the charity E-Act (which has to transfer control of ten of its 34 academies to new sponsors)... It has now been confirmed that the three existing E-ACT academies in the south of the Bucks are not among the schools affected.'

E-ACT's Tottenham free school could be handed to new sponsor

From the Tottenham Journal:

Hartsbrook E-ACT Free School may be handed to another academy chain sponsor by its owners under orders of the Department for Education, less than 18 months after opening.

Academy chain welcomes idea of Ofsted inspections

From the Bristol Post:

The paper said: 'The most dominant groups are national outfits Oasis and E-Act, which together preside over nine schools in the Bristol area, and large regional chain Cabot Learning Federation (CLF), which has a stable of 10 academies.'

E-act stripped of 10 academies

From the Daily Telegraph:


The paper reported: 'E-ACT, a charity that sponsors 34 state-funded schools, is handing control of 10 back to the Government after a series of inspections by Ofsted unearthed weaknesses.

Ofsted targets E-Act

From the Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/feb/11/ofsted-begins-inspections-academy-chains

'Just under half of the 34 academies within the E-Act chain were inspected last week and the week before, with at least one – Hartsbrook E-Act free school in Haringey, north London – understood to have been rated inadequate.'