This idea has been created by the Scrutinise team as a historical case study. It represents real legislation that reached the statute book through civil society advocacy. It is presented here to show how that process might have looked on Scrutinise.
Academies Act 2010
Allowed all maintained schools in England to apply to become academies, independent of local authority control. Policy Exchange's 2007 report 'A Guide to School Reform' directly shaped the legislation. Michael Gove acknowledged it as the intellectual foundation of the academies programme.
Summary
Allowed all maintained schools in England to apply to become academies, independent of local authority control. Policy Exchange's 2007 report 'A Guide to School Reform' directly shaped the legislation. Michael Gove acknowledged it as the intellectual foundation of the academies programme.
Challenge (summary)
Local authority control of schools created bureaucratic inefficiency and insulated underperforming schools from accountability. Head teachers had limited autonomy over curriculum, staffing and budget.
Approach (summary)
Allow all schools to become independent academies with direct funding from central government, full freedom over curriculum, staffing and admissions, and accountability through Ofsted and published results.
First step (summary)
Pass primary legislation enabling any maintained school to apply for academy status, fast-track the process for outstanding schools, and create a new funding agreement directly between academy trusts and the Secretary of State.