More schools on academy timetable

ONE of Oldham’s academy sponsors could open more schools in the borough.

E-ACT, which runs Oldham Academy North, plans to have up to 250 schools within five years.

The charity took over the former Grange School in September and will move into a new building in Royton in 2013.

Spokesman Hywel Jarman said that E-ACT was not actively looking at schools in Oldham, but added: “Potentially, we would be interested.

“It could be primary or secondary, or it could be an all-through school (primary and secondary).

“Some of the free schools we are planning are all-through schools. We are also involved in setting up the first free primary school in London.”

E-ACT runs 11 academies, nine less than the country’s largest academy provider.

Director general Sir Bruce Liddington told the Times Educational Supplement (TES) that he expects the group to have 250 schools. That includes free schools, introduced by the Government to respond to what local people want, traditional academies which replace under-performing schools and other schools which have converted to academies.

It is also looking at chains of primary schools.

Sir Bruce told the TES: “As funding becomes tighter you will find that small primary schools will need to get together if they are going to survive.

“We are also starting to talk about chains of primaries in inner-urban areas around our existing traditional academies.”

Oldham currently has three academies.

Tony Harrison, branch secretary of Oldham National Union of Teachers, said: “Our experience already of these would suggest that schools should think twice before wanting to become an academy.

“We are finding that there a lots of problems, particularly financial. The E-ACT academy that we have is already making redundancies.

“Educationally, there is still no evidence whatsoever that academies raise standards. There are good schools and bad schools; good academies and bad academies.”