Scaled-back council support services, financial woes and headteachers’ fears that they could be forced into a trust they don’t want to join are some of the main drivers behind a spike in schools wanting to convert into an academy.
Speaking at the Westminster Education Forum earlier this month, Hannah Woodhouse, the regional director for the south west, said the Department for Education has seen “the biggest interest [in conversion] since 2018”.
She didn’t mention figures. But Schools Week analysis reveals there are now 608 schools using the voluntary converter route to move out of local authority control.
The figure is almost double that recorded this time last year (373) and is the highest since 2018 (732).
