The government will “certainly” miss its 2030 target for all schools joining larger multi-academy trusts, as it would require “unprecedented” upheaval that threatens standards, a new report says.
Schools would have to join MATs and trusts merge “at an unprecedented scale” to have all schools in MATs of 10 schools or 7,500 pupils by 2030 – the 2021 ‘opportunity for all’ white paper’s vision.
The study found 25 maintained mainstream schools and three single-academy trusts would need to convert every week. Schools Week analysis shows actual conversions only averaged 7.5 per week in December.
Currently, more than half of academies are in trusts with fewer than 10 schools – which rises to more than two-thirds in London and the north-west.
