Is there any evidence that the Academy will improve results for the education of children?
Yes there is, although it needs to be remembered that the Academies project is very new. The first academies were set up in 2002. The results from academies around the country indicate raised significant achievements particularly given the short time.
What is probably much more useful is the results that Church schools have achieved - the teaching and educational ethos that produced these results will be reproduced at Darlington's academy.
Church of England secondary schools' results
2005 GCSE 5+ A*-C Performance:
- 158 Schools entered pupils for GCSE's
- 63 per cent (99 schools) above the national average of 56.3 per cent
- 18 per cent (29 schools) achieved more than 80 per cent
- 6 per cent (10 schools) 95 per cent or more
Academies results
Academies have, on average, improved their collective GCSE results by five per cent a year since the first academies opened.
The average number of students in all academies achieving five or more A*- C grades at GCSE was approximately 35.3 per cent in 2005, compared to an average 21 per cent in their predecessor schools in 2002.
- Bexley Academy -Key Stage 3 results have increased significantly since it opened. There has been a 29 per cent increase in children reaching their target since the school opened in 2002.
- City Academy in Bristol - the number of children achieving five or more A*- C GCSE results rose from 33 per cent in 2004 to 51 per cent in 2005.
- King's Academy, Middlesbrough -results rose from an average of 22 per cent in the two predecessor schools in 2003 to 44 per cent in 2005. It has also seen an increase of 16 per cent in its Key Stage 3 results in that time.
- City Academy, Bristol - the Principal Ray Priest was named secondary Head teacher of the Year for the West of England in 2004.
- Walsall Academy - attendance improved by more than 10 per cent in the first half of the school year, compared to its predecessor.
The Thomas Deacon Academy in Peterborough which is bringing together a high performing school (Deacon’s School) and two schools in decline (Hereward Community College and John Mansfield School). The schools have been working very closely together since 2003-04 to raise attainment prior to the Academy opening in September 2007. The table below shows just how well this has worked:
Peterborough Academy schools GCSE five A*-C (percentage of pupils)
|
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
|
Deacon |
57 |
59 |
70 |
74 |
86 |
94 |
| Hereward |
28 |
25 |
24 |
23 |
53 |
57 |
| John Mansfield |
22 |
30 |
24 |
30 |
43 |
46 |
The Academies Division at the DfES has a team of advisers who work closely with academies to monitor their progress and give support and advice. The DfES has an agreement with Ofsted that they will carry out a monitoring inspection of new academies, under Section 3 of the School Inspections Act 1996, in the 5th or 6th term of their existence and a full published Ofsted inspection within the third academic year.
The second annual report, published on 15 June 2005 reported that 87 per cent of parents are satisfied with the quality of education provided to their children at academies. 80 per cent stated that the Academy was the school of choice for their children.
Will the Academy provide education for children with special needs?
Provision will be made for children with special needs. The Church of England has given a commitment that there will be inclusion for all children, and the SEN and Inclusion policies for all Darlington schools will be followed by the proposed academy.
The chance to design the school from scratch will enable the latest thinking around the facilities needed by children with special educational needs, to be built in from the beginning.