A primary school is considering legal action against a government decision to pursue an academy order over its Ofsted ratings, despite ministers having already decided to abandon the policy of intervening in this way in the new year.
Glebefields Primary School in Tipton, West Midlands, was ordered to convert to an academy in June this year after two successive “requires improvement” judgements from Ofsted in 2019 and 2022.
The school does not think the process of moving into an academy trust will be completed by the end of this calendar year and it believes it is unfair for the Department for Education to go ahead with the move in 2025 when its policy on intervening for schools regarded as “coasting” is changing.
Legal action against academy conversion
The school is now taking advice from law firm Browne Jacobson in an attempt to prevent the move going ahead.
The DfE has the power to issue academy orders to schools classed as “coasting” in cases where Ofsted has rated them as being less than “good” in two consecutive inspections.
However, Labour announced this term that from next year the DfE will no longer be intervening in this way for schools in this position.
When the DfE announced this change at the start of term, it said that schools in this position, which were due to become academies or transfer to a new trust by 1 January 2025, will continue with that process.
However, schools due to convert or transfer after this date would no longer be required to do so; instead, the government would put in place targeted support from a high-performing school.
Ofsted’s overall inspection grades for schools have also been abolished with immediate effect this term.
Glebefields Primary was due to move to a trust this term, but the process has not yet gone through and the school has asked the DfE to revoke the academy order.
In a letter dated 10 December, Andrew Warren, the DfE’s regional director for the West Midlands, informed the school that education secretary Bridget Phillipson had considered the revocation request but did not believe it met the criteria to revoke academisation.
Mr Warren cited a parliamentary statement that explains that academisation plans considered “well-advanced” will continue: “Plans are considered well-advanced if there is an approved sponsor match and, at the time of the statement, the target conversion date was on or before 1 January 2025.”
The school is being lined up to join Elston Hall Learning Trust, which has six academies in the West Midlands. The trust has been approached for comment.
Leaders at Glebefields Primary believe the timeframe set by the government will not be met and that completing the move to the trust by March 2025 is more likely.
Tes understands that the government is now working to a new academy conversion date of February 1, 2025 for the school, and that a capital request along with the school’s request to revoke the academy order has caused a delay.
Data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by Tes from the DfE shows that there were 41 schools that received two consecutive “requires improvement” judgements and were due to convert to academy status or transfer to a different academy trust before 1 January 2025.
There were another 37 double “requires improvement” schools that had been due to convert to become an academy or transfer after 1 January 2025 or that did not yet have a date for making this change.
Tes understands that these 37 schools will now not be required to convert or transfer, though they could choose to do so voluntarily. They will instead receive support.
Questions over fairness
Kate Jenks, headteacher at Glebefields Primary, said: “How is it fair that, despite the removal of the double-RI policy, we are still being forced to academise when other schools who haven’t had the time to improve are no longer being forced to convert?”
Ms Jenks told Tes that the TUPE - transfer of undertakings (protection of employment) - process for switching staff to a new employer has not yet started. The school’s local authority had only contacted it last week to begin drafting legal documents and request budgetary and staffing information as part of the move.
Glebefields was inspected by Ofsted in March 2019, just a month after the headteacher had died after being diagnosed with cancer.
Ms Jenks took over as head the following September. She said the school’s improvement was “derailed and halted” because of the Covid pandemic.
The school said that despite it making improvements, including a new curriculum, behaviour systems and progress monitoring, it received a second “requires improvement” judgement from Ofsted in November 2022.
In a letter sent to the education secretary in September, the school urged her to review its case, citing a recent positive monitoring inspection and improving results.
“There has been a sense of uncertainty for two years now,” Ms Jenks said. “This includes not knowing when we will join the trust, if we are still forced to do so, what changes will happen upon conversion and job security.”
She said that there was a “real sense of injustice” about what the school has faced.
All governors are in agreement with the school pursuing a legal process. A further letter will be sent to the DfE this week, Ms Jenks told Tes.
The school is seeking to challenge the DfE’s position on the basis that the conversion is not as “well-advanced” as the department claims, Tes understands.
The legal challenge is also set to focus on the reasoning the government has provided for refusing to revoke the order, the period of time since the academy order was first issued, the change in DfE policy on intervening with coasting schools, and the fact that the school is due to be inspected again.
The government’s stance on academies
Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the NEU teaching union, called for the government to reconsider proceeding with the academisation of Glebefields.
“While Labour’s shift away from enforced structural change and academies is welcome, it only further underlines the injustice of this situation,” he said. ”We would urge the government to step back and listen to the concerns and worries of the school, its staff and the community.”
The Labour government’s stance on academies and multi-academy trusts has come under increasing scrutiny since the party took office in the summer.
Its new Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, published this week, includes plans to end academy orders being automatically issued for schools causing concern.
Schools minister Catherine McKinnell told MPs last week that she was more concerned about “standards” than “structures”.
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