Planet Faculty

As education policy becomes a central battleground in the upcoming general election, the debate over the structure of state schooling has intensified. At the heart of the controversy are two types of schools that have reshaped the educational landscape over the past decade: academies and free schools. With the Conservatives pledging to expand the programme and with Labour and the Lib Dems promising to curb it, here is a guide to what these schools are and why they are dividing political opinion. What is an Academy? Academies are state schools that are independent of local authority control. Unlike traditional 'maintained' schools, which are funded by local councils, academies receive funding directly from the central government via a funding agreement with the Department for Education. There are generally two types of academies: Sponsored Academies: These are usually previously underperforming maintained schools that have been compelled to become academies. They are t...