News

DfE sets up ‘middle tier’ to cope with academies

A leaked DfE communication outlines the creation of a new academy oversight group to take on regional intervention work. The document also hints at areas on which DfE will cease to focus. Read Warwick Mansell's exclusive report in SecEd.

The Department for Education (DfE) is taking charge of school intervention work traditionally performed by local authorities as ministers respond to concerns about how they can possibly supervise thousands of newly independent academies.

The DfE quietly set up last month what could be seen as a “middle tier” of officials and consultants, who are now monitoring the performance of both academies and non-academy maintained schools in nine regions across England, an internal departmental newsletter seen by SecEd reveals.

The aim is to intervene in “failing schools”, in a system which has been set up to dovetail with Ofsted’s own regional inspection work, which was unveiled last year. 

Register now, read forever

Thank you for visiting SecEd and reading some of our content for professionals in secondary education. Register now for free to get unlimited access to all content.

What's included:

  • Unlimited access to news, best practice articles and podcast

  • New content and e-bulletins delivered straight to your inbox every Monday and Thursday

Register

Already have an account? Sign in here