Behind the headlines and controversy surrounding new academy schools, many of their principals, teachers and pupils have been quietly changing the culture of learning and achievement in some of the most disadvantaged communities in England. While successful innovation and change is not unique to academies, this book illustrates how the academy policy represents a significant opportunity to improve the life chances of their pupils. Too much attention has focused on unanswerable questions about whether academies are better or worse than their predecessor or comparable schools in their neighbourhood. Too little focus has been on what policy makers and practitioners can learn from the different, and often conflicting, perspectives of the key players, notably sponsors, architects, principals, parents and pupils in order to create a school that can truly serve their community with distinction.
Table of Content
Part 1. Background
Chapter 1. Why Academies?
Chapter 2. Socially Divisive Gimmick or Political and Moral Imperative?
Chapter 3. Opposition: Dogma or Legitimate Concern?
Part 2. Innovation, Governance, Leadership, Teaching and Learning
Chapter 4. ‘It’s really down to the sponsor.’
Chapter 5. Schools for the Future: Trophy Buildings or Learning Environments?
Chapter 6. Distinctive Features of Academies: 1. Independence, Accountability, Pressure
Chapter 7. Distinctive Features of Academies: 2. Innovation
Part 3. Futures
Chapter 8. A Coherent Policy?
Chapter 9. Designed to Deliver?
Chapter 10. The Future of Academies: Consolidating the Beachhead?
About the author
Phil Hearne is one of the most successful academy principals in England having led two academies in London. He is currently executive director of the country’s largest and most complex all-age Academy in the North East. He has contributed to national and international conferences on leadership and, more recently, is focusing his research on rethinking the nature of organisational change and development of academies.
More ebooks from the same author(s) / Editor
12,343 Ebooks in this category
