The Education Secretary is “willing to consider” the possibility of struggling academies returning to local authority oversight and is currently reviewing the process of opening new schools.

In an interview with Schools week to the Confederation of School Trusts conference in Birmingham this week, Bridget Phillipson also warned there were “questions about the level of executive pay” in the sector, with all schools and trusts having to “justify” high salaries.

She said she was focused on “standards, not structures”, and pledged to “diminish the differences” between academies and maintained schools.

Exit clauses from the Academy?

Opponents of the academy model want struggling schools in trusts to be able to return to local authority supervision.

Phillipson said it was “something I’m willing to consider,” but added: “It’s not something we intend to take action on in the near future.” »

She warned that “many times a school, or even a trust, cannot solve all the problems alone…many of the challenges schools currently face extend beyond the boundaries of the school”.

“More and more, what I’m hearing from school leaders is that it’s not just about the pressures they face in terms of their ability to recruit staff or know how to They have the resources they need to provide a good standard of education.

“It’s also that they support more children whose families are homeless or growing up in poverty. It also has a significant impact on children’s life chances. So that’s where the government needs to step in, and it’s not just about the schools or the trusts themselves.

Labor marked a departure from the previous government’s belief that multi-academy trusts should be the main driver of school improvement.

Last week wasFunding is available for schools voluntarily converting to academies and money for trusts looking to grow and expand.

Phillipson insisted that “good trusts will continue to develop… schools will be able to continue to convert”.

But she said Schools week: “Sometimes it’s not just the structural change required. This may be a change in governance. This may include ensuring that adequate leadership support is in place.

Los Angeles opening new schools on the table

The upcoming Child Wellbeing Bill will require academies to follow the national curriculum and cooperate with local authorities on admissions, place planning and meeting special educational needs.

Ministers also look at 44 free schools.

Does Phillipson envisage a Labor government allowing councils to reopen schools?

“We are reviewing the situation that we inherited, partly because we want to make sure that the money is well spent, that we are creating places, schools and services in areas where it is actually needed, or where it there is not the right specialization in place.

Phillipson confirmed the government was considering letting councils reopen schools, as first revealed Schools week in September.

More details on how the government will “mitigate differences between schools” will be set out in the next bill.

Government efforts to restrict some academic freedoms have frightened some in the sector, who say it is their autonomy that has allowed them to innovate.

“Academies have nothing to fear”

But Phillipson said: “The best practice I’ve seen in academies in terms of the really innovative and pioneering work they’ve done, particularly around community provision, early years, and much more , have no connection with the measures we present.

“I don’t think insisting that all schools should teach the national curriculum should be a barrier to this type of pioneering work. I honestly don’t think they have anything to worry about in that regard. »

But she would not commit to further restricting those freedoms, saying she was “not going to tie my hands for years to come.”

One of the products of academic freedoms has been skyrocketing executive salaries. The highest paid, Sir Dan Moynihan of the Harris Federation, earns almost £500,000. Four trust executives earn more than £300,000, while 44 earn more than £200,000.

Asked if she was comfortable with these pay levels, Phillipson said the government faced “difficult decisions” about school funding, which “will mean we will have to work with schools on how to generate more efficiency.

Trusts must justify top salaries

“Questions are being raised about the level of executive remuneration, and work has been undertaken to ensure consistency at all levels.

“In today’s difficult climate – in government, in the country and in the education sector – I think it will be necessary to justify pay levels. »

However, trust executive pay scales or chief executive pay caps were “not something we are actively looking at”.

Phillipson said his approach to school improvement was “a collaborative approach”, adding that it was “focused more on the best outcomes for our children” rather than school structures.

She warned there had been a “complacency” that “the way to set standards is through changing the structure of a school”.

“Changing the leadership and structure of a school can be a hugely important way to achieve better outcomes for children. But it is not the only solution, and there are still big differences between schools and within trusts.