England’s largest academy chain is ‘failing too many pupils’, Ofsted warns

Ofsted has warned that England’s largest academy chain, the Academies Enterprise Trust (AET), is ‘failing too many pupils’.

The inspectorate voiced concerns after conducting a focused inspection programme, including on site inspections at seven schools, telephone interviews with a further 18 schools and discussions with senior and operational staff, principals, governors and other stakeholders.

The outcome of this programme was published in a letter to Ian Comfort, chief executive officer of AET, which warned that the children from poor backgrounds under achieve in the trust. The letter describes AET’s secondary academies as ‘mediocre’ and claimed that the trust’s impact on raising standards has not been effective, with only 41 per cent rated good or better.

While standards are rising in Key Stage 2 reading, writing and mathematics, Ofsted warned that it is still well below the national average.

Additionally, the letter condemned ‘unacceptably low’ attendance and criticised the trust’s work to tackle weak leadership, saying it has had little impact on improving performance in secondary academies.

In response to the letter, a Department for Education spokesperson said: “While Ofsted’s findings show that AET has made some progress, particularly in its primary academies, the trust is letting down too many of its pupils.

“The academies system allows us to spot and intervene in underperformance far more quickly than in council-run schools. AET must now show us how they will address the issues identified by Ofsted and we are working with them to raise standards. If we are not satisfied we will take further action.”