CEO of England’s largest academy trust to step down
Ian Comfort, the group CEO of the Academies Enterprise Trust, the country’s largest academy chain, has announced he is stepping down from his role.
Comfort indicated earlier this year that he wished to move on 'to other challenges' and has now informed the Trustees that he plans to leave in the spring term, giving them time to find a suitable successor.
He has held the position of group CEO for the past three three years and has overseen the percentage of good or outstanding academies in the Trust increase from less than 26 per cent to 68 per cent.
However, his resignation comes at a turbulent time for the Trust, which has faced criticised from Oftsed and saw six of its Trustees quit in June.
Ofsted raised concerns about the Trust’s rate of expansion back in 2014, preventing it from taking over anymore schools. This was followed by a letter sent to the Trust in February 2016 which criticised its ‘mediocre’ secondary schools and cautioned it was failing too many pupils.
Read moreLatest News
06/11/2025 - 09:42
Ofsted has shared findings from pilot inspections carried out in 115 schools this autumn, ahead of the full rollout of its renewed inspection framework.
06/11/2025 - 09:16
The TV, radio and multi media campaign deals with the root causes of absences and identifies ways to approach conversations about wellbeing that can help pupils to improve their attendance.
05/11/2025 - 09:49
The government will publish a new set of enrichment benchmarks, with schools asked to ensure every child has access to activities across five categories of enrichment.
05/11/2025 - 09:37
For the first time, primary aged children will gain vital skills like how to spot fake news and identify misinformation and disinformation.
04/11/2025 - 09:55
The policy introduces the new Chief Regulator’s Rebuke - a new tool which can be used when an awarding organisation is found to have breached rules, but not in a way that warrants a financial penalty.
