Academies were first established by the Labour government led by Tony Blair, way back in 2000. Since then, successive governments have encouraged academisation, but where are we now?

The Department for Education (DfE) white paper published in March 2022 sets out a vision for all schools to be part of a multi academy trust (MAT) by 2030.

Current state of play

According to government figures, there were just 203 academies open in 2010, when a Labour government was last in power. The latest data shows that there are now over 10,000, amounting to 45% of all open schools.

And the vast majority of these academies are part of a multi-academy trust: 89%, at the latest count, with the remaining 11% operating as single-academy trusts (SATs).

64% of secondary schools are currently part of a MAT, and a further 17% are operating as a SAT. But just 40% of primaries and 38% of other schools are part of a MAT.

There are currently fewer MATs than there were in 2020, but there’s been a marked increase in the number of larger MATs over the last few years, although smaller MATs of fewer than ten schools still make up 75% of all MATs.

Summing up

MATs and academies have come a long way since the last time we had a Labour government. And we’ve no reason to think that changes won’t keep coming.

Unless the new government have some surprises up their sleeve, we would probably expect the trends of the last few years to continue. That is, we’re expecting more academies, fewer but bigger MATs, and the eventual demise of SATs.

Thinking about joining or setting up a MAT? Click HERE for guidance from the National Governance Association