What is an academy school?

An academy school is a type of state-funded school that has greater autonomy and flexibility than local authority maintained schools. Academies are directly funded by the Department for Education and are not under the control of any local authority. They can be set up by a range of organisations, including charities, religious groups, or private individuals.

Academies have a number of advantages over local authority maintained schools. They have greater autonomy and freedom to set their own curriculum, staffing arrangements and financial management. They also receive more funding per pupil than local authority maintained schools.

However, academies also have a number of disadvantages. They are not subject to the same level of accountability as local authority maintained schools. They are not required to follow the National Curriculum and they are not inspected by Ofsted. This means that there is less oversight of their performance.

Overall, academies are a type of state-funded school that offers greater autonomy and flexibility than local authority maintained schools. They have a number of advantages, but they also have a number of disadvantages.