Academies
The Church of England, through its dioceses, is the biggest
provider of Academies established under the original
programme. Now, September 2012, there are 50 open
academies either sponsored or co-sponsored by the Church, including
6 primary academies.
These academies, serving over 50,000 young people, are part of
the Church's mission towards community regeneration.
In his
speech at the 2009 founding conference of the Church
Academy family the Archbishop of Canterbury spoke about academies
being a fresh investment in giving people the tools they need to
make sense of life and a resource for achieving justice and
liberation for people in situations of challenge.
Lord Hill spoke positively
and encouragingly at the 2010 Family Conference about the Church's
Academy programme.
The Academies Act 2010 introduced the possibility of all schools
becoming academies. The National Society in conjunction with
the dioceses is working actively with the Department for
Education to provide
specific guidance and support on the process of
conversion. Since then 150 Church of England primary
and 60 secondary schools have converted to academy status.
There will be further developments in the near future concerning
other variations on the academies theme. This will include
Free Schools, University Technical Colleges and Studio Schools.