Our approach
To transform educational opportunities for our students, E-ACT establishes extremely positive partnerships with local authorities, higher education institutions and businesses where our academies are located. Many councils ask us to consider sponsoring more projects.
E-ACT's dedicated and professional staff work closely with key colleagues in councils and partner organisations. We establish expression of interest working groups at the start of each project in order to ensure that as many people with an interest in the success of our academies are involved at a very early stage.
Our track record - delivering improvements
E-ACT’s first Academy – Trent Valley Academy (TVA) in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire – opened in September 2008. E-ACT successfully led the merger of two schools into a single Academy now based in multi-million-pound new building, while sustaining standards and transforming students' learning experiences. A local authority secondary phase special school is co-located with the Academy, demonstrating E-ACT’s commitment to partnership in educational delivery.
Six E-ACT Academies opened in September 2009. Although based in the predecessor school buildings, the prospect of state-of-the-art new academies combined with the a new vision has had a transformational impact on the learning culture, expectations and morale of all members of the Academy community.
There are now 203 academies open in 83 local authorities, with up to a further 100 opening in 2010. Evidence from independent reports by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ofsted and the National Audit Office shows that academies are working. For academies with results in 2008 and 2009, the increase in the proportion of pupils achieving at least five A* GCSEs, including English and maths, is five per cent, an increase on last year’s academy improvement rate of 4.3 percentage points.
The experience and capability of the E-ACT education team underpins the capacity to deliver significant and rapid improvements, already in evidence at our first wave of academies.
Adding value
E-ACT works tirelessly to ensure that each of its Academies is judged as outstanding. There is an absolute commitment to adding a level of active challenge, support and direction to all our Academies and their communities, beyond what they may have experienced previously. Specifically, this will include:
- A head office function where expert advice and support will be provided, tailored to the needs of each academy. This will include advice on procurement, legal, finance and personnel issues
- The benefit of the many and varied partnerships which have been brokered by E-ACT nationally, which will provide expert guidance, governors, mentors, work experience opportunities, etc.
- Support and advice on Design and Buildings issues from E-ACT's full-time, in- house Head of Design and Architecture
- Continuing support for Principal and Senior Leadership Team - including professional development at two E-ACT Conferences each year in November and May; half-termly meetings of Principals; and our links with SSAT and partnerships with high-performing schools nationally
- A network of formal and informal links across E-ACT Academies to ensure the identification, celebration and exchange of best practice
With careful financial planning and the economies of scale that result from having a network of high-achieving academies across the country, and in the interests of continuity, E-ACT is in a good position to work closely with local authorities, higher education partners, the independent sector and businesses.
In addition, we will:
- work closely with the local family of primary and secondary schools
- be committed to collaborative work in 14 – 19 and post-16 partnerships; and to continue successful work with the Local Education Partnership, if appropriate
- establish partnerships with Further and Higher Education institutions in alignment with local protocols
- adopt the local authority's admissions policy, ensuring that the Academy becomes a local school for local students and their families
