Retired Headteachers and MATs A report verifying the Department of
Education's finding on low conversion rates of maintained primary
schools to academies in England based on the comments from five retired
headteachers
Abstract
Most primary schools (for children aged 4–11 years) in England are
maintained by the local authority, and only 39% of children attend
academy schools. This is in contrast with the government’s recent
ambition for all schools in England to join a Multi-Academy Trust (MAT)
by 2030. This report considers the Department for Education’s (DFE) 2021
research findings that the reluctance of primary schools to join MATs is
due to their concern regarding the loss of autonomy; this finding is
compared with the spontaneous opinions obtained through the qualitative
interviews of five retired primary school headteachers. The participants
expressed that MATs treat headteachers poorly, and mentioned issues of
competition and expandability. The DFE must attempt to alter this
stereotype before the government executes its mass academisation plans.
If this is not addressed, headteachers will join MATs fearfully, which
will inhibit their ability to lead.