A school rated good by Ofsted has applied to become an academy as it joins a growing coalition of local schools.

Even Swindon Primary School submitted an academy conversion letter on November 7, days after it announced it was joining the Blue Kite Academy Trust (BKAT).

It joins 14 other schools for children aged 11 and younger already part of the BKAT, all in Swindon.

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The letter states: “On conversion to academy status, the existing school closes and a new school opens in its place. Although little may have changed, the academy converter is a new legal entity.”

Academies are still government-funded but are independent from local councils giving them more freedom to decide their own curriculum, term dates, school hours, teachers' wages and more.

However, according the government advice states that academies are subject to greater accountability than council-run schools because of increased financial regulation.

Individual academies are still subject to Ofsted inspections and ratings in the same way as council-run schools.

Even Swindon headteacher, Rachael Smith, said: “Joining the Blue Kite Academy Trust provides us with so many opportunities for collaboration and growth.

“Working with other schools in the Trust will enable us to share best practices, and give more professional development opportunities for our staff. Even Swindon Primary School

“For our pupils, this means they will have the chance of new learning, sport and enrichment experiences, and to have a glimpse of what life is like at other schools. 

“We look forward to strengthening our connections within the Trust and continuing to help our pupils to ‘Believe, Achieve, Inspire’.”

The BKAT is a multi-academy trust - charities with responsibility for running a number of academies. They cannot, as charities, be run for financial profit and any surplus must be reinvested in the trust.

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A 2021 government blog post stated it was focused on encouraging schools to join “strong trusts”, calling it a “positive choice for schools... freeing them to focus on what they do best – teaching”.

Schools Week, a media outlet on the school sector, wrote: “Scaled-back council support services, financial woes and headteachers’ fears that they could be forced into a trust they don’t want to join are some of the main drivers behind a spike in schools wanting to convert into an academy.”

The BKAT describes Even Swindon Primary as a “large, diverse school catering for around 670 children, with a committed and enthusiastic team of 110 staff”.

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