Pupils shut out of local schools by academies, say MPS

THE rush to create new academies is at risk of shutting children out of their local schools, the Commons public accounts committee has warned.

The ability of local authorities to provide school places for all the children in their area is being hampered by the academy roll-out, MPS said.

A report by the committee said that local authorities’ ability to fulfil their statutory responsibilities, including their duty to provide school places, is “undermined” in areas where a high proportion of schools have become academies.

“Regardless of the extent of academisation, local authorities still retain important statutory responsibilities, including a duty to ensure there are enough school places for local children,” the report said.

“However, they have no control over the number of places in academy schools.”