A review of existing research with fresh analysis of national school data
Just over half of England’s state-funded schools now sit in academy trusts, including more than eight in ten secondary schools.
This paper examines how pupil attainment, progress and inspection outcomes have changed following academisation, how far those changes can be attributed to it, for which schools and over what period, and what the evidence shows about workforce outcomes and implementation.
It covers the wider school system but focuses on sponsored academisation, the route targeted at schools where standards had been persistently low and where the strongest causal evidence in the academisation literature is concentrated.
The February 2026 White Paper, Every Child Achieving and Thriving, makes these questions particularly timely. It sets an expectation that every state-funded school will join or form a school trust, alongside new trust standards, trust-level inspection, and workforce and inclusion commitments.
