Academy sponsor ordered to stop taking over schools

David Triggs said AET had agreed to "consolidate our position" last summer
David Triggs said AET had agreed to "consolidate our position" last summer
TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER, RICHARD POHLE

The largest sponsor of academies has been barred from taking over more schools amid concerns over its rapid expansion.

Academies Enterprise Trust (AET), which runs 66 schools, has been told by the Department for Education to focus instead on raising results in its existing academies. Fears have been expressed over the high risks arising from the trust’s rapid acquisition of a large number of weak and failing schools.

The halt in AET’s expansion raises questions about the capacity of sponsors and the scale at which academy chains can operate effectively. Some supporters of the Government’s school reforms have urged groups of academies to operate on a much bigger scale.

The decision now removes the biggest player from the field just as Michael Gove, the Education