By Kevin Courtney, General Secretary of the National Education Union, UK

England's school system has undergone a radical transformation since 2010 with thousands of schools transferred into the control of private organisations called academy trusts. These are hybrid organisations – not-for-profit private trusts subject to company law which receive state funding but operate via a contract with central government, rather than a relationship with the local authority. Many different types of organisations have set up academy trusts, from large commercial companies, to churches, universities and wealthy private individuals.

Currently, around 80% of English secondary schools and nearly 40% of primary schools are academies. Although some trusts run 'stand-alone' academies, most academies are now in 'chains', known as Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs). The trend is towards consolidation into larger MATs, where a single trust board can be responsible for many schools – the largest MAT has more than 70 schools. A forthcoming government White Paper is likely to assert the government's wish for all schools in England to become academies within MATs.

This trend has fragmented the English school system, weakened and undermined democratically accountable local authorities, boosted the power of private actors, and increased scope for profiteering and commercial exploitation. Read more of this post