Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of updating information sharing requirements for academies in line with requirements for local authority maintained schools.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

Academies are held to a high level of accountability and transparency.

Academies are required to follow the Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2014 as they are independent schools. Under these regulations the proprietor of an academy must ensure that an annual written report of each registered pupil’s progress and attainment in the main subject areas taught is provided to the parents of that registered pupil, except that no report need be sent where the parent has agreed otherwise. Academy trusts enter into Funding Agreement with my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, which contains a clause concerning information sharing requirements relating to assessments. It provides that the academy trust must report on assessments as the Secretary of State requires, or provide any information on assessments, on the same basis that maintained schools are required to provide the information.

The department has no plans to change these arrangements.