Thousands of faith schools in England could become academies in the next few years, a leading Church of England bishop is predicting.
Angela Harrison, BBC Education correspondent stated today: Both the Church of England and the Roman Catholic church had been cautious about their schools making the change but have now drawn up policies for it.
The Bishop of Oxford told the Times Educational Supplement (TES) there would be a “major shift”.
About one third of schools in England are faith schools.
According to the TES, the Right Reverend John Pritchard believes up to seven in 10 Church of England schools could become academies in the next five years.
The government ultimately wants all state-funded schools in England to become academies – meaning they would be semi-independent, with greater control over the curriculum, the school day and pay and conditions of staff.
The government also gives academies money which would previously have been spent on their behalf by local councils to provide certain services.
A few church schools have already applied for or converted to academy status.