The government wants to set up a new UK National Academy as part of its “levelling up” plans, set to be unveiled today, Tes understands.
The plan for the national online academy is expected to be included in the Levelling Up White Paper, set to be published today. However, Tes understands that the process for setting up the organisation that will run the academy, and a decision on whether the existing Oak National Academy will be involved, has not yet been finalised.
Last year Tes revealed that national online school Oak National Academy had received a further £2.1 million in government funding to “stay open” until the end of the current spring term in order to “support Covid-19 resilience and teacher workload”.
Yesterday the Department for Education told Tes that the future of Oak beyond Easter was still being explored.
A draft copy of the Levelling Up White Paper, including a sentence about a new UK-wide national academy, was leaked to the BBC earlier this morning.
The draft said the new organisation would “offer the best lessons” from “the very best teachers” online.
A spokesperson for Oak National Academy said: ”We’re currently finalising the details of Oak National Academy’s future plans, and we’re in touch with government about their ambitions to support teachers in stretching pupils beyond the core curriculum.”
The DfE has been contacted for comment.
