Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026

57 Inspection of Academy proprietors E+W

(1) The Education and Inspections Act 2006 is amended in accordance with subsections (2) and (3).

(2) In Part 8 (inspections), after Chapter 2, insert—

“Chapter 2A E+W Inspection of Academy proprietors

Inspection E+W

122A Duty to inspect Academy proprietors at specified intervals

(1) The Chief Inspector must—

(a) conduct inspections of every Academy proprietor at such intervals as may be specified in regulations made by the Secretary of State, and

(b) prepare a written report on completion of each inspection.

(2) The Secretary of State may by regulations provide that subsection (1) does not apply in relation to specified categories of Academy proprietor in specified circumstances.

(3) An Academy proprietor in relation to which subsection (1) does not apply by virtue of regulations under subsection (2) is an “exempt proprietor”.

(4) When conducting an inspection under this section, the Chief Inspector must have regard to any views about the matters listed in section 122B(2) which are expressed to the Chief Inspector by—

(a) such persons as may be specified in regulations made by the Secretary of State;

(b) such other persons as the Chief Inspector considers appropriate.

(5) Subsection (1) has effect subject to subsection 122E.

(6) An inspection which is required under this section must not extend to—

(a) denominational education provided at an Academy which has been designated as having a religious character, or which is to be treated as having been so designated by virtue of section 6(8) of the Academies Act 2010, or

(b) the content of collective worship at such an Academy.

122B Report of section 122A inspection

(1) It is the general duty of the Chief Inspector, when conducting an inspection under section 122A, to report on the quality and effectiveness of the Academy proprietor’s leadership, management and governance in connection with its role as an Academy proprietor.

(2) The Chief Inspector’s report must (in particular) cover—

(a) the quality and effectiveness of any activities undertaken by the Academy proprietor to secure the provision of a quality education to registered pupils and students of its Academies;

(b) the quality and effectiveness of the Academy proprietor’s governance and executive leadership;

(c) the quality and effectiveness of any activities undertaken by the Academy proprietor to promote the wellbeing of children and young persons;

(d) the quality and effectiveness of any activities undertaken by the Academy proprietor to secure improvements in its Academies;

(e) the quality and effectiveness of the Academy proprietor’s management of its resources;

(f) such other matters as may be specified in regulations made by the Secretary of State.

(3) The Chief Inspector must send a copy of a report under section 122A(1)(b) to—

(a) the Academy proprietor, and

(b) the Secretary of State.

(4) The Academy proprietor must—

(a) make a copy of any report sent to it under subsection (3) available for inspection by members of the public,

(b) provide a copy of the report, free of charge, upon request, and

(c) take such steps as are reasonably practicable to secure that every registered parent of a pupil at an Academy school or alternative provision Academy of which the Academy proprietor is the proprietor receives a copy of the report within five working days following receipt of the report by the Academy proprietor.

(5) The Chief Inspector may send a copy of the report to such other persons as the Chief Inspector considers appropriate.

(6) The Chief Inspector may arrange for the report to be published in such manner as the Chief Inspector considers appropriate.

(7) In this section—

• “child” means a person aged under 18, and references to “children” are to be read accordingly;

• “wellbeing”, in relation to a child or young person, means their wellbeing so far as relating to the matters mentioned in section 10(2) of the Children Act 2004;

• “working day” means a day other than a Saturday, a Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday or a bank holiday under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971;

• “young person” means any of the persons mentioned in section 10(9) of the Children Act 2004.

122C Other inspections

(1) The Chief Inspector must inspect and report on any Academy proprietor, or category of Academy proprietor, in connection with its role as an Academy proprietor, if requested to do so by the Secretary of State.

(2) The Chief Inspector may inspect and report on any Academy proprietor, in connection with its role as an Academy proprietor, in circumstances where there is no requirement to do so under any other provision of this Chapter.

(3) If the Chief Inspector carries out an inspection under subsection (2) in response to a request from the Academy proprietor, the Chief Inspector may charge the Academy proprietor for the cost of the inspection.

(4) An inspection which is conducted under this section must not extend to—

(a) denominational education provided at an Academy which has been designated as having a religious character, or which is to be treated as having been so designated by virtue of section 6(8) of the Academies Act 2010, or

(b) the content of collective worship at such an Academy.

(5) The Chief Inspector may arrange for a report under this section to be published in such manner as the Chief Inspector considers appropriate.

122D Duty to notify certain persons of inspection

(1) Before conducting an inspection under section 122A the Chief Inspector must notify—

(a) the Academy proprietor, and

(b) any relevant religious body.

(2) If the Academy proprietor is notified by the Chief Inspector that the Chief Inspector is proposing to inspect the Academy proprietor under section 122A, the Academy proprietor must take such steps as are reasonably practicable to notify the following persons of the time when the inspection is to take place—

(a) the registered parents of registered pupils at any Academy school or alternative provision Academy of which the Academy proprietor is the proprietor;

(b) the members of the Academy proprietor (if any).

(3) If the Academy proprietor is notified by the Chief Inspector that the Chief Inspector is electing to treat, or is required by the Secretary of State to treat, an inspection under section 122C as if it were an inspection under section 122A as a result of the exercise of a power under section 122E, the Academy proprietor must take such steps as are reasonably practicable to notify the following persons that the inspection is being so treated, and of the time when the inspection is to take place—

(a) the registered parents of registered pupils at any Academy school or alternative provision Academy of which the Academy proprietor is the proprietor;

(b) the members of the Academy proprietor (if any);

(c) any relevant religious body.

(4) Any notification given under subsection (2)(a) or (3)(a) must include a statement, in a form approved by the Chief Inspector, inviting the registered parents of registered pupils to inform the Chief Inspector of their views on matters relating to—

(a) the Academy at which their child is a registered pupil;

(b) the Academy proprietor.

122E Power or duty to treat other inspection as section 122A inspection

(1) The Chief Inspector may elect for an inspection under section 122C of an Academy proprietor to which section 122A applies to be treated as if it were an inspection under section 122A for the purposes of section 122A(1), section 122B(3) to (6) and section 122H.

(2) In the case of an inspection of an exempt proprietor under section 122C, the Chief Inspector may elect to treat the inspection as if it were an inspection under section 122A for the purposes of section 122A(4) and sections 122B and 122H.

(3) The Secretary of State may require the Chief Inspector to treat an inspection under section 122C(1) of an Academy proprietor to which section 122A applies as if it were an inspection under section 122A for the purposes of section 122A(1) and (4) and sections 122B and 122H.

(4) In the case of an inspection of an exempt proprietor under section 122C(1), the Secretary of State may require the Chief Inspector to treat the inspection as if it were an inspection under section 122A for the purposes of section 122A(4) and sections 122B and 122H.

(5) In this section, “exempt proprietor” has the meaning given by section 122A(3).

122F Framework for inspections under this Chapter

(1) The Chief Inspector must devise—

(a) a common set of principles applicable to all inspections conducted under this Chapter, or

(b) two or more common sets of principles each of which is applicable to a particular description of such inspections.

(2) A set of principles devised under subsection (1)(a) or (b) is referred to in this section as a “framework”.

(3) If the Chief Inspector devises two or more frameworks under subsection (1)(b), the Chief Inspector must ensure that, taken together, they cover all inspections conducted under this Chapter.

(4) A framework must cover such matters as may be specified in regulations made by the Secretary of State.

(5) The Chief Inspector must publish a framework in such manner as the Chief Inspector considers appropriate.

(6) The Chief Inspector may at any time revise a framework.

(7) The Chief Inspector must publish a revised framework in such manner as the Chief Inspector considers appropriate.

(8) In devising or revising a framework, the Chief Inspector must have regard to guidance given from time to time by the Secretary of State.

Powers of entry etc. E+W

122G Powers of entry etc. for purposes of inspection

(1) This section applies to an inspection conducted by the Chief Inspector under this Chapter.

(2) The Chief Inspector may, at any reasonable time, enter—

(a) any premises of the Academy proprietor;

(b) the premises of any Academy of which the Academy proprietor is the proprietor;

(c) any other premises on which, by virtue of arrangements made by the Academy proprietor, any pupils or students who are registered at an Academy within paragraph (b) are receiving part of their education from any person (“the provider”);

(d) any premises of the provider used in connection with the provision by the provider of that education.

(3) The Chief Inspector may, at any reasonable time, inspect, take copies of, or take away such of the following as the Chief Inspector considers relevant to the discharge of the Chief Inspector’s functions under this Chapter—

(a) any documents or records kept by the Academy proprietor;

(b) any documents or records kept by an Academy of which the Academy proprietor is the proprietor;

(c) any documents or records kept by the provider relating to the provision of education by virtue of arrangements made by the Academy proprietor.

(4) The power in subsection (3) includes—

(a) power to require any person holding or accountable for any such documents or records to produce them, and

(b) in relation to any such documents or records kept by means of a computer, power to require them to be produced in a form in which they are legible and can be taken away.

(5) In connection with inspecting any such documents or records the Chief Inspector—

(a) may obtain access to, and inspect and check the operation of, any computer and associated apparatus or material which the Chief Inspector considers is or has been in use in connection with the documents or records, and

(b) may require a person within subsection (6) to afford the Chief Inspector such reasonable assistance as the Chief Inspector requires for that purpose.

(6) A person is within this subsection if that person is—

(a) the person by whom or on whose behalf the computer is or has been used, or

(b) a person having charge of, or otherwise concerned with the operation of, the computer, apparatus or material.

(7) A person is guilty of an offence if that person intentionally obstructs the Chief Inspector in the exercise of any function conferred by this Chapter.

(8) A person who commits an offence under this section is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.

Academy proprietors not performing to acceptable standard E+W

122H Academy proprietors not performing to acceptable standard

(1) Subsections (2) to (4) apply if, on completion of an inspection under section 122A, the Chief Inspector is of the opinion that—

(a) the persons responsible for leading, managing and governing the Academy proprietor are failing to lead, manage or govern the Academy proprietor to an acceptable standard, or

(b) the Academy proprietor is failing to lead, manage or govern an Academy of which it is the proprietor to an acceptable standard.

(2) The Chief Inspector must—

(a) send a draft of the report of the inspection to the Academy proprietor, and

(b) consider any comments on the draft that are made by the Academy proprietor within such period as may be specified in regulations made by the Secretary of State.

(3) Where, after complying with subsection (2), the Chief Inspector is of the opinion that the case falls within paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (1), the Chief Inspector must—

(a) without delay, notify the following persons in writing of that opinion—

(i) the Secretary of State, and

(ii) the Academy proprietor, and

(b) state that opinion in the report of the inspection.

(4) A notification made under subsection (3)(a) must also record—

(a) in a case within subsection (1)(a), whether the Chief Inspector is of the opinion that the persons responsible for leading, managing and governing the Academy proprietor are demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the Academy proprietor;

(b) in a case within subsection (1)(b), whether the Chief Inspector is of the opinion that the Academy proprietor is demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the Academy.

Supplementary E+W

122I Regulations under Chapter 2A

Regulations under this Chapter may—

(a) make different provision for different purposes;

(b) make consequential provision.

122J Interpretation of Chapter 2A

(1) In this Chapter—

• “Academy” means an educational institution to which Academy arrangements relate;

• “Academy arrangements” has the meaning given by section 1 of the Academies Act 2010;

• “Academy proprietor” is a person who, in pursuance of Academy arrangements, is the proprietor of an Academy;

• “Academy school” has the meaning given by section 1A of the Academies Act 2010;

• “alternative provision Academy” has the meaning given by section 1C of that Act;

• “denominational education”, in relation to an Academy, means religious education which—

  (a)

  is provided in accordance with—

  (i)

  any provisions of the trust deed affecting the Academy which relate to the teaching and learning of religious education, or

  (ii)

  the tenets of the religion or religious denomination in relation to which the Academy is designated, and

  (b)

  is not required by Academy arrangements to be given in accordance with the requirements for agreed syllabuses in section 375(3) of the Education Act 1996;

• “parent” has the meaning given by section 576 of that Act;

• “registered”, in relation to the parents of pupils at an Academy school or alternative provision Academy, means shown in the register kept under section 434 of that Act;

• “registered pupil”, in relation to an Academy school or alternative provision Academy, means a person registered as a pupil in that register;

• “relevant religious body”, in relation to an Academy, means—

  (a)

  in the case of a Church of England Academy or a Roman Catholic Church Academy, the appropriate diocesan authority, and

  (b)

  in any other case, such body or person as is specified in the Academy arrangements relating to the Academy as representing the religion or religious denomination in relation to which the Academy is designated,

  and in the case of an Academy designated in relation to more than one religion or religious denomination, references to “the relevant religious body” are to be read as references to all of the relevant religious bodies applicable to the Academy;

• “trust deed”, in relation to an Academy, includes any instrument (other than the articles or memorandum of association) regulating the constitution of the Academy proprietor or the maintenance, management or conduct of the Academy.

(2) In subsection (1)—

(a) “Church of England Academy” means an Academy in the Province of Canterbury or York in relation to which the religion or religious denomination specified in the order designating the Academy as having a religious character is “Church of England” and “appropriate diocesan authority”, in relation to such an Academy, means the Diocesan Board of Education for the diocese of the Church of England in which the school is situated, and

(b) “Roman Catholic Church Academy” means an Academy in relation to which the religion or religious denomination specified in the order designating the Academy as having a religious character is “Roman Catholic” and “appropriate diocesan authority”, in relation to such an Academy, means the bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese in which the Academy is situated.

(3) For the purposes of this Chapter, an Academy has been “designated as having a religious character” if it has been so designated by an order under—

(a) section 69(3) of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 by virtue of section 124B(2) of that Act, or

(b) section 8A(1) of the Academies Act 2010 (16 to 19 academies having religious character),

and references to the order designating the Academy as having a religious character should be read accordingly.”

(3) In section 182 (parliamentary control of orders and regulations), in subsection (3), after paragraph (aza) insert—

“(azb) regulations under section 122A(2) (power to exempt Academy proprietors from regular inspection),

(azc) regulations under section 122B(2)(f) (power to make provision about content of inspection report),

(azd) regulations under section 122F(4) (power to make provision about content of inspection framework),”.

(4) The Academies Act 2010 is amended in accordance with subsections (5) to (7).

(5) After section 2A insert—

“2AA Academy agreements: provision about failing Academy proprietors

(1) An Academy agreement must include provision allowing the Secretary of State to terminate the agreement if the Chief Inspector has given notice under section 122H(3)(a) of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 that—

(a) the persons responsible for leading, managing and governing the Academy proprietor are failing to lead, manage or govern the Academy proprietor to an acceptable standard, or

(b) the Academy proprietor is failing to lead, manage or govern an Academy of which it is the proprietor to an acceptable standard.

(2) The Academy agreement must require the Secretary of State, before terminating the agreement on one of those grounds, to give the proprietor a termination warning notice.

(3) A termination warning notice is a notice—

(a) requesting that the Academy proprietor respond to the Secretary of State by making representations, or

(b) requiring the Academy proprietor—

(i) to take specified action by a specified date, and

(ii) to respond to the Secretary of State by making representations, or by agreeing to take that action, by a specified date.

(4) The Academy agreement must provide that, where a termination warning notice under subsection (3)(b) is given to the Academy proprietor on one of the grounds specified in subsection (1), the power to terminate the agreement is available only if the proprietor has failed to comply with the termination warning notice (whether by failing to take specified action, or to respond, on time).”

(6) For section 2C (new academy agreements) substitute—

“2C Sections 2A, 2AA and 2B supplementary - new agreements

(1) An Academy agreement made on or after 18 April 2016, but before the day on which section 57 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 comes fully into force may include further provision about—

(a) the procedure for terminating the agreement in accordance with the provision required by section 2A or 2B;

(b) the consequences of terminating the agreement in accordance with that provision.

(2) An academy agreement made on or after the day on which section 57 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 comes fully into force may include further provision about—

(a) the procedure for terminating the agreement in accordance with the provision required by section 2A, 2AA or 2B;

(b) the consequences of terminating the agreement in accordance with that provision.

(3) Section 2D makes provision about agreements entered into before those dates.”

(7) For section 2D (old academy agreements) substitute—

“2D Sections 2A, 2AA and 2B supplementary - old agreements

(1) An old Academy agreement is to be treated as if it included the new termination powers.

(2) A pre-section 2AA agreement is to be treated as if it included the section 2AA termination powers.

(3) A provision of an old Academy agreement that relates to the procedure for terminating the agreement does not apply to the new termination powers.

(4) A provision of a pre-section 2AA agreement that relates to the procedure for terminating the agreement does not apply to the section 2AA termination powers.

(5) Subsections (6) and (7) apply where an old Academy agreement or a pre-section 2AA Academy agreement—

(a) contains provision about the consequences of terminating the agreement (“relevant provision”), and

(b) the relevant provision is expressed in a way that—

(i) in the case of an old Academy agreement, is capable of covering termination in accordance with the new termination powers;

(ii) in the case of a pre-section 2AA agreement, is capable of covering termination in accordance with the section 2AA termination powers.

(6) The relevant provision applies to termination in accordance with—

(a) in the case of an old Academy agreement, the new termination powers;

(b) in the case of a pre-section 2AA agreement, the section 2AA termination powers.

(7) If the relevant provision sets out different consequences depending on whether the agreement is terminated on the ground that the proprietor has breached the Agreement or on other grounds—

(a) in the case of an old Academy agreement, termination in accordance with the new termination powers is to be treated as termination on the grounds of breach by the proprietor, and

(b) in the case of a pre-section 2AA agreement, termination in accordance with the section 2AA termination powers is to be treated as termination on the grounds of breach by the proprietor.

(8) In this section—

• “new termination powers”, in relation to an Academy agreement, means the powers to terminate in accordance with the provision required by sections 2A, 2AA and 2B;

• “old Academy agreement” means an Academy agreement made before 18 April 2016;

• “pre-section 2AA agreement” means an Academy agreement made on or after the 18 April 2016, but before the day on which section 57 of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 comes fully into force;

• “section 2AA termination powers” in relation to an Academy agreement, means the powers to terminate in accordance with the provision required by section 2AA.”

Commencement Information

I1 S. 57 in force at Royal Assent for specified purposes, see s. 78(1)(a)(5)