Academies Enterprise Trust

The Academies Enterprise Trust (AET) is a Multi Academy Trust (MAT). A MAT is a non-profit, educational charitable trust, which sponsors schools with academy status.

AET has been reported as "dogged by criticism since it was set up. It was formally established in 2008 by the Greensward Charitable Trust, (established in 1996 to support Greensward School). The first school in the trust was Greensward Academy, at Hockley, Essex. The Trust began growing in 2008 with 3 schools. At its largest the chain numbered 76 schools. By 2015 AET had contracted to 68 schools. However it remained the largest Academy chain in England at that time.

The first Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of AET was David Triggs, who was in post from 2008 until September 2013. The second CEO was Ian Comfort, who had been Group Secretary and General Counsel since 2009.

Between 2011 and 2012 AET more than doubled in size, leading to criticism that the Academy chain was growing too fast and was therefore unable to ensure appropriate standards in its schools.

In February 2014 AET was accused of being a "dodgy outfit" for "gaming the exam results."

OFSTED criticised standards across AET in reports in both 2014 and 2015 as well as criticising standards in a number of individual schools (see below). In 2014, half the schools in AET were reported as failing as OFSTED criticised 'low expectations,' pupils with unacceptable behaviour, AET systems which made schools feel that they were 'left to flounder' and a lack of confidence in AET by its headteachers. AET responded in 2014 to OFSTED's concerns about its standards being too low by saying that OFSTED had an unfairly negative slant against AET in their report and that actually 'exam results in AET schools were improving faster than average.'

In 2015 OFSTED once again criticised AET schools as 'mediocre,' noting that almost half of students at AET secondary schools were in schools that were “less than good” and that poorer students were doing “particularly badly.” Speaking on behalf of OFSTED Andrew Cook said

Only 41 per cent of AET secondary academies are good or better and the trust’s impact on raising standards at key stage 4 has not been effective...with 69 per cent of good or better primary academies, AET was still well below the national average.

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