WORKING IN E-ACT ACADEMIES – AN NUT GUIDE

This guidance document gives a brief overview of employment in E-ACT operated Academies. It sets out information about:

  • E-ACT and its Academy programme
  • The national trade union recognition agreement
  • Pay and conditions of service
  • Employment policies and procedures

E-ACT operates common pay and conditions for employees and central negotiating machinery, within which the Union negotiates alongside the other recognised teaching and support staff unions. Arrangements have been established within the NUT for consultation and communication with NUT divisions, Academy representatives and members.

Detailed information about pay and conditions of service in Academies can be found in the NUT document Teachers’ Pay and Conditions in Academies: Guidance for NUT Members at

ABOUT E-ACT

E-ACT has its roots in Edutrust, an organisation active in minority ethnic and multi-cultural education projects. In 2008, it rebranded itself as E-ACT and formally separated its Academies operation from the education trust. E-ACT is led by Sir Bruce Liddington, a former senior civil servant responsible for developing the Academy programme from 1999-2006.

The structure of E-ACT is not dissimilar to those of other multi-Academy chains in that it is a single employer with a central board and local governing bodies with limited powers under central direction.

E-ACT’s website is

E-ACT ACADEMIES

At the time of writing E-ACT had 22open Academies and is hoping to open more. They are:

  • Lincoln - Trent Valley Academy (open Sept 2008)*
  • Brent
  • Crest Boys’ Academy (open Sept 2009)
  • Crest Girls’ Academy (open Sept 2009)
  • Birmingham
  • HeartlandsAcademy (open Sept 2009)
  • ShenleyCourtAcademy (open Sept 2009)
  • North Birmingham (open Jan 2010)
  • The NechellsE-ACTPrimaryAcademy (open Sept 2012)
  • MerrittsBrookPrimaryE-ACTAcademy (open Jan 2013)
  • MansfieldGreenE-ACTAcademy (open Jan 2013)
  • Leeds
  • Leeds West Academy (open Sept 2009)*
  • E-ACT Leeds East Academy (open Sept 2011)*
  • Sheffield
  • ParkwoodAcademy (open Sept 2009)
  • LongleyPrimary School (open Sept 2013)
  • Cheshire West and Chester – The Winsford E-ACT Academy (open Sept 2010)*
  • Devon – Dartmouth Academy (open Sept 2010)*
  • Kirklees – KirkleesAcademy (due to open Sept 2013)
  • Lambeth – CityHeightsE-ACTAcademy (open Sept 2013)
  • Oldham
  • The Oldham Academy North (open Sept 2010)
  • RichmondPrimary School (due to open Sept 2013)
  • ArchbishopCourtenayPrimary School (due to open Jan 2014)
  • Nottingham – The Sherwood E-ACT Academy (open Sept 2012)*
  • Bristol
  • E-ACT St. Ursula’s PrimaryAcademy (open Sept 2011)
  • IlminsterAvenueE-ACTAcademy (open Jan 2012)
  • The GreenfieldE-ACTPrimaryAcademy (open Sept 2012)
  • Buckinghamshire
  • BurnhamParkE-ACTAcademy (open April 2012)
  • The ChalfontValleyE-ACTAcademy (open Sept 2012)
  • DenhamGreenE-ACTAcademy (open Sept 2013)
  • Manchester – E-ACT Blackley Academy (open Jan 2012)
  • Kensington and Chelsea – Warwick Road E-ACT Primary Academy (due to open Sept 2014)
  • Walsall
  • WillenhallE-ACTAcademy (open Jan 2012)
  • The WestWalsallE-ACTAcademy (open Sept 2012)
  • ReedswoodE-ACTAcademy (open Sept 2012)
  • Wakefield – The Purston E-ACT Academy (open Sept 2012)*
  • Gloucestershire – The Forest E-ACT Academy (open Sept 2012)*
  • Northamptonshire
  • Danetre and SouthbrookLearningVillage (open April 2012)
  • The ParkerE-ACTAcademy (open Sept 2012)

E-ACThas also opened 2Free Schools(in Haringey and Redbridge, London) and hopes to open more.

The DfE is forcing E-ACT to relinquish control over 8 of its Academies and 2 of its free schools. They are marked with an* in the list above: Aldborough E-ACT Free School, Redbridge, London; Dartmouth Academy, Dartmouth, Devon; E-ACT Leeds Academy, Leeds; Forest E-ACT Academy, Gloucestershire; Hartsbrook E-ACT Free School, Haringey, London; Leeds West, Leeds; Sherwood E-ACT Academy, Nottingham; The Purston E-ACT Academy, Featherstone, Wakefield; Trent Valley Academy, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire; and Winsford E-ACT Academy, Winsford, Cheshire West and Chester.

NATIONAL RECOGNITION AGREEMENT

A national recognition agreement in respect of E-ACT Academies came into effect in September 2009. The agreement was signed by E-ACT, the teacher unions - ASCL, ATL, NAHT, NASUWT and the NUT - and support staff unions, the GMB, Unison and Unite.

The agreement provides for national determination of arrangements for pay, conditions of service and working time across E-ACT Academies. It also provides for a joint consultation and negotiation committee in each Academy as well as time off with pay and facilities time for trade union representatives.

The recognition agreement may be found in the pay, conditions and pensions>academies section at

PAY AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE

In General

All Academies are able to set their own pay, conditions and working time arrangements for newly appointed teachers joining the Academy. In some Academies, pay and conditions arrangements for such teachers are similar or identical to those for teachers in local authority maintained state schools. In others, teachers’ pay and conditions can be very different.

Teachers transferred from predecessor schoolsreplaced by an Academy are covered by the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE). The TUPE regulations provide that, where an Academy replaces an existing school(s), teachers’ previous pay and conditions entitlements transfer. These include statutory provisions on pay, professional duties and working time and national and local agreements on teachers’ conditions of service, redundancy payments and recognition of the NUT as a trade union. Where the Academy is a new institution, however, all teachers are in the first category of newly appointed teacher and no teachers are protected by TUPE.

E-ACT Academies

E-ACT has agreed with the teacher unions that it will apply STPCD and Burgundy Book arrangements for all its teachers – including newly appointed teachers - across its network of Academies. This means that E-ACT teachers will be appointed on STPCD pay scales and working-time arrangements and have Burgundy Book provisions in respect of sick pay etc.

Although E-ACT intends to exercise oversight concerning the application of its pay and conditions of service it will, however, allow the same discretion to Academies as LA schools possess.

EMPLOYMENT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

E-ACT uses previous local authority policies for all its employees in each of its Academies, pending agreement and implementation of common procedures. The trade unions’ view is that the policies agreed with E-ACT are applicable only to E-ACT appointed staff. Predecessor LA policies should remain applicable to transferred staff by virtue of TUPE.

Agreement has now been reached with E-ACT, however, in respect of policies on discipline, absence management and grievance.

It has also been possible for the trade unions to reach agreement with E-ACT on an overall Health and Safety policy statement and arrangements for consultation on health and safety together with various H&S policies (eg first aid, school visits, learning outside the classroom and educational visits, and fire safety policy).

Pending discussions and agreement on other employment policies, however, predecessor local authority policies will remain applicable to staff transferred by way of TUPE to E-ACT Academies.

NUT representatives should have access to these documents via the E-ACT intranet or policy hub when established.

NUT SSEE Dept.

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