Active Learning Trust dropped as sponsor of March Neale-Wade

Neale-Wade Academy in March is to be transferred to a new multi-academy trust and today The Active Learning Trust has written to staff and families confirming the decision and describing it as “deeply disappointing”, despite what it says is significant recent progress at the school recognised by Ofsted.

The move follows a formal Termination Warning Notice issued to the trust in May, after Ofsted judged Neale-Wade to “require significant improvement” in a report published on April 21 2026, following an earlier inspection.

The DfE has decided the academy will be rebrokered – transferred – to another trust for the “next phase” of its improvement.

The DfE has decided that the Neale Wade Academy, which is headed by principal Graham Horn, will move to another trust for the next stage of its improvement journey. (Image: Steve Barclay MP)

A spokesperson for the Active Learning Trust said it had informed staff and families of the DfE's decision that the Neale-Wade “will be moving to a new academy trust for the next phase of its improvement”.

She said Neale-Wade “has made significant progress over the past few years”, and that in Ofsted’s most recent report, inspectors concluded attendance and behaviour, personal development and wellbeing, and post-16 provision were all achieving an “expected standard” grade.

The spokesperson added: “It is deeply disappointing that despite this progress, and despite Ofsted recognising the improvements that have been made, the DfE has taken this decision. We do not believe the decision is in the best interests of the school or students.”

The DfE has decided the academy will move to another trust for the next stage of its improvement journey. (Image: Active Learning Trust)

They said the trust’s focus now was on “supporting students and staff through every stage of this transition so that the school can continue its improvement journey”.

The DfE’s regional director for the East of England issued the Termination Warning Notice to the Active Learning Trust on May 11, addressed to the members and trustees of the trust and copied to Ofsted and Cambridgeshire County Council.

The notice followed an Ofsted notification dated March 13confirming the academy was judged to “require significant improvement”, and cited the statutory powers under sections 2A and 2D of the Academies Act 2010 that allow the Secretary of State to terminate a funding agreement in such circumstances.

In the letter, the regional director said he needed to be satisfied the trust had the “capacity to deliver rapid and sustainable improvement” at Neale-Wade.

He warned that if he was not satisfied this could be achieved, he would consider terminating the academy’s funding agreement “in order to transfer the Academy to an alternative academy trust”.

The Termination Warning Notice summarised a series of areas for improvement highlighted by Ofsted in its April 2026 report.

Inspectors said leaders, including governors, must ensure pupils’ achievement in national tests and assessments improves so that all groups of pupils are well prepared for their next stage in education or training.

They said leaders should continue to strengthen teachers’ teaching knowledge through targeted professional development so that all pupils, including those with high prior attainment, are appropriately challenged and achieve the standards of which they are capable.

Other priorities included improving support for vulnerable pupils in lessons, better use of assessment to pick up misconceptions and gaps in knowledge, and stronger support for pupils’ foundational reading and writing so they are ready for the next stages of education or training.

The regional director also noted Neale-Wade’s previous full inspections, which returned “Requires improvement” judgements in 2021 and 2023, as part of the wider context for his decision-making.

The warning notice invited the trust to submit written representations by June 5 2026, with the DfE indicating it would consider those representations alongside the school’s attainment and inspection history.

The DfE has not yet publicly confirmed which trust Neale-Wade will join, or when the transfer will formally take place, but has made clear the intention is to move the academy to a new sponsor to secure faster improvement.

Until the rebrokering is completed, the Active Learning Trust remains responsible for the school and has been urged by the DfE to ensure “appropriate provision is in place to support the Academy’s workforce” through the transition.

Parents, students and staff are expected to be given more information about the timescale and what the change of trust will mean for day-to-day school life in the coming weeks.