Secret £1m bailout as PFI windfalls and school woes grow ‘Confidential’ deal to cover £1m ‘bullet payment’ revealed as figures suggest PFI firms could have made £86m in one year
‘Don’t pop champagne yet’ warn accountants as trusts’ fortunes improve Kreston group warns despite improving academy trust finances, most expect to dip into savings by 2028
Piloted in-school SEND support ‘cut exclusions’ – report Standardised EHCPs also welcomed by parents and councils, researchers find
Coast and Vale paid Delta £440k ahead of merger The sum was handed over for ‘extensive work’ before trusts joined forces to create 63-school MAT
Struggling trust failed to clear payment to outgoing ‘senior executive’ MAT also did not conduct internal audit as reserves tumbled due to ‘rising costs’, accounts show
‘Schoolboy error’ sees smaller schools escape RISE low attainment crackdown The DfE has not contacted some primaries potentially needing RISE support because low pupil numbers mean data goes unpublished
Best-paid academy boss earns £530k after £15k pay rise Harris Federation CEO Sir Dan Moynihan received £15k wage hike last year, newly published accounts show
Absence fines level out after post-Covid surge Unions argue new £80 penalties are not ‘much of a deterrent’ amid fresh calls for limits on travel firm school holiday price rises
Schools with good governance ‘better prepared for Ofsted’ Those with effective boards ‘more likely to sustain improvement beyond the inspection cycle’, report finds