Pippa Allen-Kinross | Schools Week

Academy failures have ‘damaged’ children’s education, warns cross-party committee of MPs

The government has been reprimanded by an influential cross-party group of MPs for allowing “a succession of high-profile academy failures” which have “damaged” the education of children in England. The parliamentary public accounts committee’s report also criticised the lack of transparency and accountability at academy trusts and demanded the government does more to understand the […]

The 9 things the DfE must do to improve academy accountability, according to MPs

MPs have taken aim at the academies sector in a damning report that demands big changes to the government’s accountability regimes. The parliamentary public accounts committee has made a series of recommendations for the government and academy trusts in order to boost transparency and accessibility of information. Here are the main recommendations. 1. Make […]

TV series kicked us into action, says head

A headteacher from the BBC series School says she’s glad nothing was “glossed over” and credited the programme with having “galvanised” the school community. Angela Browne is head of the Castle School in south Gloucestershire, one of three secondaries run by the Castle School Education Trust and filmed for the BBC show over a year […]

Durand Academy wrote off £1.6 million from failed boarding school project

The Durand Academy Trust was forced to write off assets worth more than £1.6 million from its failed boarding free school project, it has been revealed. Accounts for the 2017-18 academic year show the trust has “written off some leasehold improvements and fixtures and fittings” at its satellite boarding school in Sussex, with a net value […]

Ormiston Academies Trust got £1.1m government loan

One of the country’s largest multi-academy trusts was lent more than £1 million by the government to help “cash flow management” last year, the second such settlement it has negotiated to takeover struggling schools. Ormiston Academies Trust, which runs 37 schools across England, received an extra £1.1 million from the Education Skills Funding Agency last […]

Six-figure settlement by academy trust angers union

A teaching union wants the government to investigate a possible waste of public funds after an academy trust paid a six-figure sum to settle a legal claim from another chain. Newly published accounts for the Nova Education Trust, which runs 15 schools largely in Nottinghamshire, show another trust accused it of “breach of contract”. The […]

Ofsted and DfE staff nabbed for Brexit planning

Civil servants from Ofsted have been redeployed to help prepare for a no-deal Brexit, with more staff set to follow, Schools Week understands. It follows concerns that civil servants from the Department for Education could be transferred from as early as next week. Schools Week understands the department has been looking at what schools will do if […]

OSA chief: Number of poor pupils at grammars ‘not increased in the ways hoped for’

The head of the school admissions watchdog has warned that grammar schools are still not doing enough to ensure they are enrolling disadvantaged pupils. The Office of the Schools Adjudicator’s annual report, published today, shows the number of cases referred to the watchdog rose from 163 in 2016/17 to 198 in 2017/18. But chief adjudicator […]

Trusts hit with warning letters after flouting Baker clause

Ten large academy trusts flouting the Baker clause will be issued with letters from the skills minister to “remind them of their legal duty”. The announcement comes just a day after secretary of state Damian Hinds said writing to schools wouldn’t be “done lightly” and sending letters was a “rare thing to do”. Anne Milton, […]