A probe into the academy trust that paid nearly £5,000 in “consultancy services” to its CEO’s mum was kept under wraps while officials ruled on its merger.
The revelation has reopened the debate around the transparency of important academy decisions.
These are made in behind-closed-doors regional advisory board meetings, attended only by senior government officials and school leaders.
The Department for Education stressed information about its “live investigations are confidential”, but education adviser and former trust CEO Frank Norris argued the decision to withhold the information about Heart Education Trust was a “mistake”.
He said: “I understand the desire to resolve these matters quickly, but just allowing time for the investigation to be completed would have allowed the regional board [to have] the full range of evidence.
“That would have meant the decision that was ultimately made in the longer term is more likely to be a securer decision.”
An investigation “outcome” report, published earlier this month, revealed 29 breaches of academy rules had been uncovered at the Heart Education Trust last year.
The four-school MAT “entered into four related-party transactions totalling £4,747 with a former senior staff member without proper policies, contracts or adequate value for money assessments”.
The report said these weren’t disclosed in annual accounts or to the Education and Skills Funding Agency, as required.
Minutes make no mention of probe
Heart’s most recent accounts – for 2023-24 – show rules covering “related-party transactions were not adhered to in relation to transactions totalling £1,790”.
The payments were made to the trust’s founding chief executive Christina Kenna for “consultancy services and other support”.
She is the mother of Hazel Cubbage, who succeeded her as Heart CEO in 2022. Cubbage did not provide a comment in relation to the government findings.
The report said that, alongside the investigation, DfE’s “regions group led its own intervention with the trust”, which resulted in Heart’s schools transferring to the Unity Schools Partnership in September 2024.
The department’s advisory board for the east of England met in April the same year to discuss the move. DfE guidance states members, who are usually trust leaders, “help inform” government judgements but “are not decision makers”.
Notes from the meeting make no mention of the probe. Norris said it “looks as though some of this information has been withheld because of a desire to move things on quickly”.
The DfE said its “live investigations are confidential”. This is to “protect” the probe’s “integrity”, ensure “a fair and due process is followed and to protect individuals involved”.
It added: “Confidential matters would not be discussed in an open forum and would not be reported in notes publicly available. [Advisory board] notes are not intended to be minutes of the meeting.”
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