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‘Fraud’

Council seeking £500,000 back from ex-superhead Sir Craig Tunstall over ‘unauthorised payments’

A council is attempting to recover damages of potentially £500,000 from former superhead Sir Craig Tunstall, who is alleged to have received unauthorised payments, court papers reveal. The development follows news that Sir Craig Tunstall is suing Lambeth council and the Gipsy Hill Federation (GHF) in south London for at least £200,000, over claims that […]

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Private school furlough claim not ‘in spirit of scheme’

The country’s biggest academy trust furloughed staff across its private schools for the Christmas holiday, a tactic one law firm advises is “unlikely to be within the spirit of the scheme”. United Learning, which has 74 academies and 14 private schools, applied for public funds to pay teacher salaries from December 12 to January 4, […]

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Covid workforce funds: Schools with ‘particularly high’ costs may have claims reviewed

Schools attempting to claim “particularly high” costs through the government’s new Covid workforce fund may have their claims “reviewed”. The Department for Education has published additional guidance on the new fund, which was unveiled last month and is meant to help schools cover the cost of absences during this half term. Where costs are particularly […]

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£73k theft at academy not spotted for eight months, government probe reveals

Over £73,000 was stolen from a single academy trust but the loss went unnoticed for eight months due to “weak internal controls”, according to a damning report into a London school. The fraud came to light after Education and Skills Funding Agency (EFSA) inspectors visited the London Enterprise Academy, run by the Tower Hamlets Enterprise […]

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Fraud police drop Bright Tribe investigation

Fraud police have dropped their investigation into the Bright Tribe academy trust, Schools Week can reveal. The investigation was launched after a Panorama probe accused the trust, founded by businessman Michael Dwan, of making false claims for hundreds of thousands of pounds for building and maintenance government grants. They’ve previously said they can’t release such […]

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Revealed: The details behind ex-superhead Sir Craig Tunstall’s dismissal

A superhead received “unauthorised” payments of nearly £300,000 that helped to plunge his former federation of schools into deficit, court documents have revealed. Sir Craig Tunstall is suing Lambeth Council in south London in the High Court for at least £200,000 over claims that an “excessive workload”, exacerbated by plans to open a free school, […]

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Fraud costs balloon, and 7 more academy sector accounts findings

The Department for Education has published the annual accounts for spending in the academy sector. It reveals that the financial health of the sector is improving, the march to academisation is slowing and that the cost of fraud has ballooned. Here’s your trusty Schools Week round-up of everything you need to know.   1. Nearly […]

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7 things we learned from the ESFA’s 2019-20 annual accounts

The Education and Skills Funding Agency has this afternoon published its annual report and accounts for 2019-20, revealing academy trust debt write-offs, hefty fraud investigation costs and salary boosts for top civil servants. Schools Week has the main findings:   1. Majority of academy trusts still ignoring pay warnings One of the ESFA’s performance goals […]

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New financial transparency rules for LA schools: everything you need to know

Council-maintained schools will be required to publish on their websites the number of staff earning over £100,000. The government has today published its response to a consultation aimed at bringing financial transparency of council schools in line with academies. Other changes include councils being named and shamed for filing financial returns late and for all […]

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