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‘Fraud’

DfE and ESFA accounts: £3m settled out of court, bigger bonuses and millions in debt written off

The annual accounts for both the Department for Education and the Education and Skills Funding Agency have been published today, in a deluge of information released as parliament heads into the summer recess. The accounts, covering the year to March 2019, reveal the write-off of hundreds of thousands of pounds given to academy trusts, fraud […]

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More trusts in deficit, plus 4 more academy sector accounts findings

The DfE has published its annual accounts for spending in the academies sector during the 2017-18 year. The previous report was published in November last year, but the government had promised to make publication of the report more timely. Here’s what we found.   1. More academy bosses on £150k+ despite Agnew’s crackdown Despite academies […]

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Revealed: How the DfE plans to increase financial transparency in maintained schools

The government wants local authority schools to get permission for any related-party transactions from their council under plans to increase spending transparency in the sector. The Department for Education also wants maintained schools to publish their annual finances – details of their income, expenditure and balances under their Consistent Financial Reporting statements – on their […]

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Academies minister to ‘look into’ whistleblowing procedures

Lord Agnew, the academies minister, has pledged to look at whistleblowing procedures for academy trusts to ensure those who report foul play are protected. Answering questions in the House of Lords about the financial arrangements and auditing of academy trusts, Agnew told peers that whistleblowers “play an important part in the regulation of the system”, […]

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Government warns academies as email ‘phishing’ scams inflict financial losses

Academies and other educational institutions are being warned about new cyber-attacks which have already claimed some victims and resulted in financial losses. The latest Education and Skills Funding Agency update, published today, contains information about a “phishing” scam – where a fraudster disguises as a trustworthy source in an electronic communication to trick people into […]

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Vice-principal convicted of expenses fraud won’t be banned from teaching

A former vice-principal who fraudulently claimed expenses from a company linked to his school will not be banned from teaching, the government has ruled. Alan Stevens, who was vice-principal at Sawtry Community College, admitted two counts of fraud by abuse of position at Peterborough Crown Court in 2017 and received a suspended sentence. A prohibition […]

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Government warns of ‘significant increase’ in cyber crime against academy trusts

School leaders have been urged to take action following a “significant increase” in cyber crime against academy trusts in the past year. According to an update published today by the Education and Skills Funding Agency, some trusts have also “already experienced incidents of fraud”. We are aware of a significant increase in incidents of cyber […]

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Eagerness to work ‘unusual hours’ is potential sign of fraud, says DfE guidance

An eagerness to work “unusual hours” has been listed by the government as indicators for schools that staff may be committing fraud. New guidance published today also documents other warning signs of employee fraud, including aggressive responses to questions and “too much forgetfulness”. The checklist for education providers is split into several areas: personal motives […]

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Hinds to face education committee grilling over academy accountability and exclusions

Damian Hinds has been summoned to appear in front of MPs to answer questions about academy trust accountability, exclusions and the state of careers advice. The education secretary will be grilled by the powerful parliamentary education committee on Wednesday next week. The committee is “likely to want to ask about issues including multi-academy trusts and […]

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