A prominent special school trust has been issued a notice to improve after appealing to the government for an emergency bailout.
The Beckmead Trust is said to had approached government officials for an undisclosed sum amid concerns it would be plunged into a “cashflow deficit” earlier this year.
Bosses of the trust have insisted the organisation is “well-run” and said it experienced the issues following “significant delays” to government free school cash and local authority funding.
Despite this, it has been now been given an official improvement warning by the Department for Education for failing to ensure “robust financial oversight as well as rigour and scrutiny in budget management”.
The notice, written by senior DfE officials Alan Parnum and Lindsey Henning, said: “This has brought wider concerns around the trust’s internal control, risk management and assurance processes.
“[The notice] reflects the weak financial position of the trust and continued concerns on governance and oversight of financial management by leaders and the board.”
Deficit woes
The notice, published on Tuesday, says it was issued to Beckmead – which runs 12 special and alternative provision schools – on “financial grounds”.
This came after the trust requested “emergency funding in May 2025″ to help with an expected “cashflow deficit” the following month.
The appeal for cash was the result of the MAT failing “to ensure robust financial oversight as well as rigour and scrutiny in budget management”, according to the department.
DfE noted it is “clear” Beckmead “is working hard to mitigate the risk of further cashflow deficits”, but its “concerns remain” over “weak financial position and financial management”.
However, the trust said the deficit was caused by “significant delays in receiving central funding for capital work to build new free schools approved by the DfE, and in receiving funding from local authorities for the education and care of our students”.
“We are a well-run trust. While we trust we will receive the funding we are due as soon as possible, the clear plan we are implementing to ensure we swiftly return to financial stability is proving successful,” it added.
“At the same time, we are securing increased leadership capacity to safeguard our growth.”
Investment in ‘growth’
Latest accounts show the MAT ended 2023-24 with a £4,000 deficit.
This was due to investment made “preparing for the next tranche of growth, ensuring there is capacity in all directorates and that systems and procedures are in place to transition converting schools or open new schools”.
But, writing in today’s notice to improve, Parnum and Henning said he was also “concerned that the trust did not contact” officials “regarding the deficit” last year.
He stated this kind of “non-compliance can be indicative of serious financial and/or governance issues”.
“We recognise that this may be an uncertain time for the trust and its staff,” the notice continued.
“Therefore, we ask the trust to ensure appropriate provision is in place to support all its staff, as necessary.”
Beckmead stressed that “the quality of education and care that the students receive across our schools remains first-class, and we will never compromise on that”.
11 notices in 12 months
The Confederation of School Trusts’ annual survey last month revealed financial sustainability was CEOs’ number one priority this year – for the second year running.
Over half of trusts are considering cuts to classroom staff to balance the books, the study showed, with 60 per cent looking at reducing teaching assistant hours and a third looking at school leadership changes.
Beckmead’s is the 11th notice to improve published by the government since last September. The Arthur Terry Learning Partnership, which runs 24 schools in all, is the largest to have received one in that time.
Schools Week revealed it racked up a £6 million deficit after paying for iPads for staff and pupils. Ministers offered the trust a £1.5 million loan to keep it afloat.
School business manager Hilary Goldsmith believed the case showed some trusts had become too big to fail.
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