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16 April 2026

Tag: academy trusts

Academy trusts’ cash stash rises to £3bn despite pandemic pressures

Academy trusts boosted their reserves and surpluses last year despite the upheaval of Covid, official figures show. New Department for Education data confirms a 20 per cent jump in the average trust’s reserves, up from £0.96 million a year earlier to £1.15 million. The figures cover the year to the end of last August however, […]

RSC’s push to get communities on board not matched by academy guidance

The Department for Education has quietly removed the need for schools to be “answerable” to communities and parents from its governance handbook. It comes in spite of renewed emphasis in recent weeks on community involvement, with Claire Burton, the regional schools commissioner for south east England and south London, saying academising schools must show the […]

DfE blocks MAT’s bid to take shares in outsourcing firm

An outsourcing firm has urged the government not to be “hung up on fear of the different” after officials thwarted a multi-academy trust’s bid to take shares in the for-profit company. Schools Week revealed in March that Transforming Futures Trust (TFT) had signed a £1 million deal to outsource most of its central staff and […]

DfE report delays let academy trust bosses ‘get away with it’

The government has admitted that reports on financial scandals in three academy trusts have been gathering dust for more than 18 months – while refusing to confirm when they will be published. School finance experts and campaigners say the delays mean those responsible have not been held to account. The lack of deterrents or lessons […]

£10m ‘levelling up’ support will come from existing DfE budgets

None of the £10 million pledged today to improve the quality of teaching in four areas of England is new cash from the Treasury, and up to half of it will be given to expanding academy trusts, it has emerged. Boris Johnson announced today that the government’s “levelling up” agenda would include “more support” to […]

More evidence needed to defend high salaries for CEOs of academy trusts

Defences of high salaries for the chief executives of academy trusts are not “evidence-based or robust enough” to withstand government scrutiny, according to experts. The Academies Financial Handbook says executive pay must be “reasonable and defensible”. Trusts paying leaders more than £150,000 have received letters ordering them to justify decisions. Emma Hughes, the head of […]

Academies minister questions ‘moral purpose’ of single school heads

A minister has urged high-performing standalone academies not to sit in their “splendid ‘outstanding’ isolation,” as the government launches a fresh drive for every school to join a multi-academy trust. For the person sitting in their splendid ‘outstanding’ isolation, think carefully about what is your moral purpose Education secretary Gavin Williamson outlined a raft of […]