Schools

DfE wants schools to find £1bn savings to cover rising bills

The DfE also vowed to help schools cut energy and water use, fund more finance training and improve flood...

Tom Belger
Tom Belger
Covid

Academy reserves surge to £3.9 billion after Covid savings

The average academy trust saw their reserves jump 29%, boosted by unlikely Covid windfalls

Tom Belger
Tom Belger
Academies

Academy trusts get £21m in non-repayable bailouts

The Academies Enterprise Trust received £2 million, one of more than 80 trusts bailed out in a single year

Tom Belger
Tom Belger
Covid

Covid savings fuel record turnaround in maintained school finances

Lower energy and exam costs saved schools millions during lockdowns

Tom Belger
Tom Belger
Academies

Government vetoes more academy deals with linked firms

108 academy trust 'related party transactions' were blocked in 2020-21, more than twice the previous year's figures

Tom Belger
Tom Belger
School funding

Richer trusts get richer by investing spare cash

A handful of trusts are making six-figure sums through stocks, wealth managers and other investment strategies, while most get...

Tom Belger
Tom Belger
News

DfE army of cost-cutters extended after visiting 1,000 schools

The government's school resource management adviser (SRMA) programme will run until 2024.

Tom Belger
Tom Belger
News

School playing field sales hit 3-year high as Johnson pledges £50m football pitch investment

Sales of school playing fields hit a three-year high last year, it has emerged, on the same day Boris...

Tom Belger
Tom Belger
News

Downsizing trust ‘failed to balance books quickly enough’

The Department for Education has slapped strict spending controls on an academy trust accused of failing to balance its...

Tom Belger
Tom Belger