Lesson in how academy schools are controlled

“I don’t feel any ill will towards him. I don’t know what he was feeling or thinking or anything that had been going on in his life so I can’t relate” I AM writing to add to the comments already received concerning M Carter’s view of Kirklees Council (Feedback, April 4), in particular how schools might be funded in his ideal world.

Local authority schools are funded by an earmarked grant from central government which cannot be top-sliced by Kirklees and spent on anything else.

When a school becomes an “academy” it must become part of a multi academy trust (MAT Ltd). MATs are a government strategy to remove schools from local control and to privatise them. Here are a few facts about MATs.

A multi academy trust (MAT Ltd) is:

A private limited company registered at Companies House.

It is run by a board of directors who have complete control over the running, leadership, management and budget of the school.

Directors may sell the school services through ‘related party transactions’ – ie selling the schools services via businesses in which they may have a financial interest.

Some directors are ‘trustees’ and they control the board.

The directors appoint a ‘chief executive’ to run the MAT and they decide the level of salary (these can be as high as £450,000).

It is funded by the Department for Education (DofE) through the Funding Agency.

It employs the teachers and staff.

It has full control over the buildings, land and assets.

There is no legal requirement for a school to have its own board of governors.

There is no legal requirement to have parent governors.

Once a school joins a MAT it cannot leave.

Currently MATs vary in size from one school to approximately 60 schools. Most MATs have fewer than 10 schools.

In the short term the DofE Funding Agency is keen to get as many schools as possible into MATs so at this stage they will agree to almost any size of MAT.

Small MATs are difficult for the Funding Agency to monitor and many small MATs are saying they are not viable.

In the longer term the DofE plans that small MATs will merge and be taken over by other larger