Academy chain hit by £276,000 claim
A troubled chain of academies has been accused by a Tory MP of taking £276,000 from one of its primary schools without consent.
The claim from Philip Davies came as Labour suggested Ministers were hiding from embarrassment by not publishing a report into Wakefield City Academies Trust.
A TROUBLED chain of academies has been accused by a Tory MP of taking £276,000 from one of its primary schools without consent.
The claim from Philip Davies came as Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner suggested Ministers were hiding from embarrassment by not publishing a report into Wakefield City Academies Trust (WCAT).
WCAT said it would give up all of its 21 schools in September, a few days into the new term.
Shipley MP Mr Davies told MPs at education questions: “The Minister will be aware that due to the trust, the Wakefield trust, imposing a spending moratorium on High Crags school in my constituency, they built up a surplus, a balance, of £276,000.
“That has in recent days been transferred out of the school account without the authorisation of the school, without the prior consent of the school, and transferred over to the trust.
“Surely the Government can’t stand aside and allow £276,000 to be taken out of that school’s budget, in one of the most deprived areas of my constituency.”
Education Minister Nick Gibb said he was right to raise the issue, adding that High Crags had been put into special measures in June 2015, before it became a sponsored academy.
He added: “The school is now being rebrokered to be supported by the successful Tauheedul Education Trust. The former trust, WCAT, will not be able to retain any of the reserves it holds at the point of dissolution.”
Ms Rayner then pressed Mr Gibb on the ESFA report, saying: “The Minister told me in a written answer last week that he would not publish the ESFA report into the Wakefield City Academies Trust because it would be obstructive to the process of ensuring the schools are placed with new trusts.
“Surely any financial issues are being disclosed to potential new trusts. So if so, what on earth is in the report that is so damaging to schools that it can’t be disclosed?
“Or is it just so embarrassing to Ministers that they’d rather hide behind excuses?”
Mr Gibb replied: “The issue of the WCAT trust wasn’t about finances, it was about the academic standards in schools in that trust.
“That’s why we’re rebrokering all the schools in the WCAT trust to other, more successful multi-academy trusts in the area.
“Because we are concerned not about making party-political points, but by raising academic standards in each of those schools serving pupils in those areas.”
The news comes after union chiefs, staff, parents and pupils from the 21 schools that have been offloaded by the Yorkshirebased academy chain lobbied MPs in Westminster yesterday to highlight a financial crisis after the struggling trust allegedly “drained” funds from school accounts.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “A failing academy trust must never profit from the re-brokerage of its schools.
“All academies and free schools operate under a strict system of oversight and accountability.
“We have provisionally identified preferred new trusts for each of the 21 academies in the Wakefield City Academies Trust and are working to ensure minimal disruption for pupils.
“We are also working with the preferred trusts and schools to ensure they have the resources to improve outcomes for pupils quickly, which will include pupil funding.”