Academy chain to offload 21 schools
EDUCATION: A troubled Yorkshire academy chain has announced it is to offload all 21 of its schools after its board concluded it could not provide the quality of education its pupils deserved. Parents and students are now facing uncertainty following the shock announcement from Wakefield City Academies Trust (WCAT).
A TROUBLED Yorkshire academy chain has announced it is to offload all 21 of its schools after its board concluded it could not provide the quality of education its pupils deserved.
Just one week into the new academic year, staff, parents and students are now facing uncertainty following the shock announcement from Wakefield City Academies Trust (WCAT) yesterday.
A statement from the trust’s board said that after a “robust period of review and evaluation of all aspects of the organisation”, it had “requested that the Department for Education (DfE) work with [the board] to place our academies with new sponsors”.
A new board was appointed in July 2016 to address “significant challenges” faced by the trust, particularly concerning “the quality of education provision”.
The statement continued: “Having undertaken this comprehensive review, led by an experienced CEO, our conclusion is that the trust does not have the capacity to facilitate the rapid improvement our academies need and our students deserve.
“Together with the DfE, we will ensure that our academies get the support they need now, and as part of new trusts, to secure the educational experience of children in the schools,” it said.
“The board recognises this announcement will cause uncertainty, particularly for our staff. It will work with them to ensure the transition to new sponsors is as seamless as possible.”
The board added that the best interests of students remained the trust’s focus and moved to reassure staff that the decision “will have a positive impact on education provision”.
The announcement comes just four months after the temporary boss of WCAT, who was paid £127,000 for five months’ work via his private company, stepped down and was replaced “with immediate effect” by a new chief executive, Chris Pickering.
In January, The Yorkshire Post revealed WCAT paid the equivalent of more than £25,000 a month for the services of Mr Ramsay between March and August last year. The cash was paid to Hi Tech Group Ltd, a company controlled by Mr Ramsay. The firm was also paid to provide IT services to the trust. WCAT also came under pressure from Ofsted in January to turn around its schools after two in South Yorkshire were put into special measures in the space of three months.
Once labelled a “top-performing” sponsor by the Government, in 2015 WCAT was given a slice of a £5m fund to set up academy hubs in underperforming areas in the north and drive up standards.
The DfE said the schools would remain part of the trust until a suitable sponsor could be found, adding that once all the academies had been re-brokered, WCAT’s funding agreement would be terminated and the trust would be dissolved.
A spokesperson said the 2016 results were “disappointing overall”, with 11 of WCAT’s 14 primary academies performing below the national average, as well as all but one of its seven secondary schools. Only four of the trust’s academies are judged to be good or outstanding by Ofsted.
The spokesperson said: “Academy trusts operate under a strict system of oversight and accountability – more robust than in council-run schools – allowing us to take swift action to deal with under-performance, including transferring schools to new trusts where necessary. The Regional Schools Commissioners are working with the trust to identify new sponsors and to ensure minimal disruption.”
We will ensure that our academies get the support they need now. Wakefield City Academies Trust’s board.