MATs to build homes for teachers?

Harris calls for right to build homes for its teachers:
The Guardian (April 16, 2016): 'changes to planning regulations and the offer of government finance would allow Harris and others to build low-cost housing"
And more recently in the Evening Standard (May 24, 2016): 'We want to be empowered by government to build housing on the surplus land some of our schools have, which is currently totally unused.'

MATs included in DfE financial benchmarking for the first time

According to the EFA's latest Academies Bulletin: "The Department for Education has updated the academies financial benchmarking website with 2013 to 2014 income and expenditure data. For the first time we have included income and expenditure details for academies in multi-academy trusts."

More thoughts on 'emergency' payments to academies

Schools Week has looked at some of the details surrounding emergency payments to academies: £12.6m 'emergency' handouts for 22 schools. The article lists the most recent large recipients of the funding - you can find a  full list of schools that received this deficit funding over the last three years here.

Emergency cash flow funding for academies increased in 2013/14

Figures provided by the Education Funding Agency (EFA) show that individual academies needed more than £4 million to plug unexpected holes in their cash flows in 2013/14. This was up from £1 million in 2012/13.

Academy food loophole

From the Daily Mail: 'Tough new rules for school meals came into force in England this week... But they do not currently apply to around 4,000 schools that became academies between September 2010 and last year.'

Bridging fund incentive for MAT to take on school with poor finances

In September the Bradford Telegraph reported 'Many of the academy chains who were approached to run a troubled Bradford school (Belle Vue Boys) were immediately put off when they saw its finances...' This week the paper reported: 'Bradford Council has been working on a proposal which would see a "bridging fund"...

Ex EFA man takes on monitoring role at Education Fellowship Trust

Education Fellowship Trust has employed Steve Artis: 'Mr Artis joins the trust with more than 25 years’ experience working within various disciplines of a public sector audit function. He spent the past three-and-a-half years working for the Education Funding Agency at the Department for Education where he undertook the lead role reviewing financial management and governance arrangements within academies...'

From the Northants Telegraph: http://www.northantstelegraph.co.uk/news/top-stories/new-monitoring-officer-for-trust-behind-nine-county-schools-1-6404633

EFA chief exec's June interview

Peter Lauener, chief executive of the Education Funding Agency was interviewed by Civil Service World in June. Some of the issues raised:

• The EFA is not legally separate from DfE in order to avoid data sharing problems which the magazine said 'was previously a problem for the YPLA...'

MAT gets deficit funding to turn around £800k deficit

The Royston Schools Academy Trust has been issued with a financial notice to improve - it has already received £150k of 'deficit funding' and will receive a further £650k to be repaid by August 2021.

Changes in the Academies Financial Handbook 2014

Compliance with the handbook (Sept 2014 Academies Financial Handbook)is a requirement in trusts’ funding agreements with the Secretary of State.

What has changed in this edition?

DfE survey: finance is source of greatest change and great stress for academies

A government survey published this month found that the freedoms associated with academy status have been put to the greatest use in finance. However they also found that higher financial reporting requirements caused some stress.

A seven-year £914k fraud at Haberdashers' Aske's Federation

A letter to parents from Haberdashers' Aske's gave details of a £914,000 fraud and warned against speaking to the media - according to a report in the News Shopper newspaper. The letter said: 'In October 2012, we discovered that a serious financial fraud had been committed by an employee of the Haberdashers’ Aske’s Federation... over a period of seven years, during which time the perpetrator appears to have set up a large number of small fraudulent transactions in order to commit these crimes unnoticed.'

Opposition cites financial investigation of Bilingual Free School

From the Argus: A financial investigation into the Bilingual Free School, Brighton and Hove, is being cited as evidence to cast doubt on a council land deal with the school.

Public Accounts Committee criticises conflicts of interest in academies

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) - 10 June publication of 'Education Funding Agency and Department for Education financial statements'

ARK outsources IT in £17 million with Civica contract

From Sourcing Focus and Computer World: 'ARK Schools have awarded Civica a five-year contract to provide a range of managed IT services including HR and Finance systems, server administration, storage and device management.'


Diana Gerald, chief operating officer, ARK Schools said: 'We will be able to continue to grow, and invest our resources in the things that matter - improving education for all.'

Nick Weller, Dixons Academy, on Prospects Academies Trust

From the Gloucester Citizen: Nick Weller, executive principal of the Dixons Academies Trust and chairman of the Independent Academies Association wrote a piece for the Gloucester Citizen in the aftermath of the Prospects Academies Trust's announcement that it will close down and pass its schools onto other sponsors (BBC, The Independent, ).

Sir David Carter answers questions on academy finances

Sir David Carter, Chief Executive of Cabot Learning Federation and recently appointed Regional Schools Commissioner (RSC) for the South West, has answered some questions originally published  in the run up to the Education Select Committee hearing on 13 May.

Public Accounts Committee criticises free school finances

The Public Accounts Committee published its report into the establishment of free schools saying: 'The Agency (EFA) relies on high levels of compliance by schools, yet fewer than half of free schools submitted their required financial returns for 2011-12 to the Agency on time.

BBC: EFA concern over family appointments and NY trip at trust

From the BBC: 'The Education Funding Agency report highlights concerns about the Education Fellowship Trust (which runs 16 schools).

Leaked document admits that running a free school is different to an academy

From the Guardian/Observer:  From a leaked document, entitled Future Academy System: Lord Nash session: 'Experience has shown us that free schools in their first years of operation are different from other open academies, and face problems that are often not educational in origin...