Schools do not always benefit from joining multi-academy trusts (MATs) because they do not receive value for money and are “asset-stripped” when a trust fails, an influential parliamentary committee has told ministers.
The warning comes inhard-hittingg letter to the academies minister Lord Agnew, from the chair of the Commons education select committee, Robert Halfon. Writing on behalf on his members, hesets out major concerns about MAT membership for schools and calls for the trusts to be subjected to greater accountability.
“We are particularly concerned by the extent to which failing trusts are stripping assets from their schools,” the letter says. “It is not clear to us that all schools are benefiting from joining MATs, or that trusts are providing value for money.”
The letter calls for a “more robust system of oversight” to prevent such transfers of assets.
Mr Halfon notes that “significant and unwarranted transfers of assets” were still being made at Wakefield City Academies Trust (WCAT) up until the time of the trust’s collapse in September 2017.
‘Serious and major concerns’
And yet, “serious and major concerns” about the viability of WCAT were known by the Department for Education (DfE) and the Regional School Commissioners (RSCs) as early as September 2016.
The letter says that cases like the collapse of WCAT reveal a “lack of joined-up accountability in the school system”.
It argues that this “lack of transparency” is particularly evident in the relationship between the RSCs, Ofsted and the Education and Skills Funding Agency.
“We believe that the overlap between these three tiers of accountability is a major cause of confusion,” Mr Halfon writes.
His letter suggests that RSCs should start publishing “scorecards” for MATs - looking at both educational and financial performance - and use these to decide whether a trust is a suitable choice for taking over a school.
“These scorecards could complement the growth checks which our predecessor committee was told would be in place for all trusts from 2017,” Mr Halfon adds.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We recently confirmed new trusts for 11 academies in the Wakefield City Academies Trust (WCAT) that have the expertise and capacity to improve education standards for these schools.
“Our priority is to ensure that all children receive the best possible education and we have worked to provide certainty for pupils and teachers. The views of parents and staff were taken in to account in taking these decisions.
“We are working to minimise disruption for pupils and ensure a smooth transfer to the new trusts, supported by the regional schools commissioner. New trusts for the remaining 10 schools will be confirmed shortly.”
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