{"id":206536,"date":"2024-06-17T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-17T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/schoolsweek.co.uk\/?p=206536"},"modified":"2024-06-18T17:16:21","modified_gmt":"2024-06-18T16:16:21","slug":"transparency-calls-over-secret-200m-academy-trust-handouts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/schoolsweek.co.uk\/transparency-calls-over-secret-200m-academy-trust-handouts\/","title":{"rendered":"Transparency calls over secret \u00a3200m academy trust handouts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sector leaders want more transparency around government academy handouts after Schools Week<\/em> found that almost \u00a3200 million has been distributed through a secret fund since 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our analysis has established eight different additional Department for Education funding streams that new or growing trusts have access to (click here for full list<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than \u00a370 million was paid out to trusts in the past year alone, but half of them are not open to applications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A whopping 46 per cent of that was handed out through the strategic school improvement capital budget (SSICB). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike the other schemes, there is no published guidance explaining what it is or who can access the money. Instead, regional directors decide which trusts should get the cash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Shoddy\u2019 lack of transparency<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Association of School and College Leaders funding specialist Julia Harnden said the lack of guidance was \u201cpretty shoddy\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Julia
Julia Harnden<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201c[The SSICB] really should be fully transparent so that everyone understands the eligibility and criteria,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Google searches throw up mentions of the SSICB in DfE advisory board minutes, school and construction company press releases and in a couple of answers to Parliamentary questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A post on the website<\/a> of design specialists Gate and Bar describes SSICB as \u201ca fairly unknown but substantial funding stream\u201d. There is also a brief mention of the fund in the DfE\u2019s annual accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Papers obtained following Freedom of Information requests show \u00a3195 million has been allocated to trusts through the fund since its launch eight years ago. Almost 70 per cent (\u00a3133 million) has been issued since 2021. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DfE said the fund is used to secure sponsoring trusts \u201cwhere the condition or suitability of the premises of a failing school is a significant barrier\u201d to agreeing the match. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be eligible, the school must have an \u2018inadequate\u2019 \u2013 or at least two consecutive \u2018requires improvement\u2019 \u2013 judgments from Ofsted, or be part of a \u201cstrategically critical transfer\u201d, the government said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo demonstrate condition and suitability, the prospective trust must commission a condition report from an independent surveyor or consultancy following procurement guidance and prepare a bid for capital funding, substantiated by independent surveys and evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018No application process\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It has \u201cno thresholds or limits on award values as it is based on need\u201d and \u201cdoes not have an application process\u201d. Instead, officials work directly with eligible trusts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Leora Cruddas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Confederation of School Trusts chief Leora Cruddas said trusts can \u201cfind themselves faced with a difficult decision between taking on a school in need and exposing their existing\u201d academies to \u201csubstantial financial risk\u201d due to long-term property problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But she added: \u201cWe have supported the department’s steps to improve the transparency and consistency of funding decisions, and it would be good to ensure that funds like the strategic schools improvement capital budget are more widely known about so the potential benefit to pupils is maximised.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our analysis of the completed SSICB projects suggests larger trusts benefited most. On average, those in receipt of the cash ran 12 schools each.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But this could be because they have grown, or they may have more capacity to take on the most challenging schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, school business leader Hilary Goldsmith argued that it \u201cfavours\u201d the bigger MATs as they have \u201calready got surveyors on standby\u201d and greater knowledge of the sponsorship process. It \u201cdiscourages the smaller trusts from taking on struggling schools\u201d, she noted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Astrea Academy Trust received its last payment for a \u00a39 million grant at Astrea Academy Woodfields last year. Previously called Balby Carr, the school was part of the Wakefield City Academies Trust (WCAT) until it was re-brokered following the MAT’s announcement in 2017<\/a> it would close. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

WCAT was in an \u201cextremely vulnerable position\u201d because of \u201cinadequate governance, leadership and overall financial management\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Condemned blocks and wobbly walls<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

An Astrea spokesperson said the funds went towards work that \u201cincluded reconfiguring the site, replacing the condemned science classrooms for safety reasons, a new maths block, a new hall, new dance studios, new toilet facilities and new offices\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delta Academies Trust received \u00a3485,000 in 2018 as it took on two other WCAT academies. It used the money, among other things, to fix an unstable wall and roof leaks that had \u201crun down the inside of the wall and\u2026 raised the parquet flooring\u201d in one of the schools. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outwood Grange Academies Trust (OGAT) has received more than \u00a319.5 million for nine different schools, six of which were part of WCAT. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A spokesperson explained: \u201cOGAT has always come forward to take on challenging schools that have struggled for years so that children and young people in their communities can get a great education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe funding we received allowed us to address serious health and safety issues that we inherited at all nine schools which met the criteria for SSICB.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile in the South West, Truro and Penwith Academy Trust received almost \u00a3870,000 for work across three schools that were part of the Adventure Learning Academy Trust (ALAT) . <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This came after allegations of false claims for building and maintenance grants were levelled at ALAT and its sister chain, Bright Tribe, following a BBC Panorama investigation<\/a>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Truro and Penwith CEO Dr Jennifer Blunden stated that water was leaking onto schoolwork and causing damp problems at two of the sites. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Academy-only funds<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

But Harnden believes it is a \u201csorry state of affairs\u201d when such cash is being handed out secretly amid a wider \u201cunderinvestment in capital funding that has left many schools unable to afford the cost of maintaining their premises\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Dr Jennifer Blunden<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The DfE said it does not publicly release guidance on the SSICB because it is not open to universal application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SSICB is one of the eight funding streams or grants that \u201capply specifically to academy trusts and the work of the DfE on school system structural reform and intervention\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only other one with no published guidance online is the academy transfer fund, which is provided in cases when an academy switches from one trust to another due to intervention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is not open to applications either, but spending figures are published online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DfE\u2019s environmental improvement grant also does not have an application process. It is given to schools \u201crequiring higher levels of intervention\u201d to support their green credentials and is intended for \u201clight refurbishment works\u201d in \u201cpupil learning spaces\u201d and \u201cto make a visual statement that the \u2018old school\u2019 has become an academy\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Investigation into extra cash available to trusts finds half not open to applications, and one has no public presence at all<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":311204,"featured_media":206488,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[32,28,239,324],"post-theme":[2381],"class_list":["post-206536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-academies","tag-dfe","tag-education-policy","tag-funding","post-theme-academies"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t