Anti Academies Toolkit
Follow us
-
Tag Archives: Funding
Academy Schools Disproportionately Serve Wealthy Families
Schools granted academy status by the Coalition government are disproportionately serving pupils from wealthier families, figures obtained by BuzzFeed show.
According to Department for Education statistics, schools granted academy status by the Coalition are taking well under half as many pupils from low-income backgrounds as academies set up under Labour. Continue reading
The Rise and Fall of Jo Shuter
Guest Post from @Brixtonite
In 2002 Jo Shuter took over Quintin Kynaston School in St John’s Wood, north London. Her appointment wasn’t popular with everyone – 100 staff left in her first year, 70 in the first term – but despite such a high staff turnover (which might have raised eyebrows elsewhere) she soon acquired the unofficial title of ‘superhead’ and the approving eye of Tony Blair, who used the school to launch his Children’s Services Green Paper in 2003. Continue reading
Sussex academy pays £100,000 to use ‘patented’ US school curriculum
An academy running four schools is paying its US parent company £100,000 a year to use its patented global curriculum, which has been criticised by Ofsted for lacking a “local” focus.
Aurora Academies Trust insists that the Paragon curriculum is transforming the fortunes of the primary schools in East Sussex. But unions and local Labour activists question whether the licensing deal represents the first step in plans to allow private companies to run schools for profit. Tory modernisers are said to be keen on the idea.
Continue reading
‘Extravagant’ expenses and £393K ‘irregularities’
The academy chief taken to task by an official report
A culture of “extravagant” expenses, “prestige” venues and first- class travel at one of Britain’s biggest academy chains has been laid bare by a report containing many examples of financial mismanagement.
An official investigation into the E-Act group – which runs schools that have opted out of local authority control – has revealed that hundreds of thousands of pounds of public money was also spent on unapproved consultancy fees.
From TES Continue reading
Emergency funding sought by academy schools up 52%
Academies seek £9m in emergency funding and situation likely to worsen as previously overpaid grants are readjusted, warn experts
The total amount of emergency funding provided to academy schools has increased by 52% in the last year, according to educational finance provider Syscap.
In the last year the UK Government gave £9m in emergency funding to academy schools, a substantial increase on the £5.9m provided the previous year. Continue reading