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Original poster

Academy schools asset-stripped of millions before being ditched by the their sponsor

31 replies

noblegiraffe · 22/10/2017 12:46

www.theguardian.com/education/2017/oct/21/collapsing-wakefield-city-academies-trust-asset-stripped-schools-millions-say-furious-parents

I thought it was bad enough when the Wakefield City Academies Trust just ditched its 21 schools, but now it turns out that as well as paying himself £82,000 for 15 weeks work and a nice bit of nepotism (£440,000 to companies owned by himself and his daughter) the CEO Mike Ramsay was also in charge of a trust which took rainy-day surpluses from schools that were planning from the future, and what looks like money raised by the PTA(?) to put into general trust funds which were lost when the trust collapsed.

The DfE are (as is usual for them) refusing Freedom of Information requests about the finances and have (as is usual for them) released a bland statement about how everything is fine really.

OP posts:
BoneyBackJefferson · 22/10/2017 17:11

Many people have spoken out about how poor the MATs are, yet the government seems intent on protecting them by not allowing freedom of information act to be used to back up the stories.

Original poster
noblegiraffe · 22/10/2017 17:02

From the article: "High Crags Academy primary school in Shipley was instructed by the DfE to join the trust in April 2016 after being put into special measures the previous year. When it joined it had a surplus of £178,000, which was immediately moved to centralised accounts."

So it doesn't sound like they were given a choice, and it is surely the fault of the DfE if they are allowing academy chains where there are serious concerns about the finances to take on more schools.

OP posts:
admission · 22/10/2017 16:54

Unfortunately if you look at the EFSA handbook you will find that there is a presumption that any surplus funding from individual schools in the trust will be drawn into the trust for the good of all schools in the trust. So in that context that was entirely correct, the question is whether having drawn the funding to the Trust why it was not spent for the good of all the schools in the Trust, not kept in the Trust finance account.
This could be another example of the individual schools and their governing boards having not carried out enough due diligence before becoming part of the Trust and realising that this was always going to be the case that all funds end up with the Trust. It would be interesting to know if any of the schools now moaning can substantiate in writing what they believe they were told by the Trust. If they can then there are some very serious questions for the Trust to explain and by default the EFSA and DfE.

iBiscuit · 22/10/2017 15:28

Good Lord. I knew academy chains were going to be a bad thing, but this is appalling.

How can theft of funds like that even happen? Confused

Foxyloxy1plus1 · 22/10/2017 12:50

Academies are the worst thing to happen to education that I can remember. Academy chains are just vehicles for fat cats to line their pockets even more. Until it goes pear shaped of course.

Original poster
noblegiraffe · 22/10/2017 12:48

And I hate that you can't see the full title in that little box when you're writing it. Apologies for the extra word.

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