Closure of secondary sections of two former Steiner academies confirmed

The planned closure of provision for older children at two former Steiner academies in the west country has been confirmed in letters to parents at both schools.

Avanti Schools Trust, which was handed the former Steiner Academy Bristol and Steiner Academy Frome last year by the Department for Education, told families yesterday that the government’s Regional Schools Commissioner (RSC) had decided that the secondary section of the former, and years nine, 10 and 11 at the latter, are to close.

The move came after this proposal had been put by the trust to government’s “Headteacher Board”, which advises the RSC. The decision was taken following a meeting on January 15^th, the outcome of which, as I have written, the DfE had refused to disclose.

The move at both schools had come despite an intervention from the Bristol East MP Kerry McCarthy, who appears to have warned the RSC, Hannah Woodhouse, of a looming shortage of school places if the decision went ahead.

The closures are due to happen at the soonest point possible, ie this coming September. Both moves come despite overwhelming opposition from parents, and with Avanti having said, in its response to consultation last autumn, that it would recommend, at the former Steiner Academy Frome in Somerset, that the current year 10 at this school would be allowed to stay there until next year, so that they would not have to move school in the middle of their GCSE courses.

There was no mention, however, of that happening in Avanti’s letter to parents, which said instead that the school would simply close its high school section in September.

Education Uncovered has featured this story in a couple of longer pieces in recent days, and plans to continue to do so.

Two prominent MATs still to publish accounts

Deadline day for the publication of annual accounts by academy trusts has dawned with two of the most prominent players still not having done so.

In what has become a ritual of the accounting season, the Harris Federation, England’s second-largest chain which is controlled by the Tory peer Lord Harris of Peckham, is leaving it to the last hours before the government’s January 31^st deadline to publish its 2018-19 financial statements.

Education Uncovered, of course, and others across the education media, are waiting as usual with bated breath to see if England’s most lavishly-rewarded chief executive, Sir Dan Moynihan, will see his pay package push through the £500,000 barrier.

As this website is perhaps most likely to point out, in addition, the trust’s accounts are highly significant because, aside from Sir Dan, its leaders make up such a high proportion of those across England on £200k-plus packages.  

As well as its chief executive, Harris had another – unnamed – manager who was ranked second in our list of highest-paid academy figures in 2017-18, plus another two in the top 10, each on at least £240,000.

The other significant chain seemingly yet to have published accounts is the one which was set up by the current academies minister, Lord Agnew, who of course oversees the accounting rules.

This is the Norwich-based Inspiration Trust, which has had a very interesting 18 months, including its chief executive saying it had “focused too much on [its] knowledge rich curriculum”, in September 2018; the perhaps-not-unconnected departure of its former curriculum chief, Christine Counsell, in November 2018; the Ofsted failure of one of its primary schools, triggering a clash with the inspectorate; and the departure of the headline-drawing disciplinarian headteacher, Barry Smith, from one of its schools.

The latter development, which was revealed only in the last few days, was too late for it to have any chance of being mentioned in the 2018-19 accounts, most of which get signed off before Christmas. But the accounts will still make very interesting reading, and it seems surprising that they have yet to feature on the trust’s website.

Council steps in to fund repairs at £32 million school

A secondary school in Oldham, greater Manchester which was built only eight years ago at an alleged cost of £32 million is having to have repairs done because it is feared “pupils aren’t safe,” it was reported this week.

The Blessed John Henry Newman College, a Roman Catholic voluntary-aided secondary school opened in 2011 and moved into purpose-built accommodation a year later under a partnership between Oldham council and a PFI contractor owned by Balfour Beatty, the Manchester Evening News (MEN) reported. The build had been approved under the Labour government’s Building Schools for the Future programme.

But a report by the council found that, following its completion, building defects “including issues with the heating system, roof leaks in the atrium area and an inability to control temperatures in certain rooms,” became clear, the MEN reported.

In late 2017, Oldham BSF Limited, the PFI vehicle, committed to undertake and finance remedial works to improve the school’s heating system. But that provision appears to have broken down following a disagreement with subcontractors. The council now reportedly wants to use its own contractor to improve the heating system, although the cost has not been revealed.

The MEN reported that this school is an academy, which would have added an extra twist to this story, since the DfE, rather than the local authority, would have been overseeing the situation. However, the school is listed as a local authority voluntary aided school on both the DfE and Ofsted’s databases.