Democratise governance of multi-academy trusts, Labour MP to urge in House of Commons today

All MATs would be required to have places for parents and staff on their boards, Dave Robertson to propose in backbench bill, as well as toughened-up rules on financial transparency and governor training. “Trusts need to listen to parents,” he added.

Multi-academy trusts would be required to have places for parents, teachers and non-teaching staff on their boards, under plans being put forward by a backbench MP today.

Trusts would also be subject to greater financial transparency requirements, with details of their “top-slice” or “GAG-pooling” arrangements having to appear on the websites of every school they run, under proposals drawn up in the wake of one of the sector’s biggest collapses.

The ideas, which also include other strengthened requirements on governance and expenditure, are being put forward this afternoon in a Ten Minute Rule Bill in the House of Commons by Dave Robertson, the Labour MP for Lichfield in the West Midlands.

They come with the 24-school Arthur Terry Learning Partnership (ATLP), which has academies in Mr Robertson’s constituency, to be disbanded following a year in which its strategic leadership had to stand down after a succession of controversies over its finances.