Labour MP hails government’s decision not to award schools to major academy trust

Helena Dollimore: speaking out on Ark. Pic: Alamy.
Academy controversies in Hastings, East Sussex, shine a light on struggle to bring local accountability to management decisions, say critics.
A backbench Labour MP has praised the government’s decision not to hand schools currently run by a soon-to-close academy trust to one of England’s largest, chains - Ark Schools – warning that the latter must work “with the community not against it”.
However, the statement by Hastings and Rye MP Helena Dollimore, on the future of institutions run by the University of Brighton Academies Trust (UBAT), came with the government having confirmed that they will move to one of six academy trusts, rather than return to the local authority sector.
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By Warwick Mansell for EDUCATION UNCOVERED
Published: 23 May 2025
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