Roman Catholic priest, working for diocese running three MATs, pens scorching critique of trust system

Academy chains should not be spending “eye-watering sums” on executives and offices, but rather on the poor of England’s education system: its teaching assistants, suggests Father David Cain.

A Roman Catholic priest, working within a diocese which runs three multi-academy trusts, issued a scorching criticism of this set-up, questioning whether it is “fit for purpose” and appearing to suggest that schools would be better off without such organisations.

School leaders should be left alone to run institutions themselves, suggested Father David Cain, instead of being overseen by trusts which spent “eye-watering sums” on executive salaries, office buildings and administration. Executive salaries should be “re-directed” to teaching assistants, he indicated.

He also questioned whether the diocesan education service and its academy trusts “have the moral authority to act in the name of the Catholic Church”.

The intervention by Father David, in the form of an open letter sent on behalf of his deanery, came backed with a host of Biblical references, during a multi-faceted controversy over the way in which one of the three trusts in particular has been run.

That trust has been approached for comment.