School confirms move to join multi-academy trust already signed off by government, but without yet any detail for parents

Aylesford School also fails to mention plans to end its existence as a single academy trust, in accounts signed off after this proposal had been publicised by the DfE.

A school, which appears to have submitted a proposal to the government to join a multi-academy trust without telling parents, confirmed the move this week but without setting out in detail as to why it was necessary.

Aylesford School in Warwick told parents on Monday about the Department for Education approving the plan in the 10^th paragraph of a letter updating them on changes including staffing appointments – five days after Education Uncovered reported on the move to change its legal control.

Remarkably, the single academy trust’s recently-published 2024-25 accounts also give no clue that it was planning to join the 14-school Stowe Valley multi-academy trust, even though a DfE meeting agenda stating this had been published before the financial statements were signed off.

These developments continue to underline issues around transparency that can occur as schools are transferred, under the academies policy, from organisation to organisation via behind-the-scenes decision-making.