28
schools in focus INDEPENDENT NEWS
NORTH TYNESIDE
INDEPENDENT UPDATE Goings on in the world of independent and private schools
Academy chain pays £500k to big bosses
Support staff hit hardest by academy conversions
Support staff are frequently the first group of school staff to have their jobs and terms and conditions threatened by academy conversion, according to recent analysis by GMB. Avril Chambers, national officer for the support staff union, explained: “GMB, as the union for school support staff, is closely monitoring the steady stream of academy conversions as we are always concerned for our members when schools leave the state system.” She claimed that too often support staff are viewed as an educational ‘luxury’, despite what she
believes to be their vital contribution to education outcomes and the running of schools. “It is our experience that support staff are frequently the first group of school staff to have their jobs and terms and conditions threatened,” she said.
The Academy Enterprise Trust CAET, which is responsible for 80 schools, has paid almost £500,000 to companies owned by trustees and executives of the charity. An investigation by the Observer uncovered a series of payments over the past three years to companies in which those running the country’s largest taxpayer-funded academy chain, a registered charity, have a beneficial interest. The payments were for services ranging from ‘project management’ to ‘HR consultancy’. In all the cases the services had not been put out to tender. Ian Comfort, who has been company
secretary since April last year, was reported to be paid £232,960 in addition to his undisclosed salary for project management services that year.
A series of payments to AET’s trustees have also been revealed. Such payments, while legal, are described as ‘not normal practice’ in a document published by the regulator of academies this month, and drawn up following consultation with the Charity Commission.
The commission’s guidance stipulates that ‘unpaid trusteeship has been one of the defining characteristics of the charitable sector, contributing greatly to public confidence in charities’.
SEND IN YOUR STORIES We are always looking for local school news. If you have a story to share, email
editor@edexec.co.uk
september 2013 \
www.edexec.co.uk
“GMB is committed to doing all it can to ensure that attacks from Michael Gove, secretary of state for education, do not translate into targeting the most vulnerable members of the school community.”
State-private merger faces legal battle
A state and private school hoping to merge this month could face a legal battle with the local authority. North Tyneside Council is considering taking legal action against two schools
in Tynemouth.
State-funded Priory Primary School and independent The King’s School are planning to join forces and open as a new academy school this month. The plan has been approved by the Department for Education but the local council claims that it could have a negative impact on funding by reducing the number of children attending local authority schools in the area. Cabinet member for children, young people and learning, Ian Grayson, told the BBC: “We are very concerned about the impact that this will have on the wider school community. “We have 25,000 pupils in North Tyneside and there will be consequences and an impact for those children and the other schools in the area.”
In a letter to The Woodard Academies Trust, which will run the academy, the DfE said it believed the impact on pupil numbers at other local schools would be “moderate” and would be outweighed by the benefits, including offering parents more choice.
A spokesperson for the academy said it would open as planned, regardless of any legal action taken against it.
PICTURE STORY
NOTTINGHAM
Nottingham High School’s Family Fun Day, part of its 500th anniversary celebrations this year
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72