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Academies fuel explosion in school costs | Letter

Cllr Jonny Crawshaw outlines the financial perils of an education sector that is no longer fit for purposeThere is undoubtedly a crisis of funding hitting classrooms across England’s secondary education sector (Half of England’s state secondaries forced to cut staff in budget squeeze, poll finds, 10 April). It is not as simple as a lack of cash coming into schools, however (though this is a significant contributing factor).A cursory look at the published accounts of the many multi‑academy trusts (Mats), which now control at least 80% of state secondary schools in England, shows an explosion in chief executive pay, with many new ancillary roles – chief finance officers, executive headteachers and trust performance directors – also adding to “central services” bills. Many of these roles didn’t exist a decade ago, yet they leach millions of pounds each year out of the classroom and into the bank balances of the disproportionately white, middle‑class men who fill them. Continue reading...

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