By Gavin Mackintosh-
Three schools in the Wakefield district could lose a total of more than £1.5m, a month after the Department of Education said eight WCAT schools in Wakefield could be taken over by the Outwood Grange Academies Trust.
The news comes following the demise of an academy chain, members of Wakefield Council have claimed. A motion, due to be discussed by councillors claims Wakefield City Academies Trust (WCAT) had transferred millions of pounds of schools’ savings into its own centralised account, prior to its collapse.
Wakefield City Academy WCAT had announced in September that it would cease running all 21 of its schools, including eight in the Wakefield district. The trust’s board said it lacked the capacity to bring about rapid improvement in the academies. However, criticism over the trust’s financial management has raised questions over the verity of its claims and the integrity of its general operations. Allegations have been made that monies were being “drained” from individual school accounts to pay off the debts of the parent organisation. Representatives of Wakefield City Academy have denied the allegations, as expected, and critics of the school are yet to provide hard proof to support their allegation.
MOTION
A motion submitted to a meeting of the full council yesterday, said that Hemsworth Arts and Community Academy is facing a loss of up to £436,000 of its reserves. The eye of media.com has heard that Wakefield City Academy are on the berge of losing close to £800,000, and Heath View primary school, close to losing £300,000. The motion read:
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“Council believes that the actions of the Department for Education (DfE) and its agents have undermined educational provision in the district, and local children have been severely let down.”Councillors were due to vote on whether or not to agree the motion yesterday. If approved, the council will demand the “full restitution” of money transferred from school reserves into WCAT central accounts”.
Its argument against dissolution is that no drastic measures should be taken before a full investigation takes place, and the findings are made public. In the meantime, it plans to call for the Department of education to inject financial resources and educational expertise into the trust, but this is not advisable whilst an investigation is underway. The suggestion for an investigation to determine a dissolution is sensible, but a trust dogged by allegations of corruption should not receive further cash from the government. It will be irresponsible to invest on dodgy platforms until all suspiciona and allegations have been officially cleared.
In parliament earlier this month, education minister, Nick Gibb said the trust will not be able to retain any of its reserves once it has formally been dissolved. A Department of Education spokesperson said: “A failing academy trust must never profit from the re-brokerage of its schools.” In the last year, the Department of Education , under the authority of Theresa May has raised the education standard in Britain across the board, making Primary school Sat exams , G.C.S.E exams, and A levels tougher than in previous years. The aim is to encourage teachers to raise their level of teaching and liaise with parents to raise the standard of education in primary and secondary school education. Raising the standard of education in primary schools mean pupils will be required to work harder and learn more , preparing them for secondary school education where the standard has also being raised higher than the previous two decades.
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Higher education standards have the positive effects of ensuring that most children will be motivated to learn more when they arrive in secondary school because they will have already attained a decent level of education that inspires them and increases their willingness to learn. It also equips pupils who may drop out of school due to unforeseen circumstances like young pregnancy or any other reasons. A decent standard of education is necessary at all levels, and failing schools in the Uk are all under immense pressure to raise their standards, as OFSTED conduct regular checks.
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