Academy trusts collapse

Nicky Morgan, DoE Secretary, insists that academy conversion is still a priority despite the apparent U-turn of last week, which after all may have been just a disguise whilst exploring a different way to achieve this goal, as a new Ofsted chief will be in post soon - who knows whether the criteria for schools to be considered outstanding, therefore exempt from forced conversion? It is very hard indeed for schools to achieve such excellent inspection results and avoid academisation when facing problems such as shortage of qualified teachers, lack of school places and teachers' salaries capped at 1%, leading to many leaving the profession. Parents' pressure is therefore essential for improvements to happen. “Parents will be deeply worried that this government has completely failed to put in place the appropriate checks over academy chain funding decisions, prioritising converting schools into academies over school standards and the protection of public money,” said the Shadow minister for schools, Nic Dakin, on a recent interview to The Guardian. He added: “It is extremely concerning that so much taxpayer money is ending up in the pockets of academy chain directors and trustees.” It seems like the Shadow Minister's concerns have been confirmed today as a multi-academy trust widely praised by Cameron, Gove and Morgan has now collapsed leaving a mountain of debts. Details on the article below.