The government is planning a further expansion of its academies programme, but it is not clear there is capacity in the system to transform all these schools
An analysis of results at more than 150 academy schools in England has concluded that nearly half (44%) would be classed as “coasting” under the government’s proposed education reforms.
High-performing council schools should be able to sponsor struggling schools without taking on academy status, the Local Government Association has said.
Government plans to intervene in ‘coasting’ schools must include an expanded role for councils to hold academies and free schools to account, the Local Government Association has said.
Five years of radical changes in education policy have created thousands of academy and free schools. But have financial management and governance kept pace?
Day-to-day spending on schools has been ‘remarkably’ well protected under the coalition government, but regardless of who wins the next election cuts of 7% or more are possible, the...
The auditor general has given the Department for Education an adverse opinion after concluding it failed to meet Parliament’s accountability requirements on academy spending.
CIPFA has launched a one-stop-shop for finance professionals and accountable officers working in academies to access best practice and guidance to help them manage public resources.
Academy trusts are not doing enough to mitigate the risk of conflict of interest between schools and sponsors, while some rules intended to protect public money are ‘largely meaningless’, according...
Once Sir Michael Wilshaw was hailed as ‘a real hero’ by Education Secretary Michael Gove. So what left him ‘spitting blood’ in a battle with the Department for Education? The...
‘Freedom’ from council control does not mean an abdication of responsibility. Academies and free schools need to improve their approaches to both governance and financial probity