Almost half of academy trusts censured by ministers after registering losses of up to several million pounds have continued to lose money, Schools Week has reported.
The schools were issued with government notices to improve following concerns about financial management or governance. Failure to do so “will be deemed a funding agreement breach” and could lead to the trust closing down.
An example is The Beckmead Trust, which runs 12 special schools and was given a notice in September after appealing to ministers for an emergency bailout. A spokesperson explained: “A historical deficit built up because central funding due to us for capital work to build new free schools was delayed, as was funding from local authorities for the education and care of our students.”
Another is SAND Academies Trust in Gloucester which was sanctioned two months ago after a newly installed chief financial officer discovered “historic financial failings”.
However, a National Governance Association report from 2024 found there had “been a steady decline in the number of notices issued” over the previous 10 years, with multi-academy trusts becoming “less likely to fail”.