E-ACT

E-ACT (formerly EduTrust Academies Charitable Trust[1]) is the sponsor of 24 academies and free schools in England.[2] It describes itself as "a leading, independent academy sponsor whose principal purpose is to create centres of excellence for all by establishing, maintaining, managing and developing academies and Free Schools".[3]

History

Until 2009 the Chief Executive of the Trust was Ian Comfort, who left his post alleging whistleblowing concerns, whilst the trust claimed "poor performance" issues.[4] In March 2013 an audit by the UK Department for Education concluded that "boundaries between E-ACT and its subsidiary, E-ACT Enterprises Ltd (EEL) are blurred" (page 3), "activities undertaken by the subsidiary have been paid for with public funds and so appear irregular" (page 3), and "there has been a flow of public monies into EEL that cannot be said to directly benefit teaching and learning in E-ACT academies" (pages 12–13).[5]

A 2011 Guardian article reported that in 2010 its director-general Sir Bruce Liddington had a salary package of £280,017.[1] Sir Bruce Liddington resigned in 2013 after E-ACT received an official warning from the government regarding "financial mismanagement".[6] The investigation report into E-ACT found that internal financial control were weak, there was a culture of extravagant expenses, governance procedures were unusual, and that payments were made to trustees in a manner unusual for the charitable sector.[7]

E-ACT was registered as a charity in 2008 but is now shown by the Charity Commission as an "Exempt charity", removed from its register in 2011.[8]

In 2014, the Department for Education removed E-ACT as sponsor from 10 academies after Ofsted inspectors raised serious concerns,[2] noting extravagant spending on expenses and £393,000 of spending with "procedural irregularities" including on unapproved consultancy fees.[9]

E-ACT Enterprises LTD was dissolved shortly after Sir Bruce Liddington's departure. In addition, E-ACT has made considerable changes to its previous administration practices (including reducing back office costs by 73%) as audited in its public accounts and the Salary of its new CEO has reduced significantly.[10]

In January 2016 E-ACT announced that would abolish local governing bodies for its schools and replace them with centrally appointed advisory bodies.[11]

Schools

Primary

Secondary

All-through

Schools previously sponsored

Primary

Secondary

All-through

References

  1. 1 2 Wilby, Peter (7 November 2011). "Academy sponsor defends high pay and high expectations". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  2. 1 2 "E-Act chain loses control of 10 academy schools". BBC News. 25 February 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  3. "Who are E-ACT?". E-ACT. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  4. Curtis, Polly (28 Nov 2008). "Government launches inquiry into academy funds allegations". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 Dec 2015.
  5. "Review of Financial Administration and Governance at E-ACT: Final Report" (PDF). External Assurance team, Education Funding Agency, Department for Education. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  6. Paton, Graeme (26 Apr 2013). "Academy boss quits over probe into school finances". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  7. Judith Burns (17 May 2013). "'Culture of extravagant expenses' at academy group". BBC. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  8. Charity Commission. E-ACT, registered charity no. 1124189. Retrieved 21 April 2013
  9. Richard Vaughan (3 February 2014). "'Extravagant' expenses and 393K 'irregularities'". TES Connect. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  10. Warwick Mansell. "E-Act academy chain abandons plans for world domination". the Guardian.
  11. "Academy chain to scrap governing bodies". BBC News.
  12. "Ministerial Approval". E-ACT. 11 April 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  13. "Establishment: Hartsbrook E-ACT Free School - Summary". Department for Education - EduBase. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  14. "Establishment: Brook House Primary School - Summary". Department for Education - EduBase. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  15. "Establishment: Hartsbrook E-ACT Free School - Links". Department for Education - EduBase. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  16. "Department for Education - Performance Tables - Hartsbrook E-ACT Free School, 138259". Department for Education - School and College Performance Tables. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  17. "Department for Education - Performance Tables - Brook House Primary School, 141209". Department for Education - School and College Performance Tables. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  18. Leeds East Academy - White Rose Academies Trust
  19. White Rose Academies Trust
  20. "The Forest High School - New name, new start for Forest Academy, Cinderford".
  21. "Sherwood Academy Home Page - Welcome to our website".
  22. "Sherwood E-Act Academy will close, trust confirms". Nottingham Post.
  23. "The Purston E-ACT Academy - Message to All Parents & Carers". http://www.tpea.org.uk/. External link in |website= (help);
  24. "The Lincoln College Group".
  25. The Winsford E-ACT Academy - Winsford Academy Joins The Fallibroome Multi-Academy Trust
  26. Hindmarsh, Nick (8 September 2014). "Welcome back to the new school year!". Principal's Blog. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
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