Victory for Hove Versus Gove Campaign

PRIVATISATION UPDATE

THE LATEST NEWS AND INFORMATION ON ACADEMIES, FREE SCHOOLS AND PRIVATISATION ISSUES FROM THE NUT’S PRIVATISATION IN EDUCATION UNIT

NUMBER 46, October 2014

ACADEMY CAMPAIGNS

Victory for Hove versus Gove campaign

Hove Park School in Brighton and Hove has turned its back on a possible move to academy status after governors voted unanimously against conversion. Head teacher Derek Trimmer had been the driving force behind the proposal but changed his mind after a concerted campaign by teachers, parents and the local community under the banner “Hove versus Gove”. On the afternoon that the Governing body was set to decide on the proposed move. Mr Trimmer said he was now recommending that they vote against it and that months of debate had convinced him that becoming an academy would have been “too divisive and disruptive to children’s education”. Campaign pressure resulted in all 17 governors voting against the school becoming an academy. (The Argus, 22.09.14)

Costs of Cavell academy process revealed

A freedom of information request has revealed that Norfolk County Council spent £8,000 to fund a three member Interim Executive Board (IEB) which pushed through the conversion of a Norwich primary school to academy status.

Cavell primary school went into special measures in May 2013 and Norfolk County Council replaced governors, who wanted it to join other local schools in a co-operative trust, with the IEB which early in 2014 decided it should instead become an academy. Former governors of the school and parents opposed the move and challenged the IEB’s legitimacy on the grounds that the school had come out of special measures after Ofsted inspectors returned to the school in January 2014. However, an application for a judicial review of the decision was rejected.

The Council said one IEB member was a volunteer, another was a Council employee, whose time spent on IEB duties was not included in the figure, and the third was contracted specifically to carry out the role.

Rachel Ward, a parent who campaigned against the forced academisation, said: “It’s just such an incredible sum of money. If [the council] had done what they were supposed to do in the first place, and put the right support systems in place for the school, when it needed it, we would never have got to the stage where they found themselves paying that amount of money.” (Norwich Evening News, 13.10.14)

1 ACADEMIES

Academy figures

On 1 October there were a total of 4,243 open academies, an increase of 76 new academies on the previous month. A further 33 new applications had been made.

NUT Region Secondary Primary Others Total academies academies Open (converter &(converter & sponsored) sponsored) Yorks/Midlands 267 417 21 705 South West 205 361 38 604 South East 236 310 24 570 North West 160 119 14 293 Northern 90 112 22 224 Midlands 264 351 43 658 London 235 175 39 449 Eastern 310 364 66 740 TOTAL 1,767 2,209 267 4,243 NOTE: The others includes all age, 14-19, all through, alternative provision, middle deemed secondary, middle deemed primary, special schools, PRUs etc.

NUT gives evidence at Education Select Committee

NUT Deputy General Secretary, Kevin Courtney, was part of a panel of trade union leaders giving oral evidence to the Education Select Committee on Tuesday, 14 October 2014. This was part of the Committee’s inquiry into the development and operation of the academies and free schools programme. The Union had also submitted written evidence. Kevin argued strongly that there was no evidence for an ‘academy effect’ in terms of attainment by pupils. He said that primary academies, which had overwhelming rejected voluntary conversion to academy status, were being forced into sponsored academy arrangements and that the bullying activities of academy brokers were continuing to be a problem for schools. There was a democratic deficit with parents and staff being routinely ignored when they rejected academy status for their school. There was a lack of oversight and accountability of academies and free schools as evidenced by the closure of some free schools because of poor standards and financial scandals in both types of school. He said the Committee should look closely into the case of Kings Science Academy, where police are conducting an ongoing fraud investigation and where serious questions remained unanswered about school governance and the role of the DfE in relation to its oversight of the school.

The recording of the session can be viewed on BBC iplayer until 3 November.

Select Committee report highlights conflicts of interest in academies

New research published by the Education Select Committee highlights the potential for conflicts of interest to arise in the relationship between academies and sponsors and problems with the Government’s system of oversight

2 The report, Conflicts of interest in academy sponsorship arrangements, was written by researchers at the Institute of Education and The London Centre for Leadership and Learning. They analysed academy trust funding agreements and annual reports, interviewed academy leaders and carried out desk-based research looking at already reported cases of perceived conflicts of interest.

The report said that: “Conflicts of interest are common in academy trusts” and that this is “not surprising given the design of academies as independent organisations spending public money, generally under intense pressure and in challenging circumstances”.

The report notes that “in a small number of cases these conflicts have not been appropriately managed and the trusts have been found in breach of the existing guidelines, sometimes leading to criminal proceedings.”

However, it also says that the Education Funding Agency (EFA) and auditors are in fact signing off activities that would fit within a definition of conflicts of interest. The report said that “the existing framework appears to legitimise such activities” through a clause in the funding agreement of all academy trusts which allows the sponsors to provide academy trusts with goods and services as long as they are provided on an ‘at cost’ basis. This is important because some trusts are sponsored by a company that has a commercial interest in education and sells its services or products.

The report points out that there is a particular problem when it comes to ‘at cost’ day rates for educational consultancy: “If a trust pays an individual or company for a service at £1,000 a day, who is to say that it is ‘at cost’?”

The report also highlighted the fact that “there is nothing in the Financial Handbook to stop academy trustees from contracting out operations and services to profit making companies. For example, AET’s ongoing procurement of all back office and other services.”

Finally, the report noted that “more intangible conflicts of interest that do not involve direct financial payments are not reported or monitored in any way.” Examples of this would be potential links between officials overseeing decisions on academies (e.g. a Regional Schools Commissioner who could have links to particular trusts or companies. The report made five recommendations which the NUT supports:

1. It endorsed three previous recommendations made by the Public Accounts Committee: a) that the Department implement an effective joined up strategy for enforcing compliance with funding agreements; b) The Education Funding Agency (EFA) should reconsider its policy which permits related-party transactions – at the very least it must be able to extract and analyse complete information on related–party transactions and then must use that analysis to determine risk based intervention c) The Department should introduce, at individual academy and academy trust level, a fit-and-proper persons test. 2. The Committee should review the current arrangements which permit paid for services being sold to schools on a ‘at cost’ basis. 3. The Committee should consider whether further steps are required to strengthen the regulations for governance in trusts. 4. The Committee should conduct an enquiry session to understand whether the EFA's regulatory powers should be split from its funding role.

3 5. The Committee should review the arrangements for the new Regional Commissioners and Head Teacher Boards to assess whether there are sufficient controls in place to monitor and prevent conflicts of interest from occurring.

However, the NUT would like to see additional action taken. First, the Union believes that all related party transactions should be outlawed – no one connected with running a school should be allowed to make money from their involvement either directly or indirectly.

Second, there needs to be greater transparency in the publication of academy and free school accounts. In particular, where a school is part of a multi-academy trust or academy chain, individual accounts for each school should be published separately, rather than, as is currently the case, just one set of accounts covering the entire trust or chain. This would allow greater scrutiny of potential conflicts of interest and of spending at school level.

In addition, the NUT has long been highlighting the conflicts of interest arising from the relationship between academy brokers and academy chains or trusts and believes this practice must be brought to an end. It is totally unacceptable that those working on contract with the DfE to broker academy arrangements should at the same time be working for an academy trust or chain that might be set to take over a school.

The full report can be accessed here: http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons- committees/Education/Conflicts-of-interest-in-academies-report.pdf

Report into academy chains shows mixed results for disadvantaged pupils

A Sutton Trust Report (Published 24 July 2014) looking at outcomes for disadvantaged children in academy chains has found very significant variation both between and within chains; and chains differing significantly in attainment against different measures.

The report, Chain Effects: the impact of academy chains on low income students, reviewed outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in sponsored secondary academies across a range of measures, including their results in the best eight GCSE subjects, progress in English and Maths, and the English Baccalaureate, in addition to the main measure of five good GCSE or equivalents including English and mathematics (5A*CEM). This was intended to reflect the stronger focus taken by the coalition on academic subjects, and the change in emphasis in the league tables from 2016.

Authors Becky Francis, Merryn Hutchings and Robert De Vries also reviewed the characteristics of the various chains in order to explore whether there were any common characteristics across the chains that were more or less successful in promoting the attainment of disadvantaged pupils.

On average, the improvement for disadvantaged pupils in 5A*CEM in sponsored academies in the analysis group was greater than the average for all mainstream schools between 2011 and 2013. However, there was enormous variations between chains, with only 16 out of 31 exceeding the figure for all mainstream schools in 2013.

Five chains were securing high attainment for disadvantaged pupils – and for pupils as a whole. These were Ark, Barnfield, City of London, Harris and Mercers. However, a majority of the chains analysed still underperformed the mainstream average on 4 attainment for their disadvantaged pupils. Just nine of the 31 performed better than the average for all mainstream schools in 2013. While some of those below the average were continuing to improve, others were not.

Those chains performing below the mainstream average on the key measures of 2013 attainment for disadvantaged pupils were: AET, David Meller, David Ross, E-Act, Oasis, Aldridge, the Co-operative and United Learning.

Those chains performing significantly below the mainstream average on the key measures of 2013 attainment for disadvantaged pupils in 2013 were: Brooke Weston, Cabot, Diocese of Leeds and Ripon, Diocese of Oxford, Diocese of Salisbury, Grace, SPTA, Landau, Learning Schools, Priory and Woodard.

Three chains – Greenwood Dale, Ormiston and Outwood Grange performed around the mainstream average for their disadvantaged pupils in 2013.

Most academy chains in the study relied heavily on equivalent qualifications, and underperformed on the EBacc measure, in comparison to the national average.

The key factors identified by the researchers in the more successful chains were a measured approach to expansion, and the importance of building up strong experience of strategies for improving schools.

The researchers state in their conclusions:

“ The very poor results of some chains – both for pupils generally and for the disadvantaged pupils they were particularly envisaged to support – comprises a clear and urgent problem. The extent of underperformance of some chains across diverse measures begs the question of how this has been allowed to happen […] Far from providing a solution to disadvantage, a few chains may be exacerbating it. Our analysis highlights the pressing need for further monitoring and transparent provision of publicly available data in order to ensure accountability.”

The report can be read at: http://www.suttontrust.com/researcharchive/chain-effects/

You don’t have to be a head teacher to be on a Head Teacher Board

Businesswoman Nikki King (OBE) has been co-opted to the Head Teacher Board (HTB) for the south east and south London. HTBs support the Regional School Commissioners (RSCs) who have responsibility for overseeing certain aspects of the administration of academies and the academy programme in eight super regions. The boards are made up of six to eight members including four to six “outstanding academy head teachers, who will be elected by other academy head teachers in the region.” Two additional HTB members are appointed by each RSC, and the board itself is able to co-opt further members to fill skills or expertise gaps. While elected members are required to be current or former head teachers, it now appears that co-opted members do not have to have any specific teaching or educational experience.

King is the former managing director of Isuzu Truck UK. She retired from Isuzu in 2013 and only took up the role of Chair of Governors at Greenacre Academies Trust, which

5 runs a primary and secondary academy in Kent, earlier this year. (Academies Week, 26.09.14)

Academy and free school staff contacting whistle-blower helpline for support

A charity which advises whistle-blowers has reported a sharp rise in the number of cases brought to it last year and blames this in part on the increasing numbers of academies and free schools. Public Concern at Work, which runs a confidential helpline for whistle-blowers, said the biggest rise was in the health sector but that the more worrying trend was a big jump in the number of cases brought to it by people working in education, which rose from 243 in 2012 to 382 last year (57 per cent).

Cathy James, chief executive of Public Concern at Work, said: “In the health sector we did expect to see a rise in the number of concerns given the high profile cases which had been brought to light. However, the most concerning of the two is the rise in education as this indicates a worrying lack of oversight in the sector. Teachers are often confused about where to go in a rapidly changing sector. For example, for many of those working at academies, it has not been made sufficiently clear that local authorities remain responsible for safeguarding children. It is not clear at all who they are supposed to approach if they have financial concerns.” (The Independent, 16.10.14)

Policy Exchange report calls for all primaries to join academy chains.

Influential Tory think tank Policy Exchange has published a report arguing that all primary schools should become academies as part of a chain. The report, Primary Focus, acknowledges the successes of maintained primary schools, but says that changes on the horizon mean that the sector faces an impending crisis. These changes include new floor targets meaning 85 per cent of pupils would be expected to achieve Level 4 in Reading, Writing and Maths from 2016, the new national curriculum and new assessment systems at the same time as diminishing levels of local authority (LA) support. The report estimated that in 2016 and 2017, 20 per cent of primaries (over 3,300 schools) would fall below the new floor target.

The report recommends pursuing a policy of grouping all primary schools into academy chains. Specifically the recommendations were that Government should:

 Commit that all maintained primaries will only be allowed to leave their LA as part of a formal chain or partnership;  Require existing standalone primary academies to join chains to ensure they remain solvent and sustainable;  Allow and encourage LAs to set up and run their own chains or ‘Learning Trusts’ to provide education services, which must be legally separate from the remaining LA functions;  Convert any remaining LA maintained secondary schools to academies (unlike primary academies, secondary schools would be allowed to convert as standalone Academies, but they should be encouraged to partner with others as part of a wider move towards a school-led, self-improving system);  Allow academies to switch between chains if certain criteria are met provided they give at least one year’s notice, and only after an initial period of three years with the chain; and

6  Expand the remit of the Regional Schools Commissioners or Directors of School Standards to establish and oversee this newly autonomous system over the next five years.

The report’s authors included Annaliese Briggs, the former, inexperienced head of Pimlico Primary free school who quit her job within weeks of it opening. The school is part of an academy chain founded by Education Minister Lord Nash.

The NUT responded to the report stating: “The report’s recommendations have nothing to do with standards but everything to do with opening up further a free market for education. The result of increased competition between schools will not improve standards or provide support for schools. We only have to look at Sweden which, having experimented with a free-for-all in education, has now seen a drop in standards. We need to learn from this and not continue to peddle myths about the benefits of a fragmented system.”

The report can be downloaded here: http://www.policyexchange.org.uk/publications/category/item/primary-focus

Tristram Hunt: Best schools will still be able to convert to academies

Shadow Education Secretary Tristram Hunt has indicated that a Labour Government would continue the Coalition policy of allowing schools rated by Ofsted as good or outstanding to convert to academy status. In an interview with Academies Week he said: “In terms of schools wishing to convert, that should be up to them”. However, he suggested that Labour would not subsidise the conversion process. Schools which convert under the current system are eligible for additional funding, with a start-up grant of £25,000 provided to help with the costs of changing status. Additionally, primary academies that set up multi-academy trusts of three or more schools can receive a one- off grant of £100,000, plus £10,000 per additional school. (Academies Week, 17.10.14)

Agnew resigns from Lord Nash’s academy trust

Theodore Agnew has resigned his directorship of Future Academies, the academy chain founded by Education Minister Lord Nash, after just two months. Mr Agnew is a donor to the Conservative Party and a non-executive director at the Department for Education (DfE). He is also the sponsor and chairman at the Inspiration Trust, the Norfolk academy chain whose CEO Dame Rachel de Souza is at the centre of a controversy concerning alleged tip offs about Ofsted inspections. (Academies Week, 25.09.14)

Ofsted tip off scandal continues

Suspicions that an influential academy trust was tipped off about impending Ofsted inspections of its schools have not been laid to rest by the publication of an official report into the controversy. The review carried out by Sir Robin Bosher, Ofsted’s director of quality and training, concluded that there was no evidence that three schools belonging to the Inspiration Trust – which is headed up by Dame Rachel de Souza – had received any prior warning about their inspections.

The investigation found that Dame Rachel, who also worked part-time as a secondary inspector for Ofsted, was mistakenly copied into an email that gave the date of an inspection at one of the schools concerned – Great Yarmouth Primary Academy. As a result, the date of the inspection was changed, the report said. 7 But The Observer, which has seen a copy of the email, has since questioned the assertion that the message was sent in error and that De Souza was merely copied in. The email sent on 4 April 2014 from a senior inspector for Ofsted in the east of England said: “Rachel, I have ensured that you will not need to be in two places at once as discussed.” An inspection schedule which included a date for Great Yarmouth Primary was attached. The paper also suggests that Bosher’s finding that De Souza did not pass any information on to the schools could be questioned on the basis of correspondence she sent to school staff.

The Inspiration Trust has grown rapidly since it began life in September 2013. It now has seven schools, including two free schools, with another five schools in the pipeline. In September 2014 it was announced that Rachel de Souza had been appointed to one of four non-elected positions on the eight-person head teacher board (HTB) for the east of England.

Read more at: http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/oct/18/emails-academies- ofsted-inspectors-rachel-de-souza

DEVELOPMENTS IN INDIVIDUAL ACADEMIES

Academy governors sacked by trust

An academy which was placed in special measures last year has dismissed its governing body. Wakefield City Academies Trust (WCAT) announced that it had dissolved the existing governing body at Goole High which it took over in August 2014.

The school has also suspended eight members of staff as part of an investigation into allegations of exam malpractice. A WCAT interim executive committee has replaced the governing body with immediate effect.

Read more at: http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/main-topics/education/governors- removed-at-failing-academy-1-6849375

FREE SCHOOLS

35 more free schools approved

The DfE has released details of 35 newly approved applications for free schools to open from 2015. There are currently 251 open free schools, and now a further 112 are in the pipeline. Of the 35 free school applications approved:

 27 are mainstream schools  11 are primary schools  nine are secondary schools  five are all-through schools  two are 16 to 19 schools  four are for alternative provision  four are special schools

A list of all open and approved free schools can be downloaded at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/free-schools-successful-applications-and- open-schools-2014

8 Dossier shows third of free schools are underperforming

The Independent reports that the Labour Party has compiled a dossier of evidence on free schools showing that they underperform on key measures compared to maintained schools. The report cites the fact that around a third (30 per cent) of the 79 free schools that have been inspected by Ofsted so far have been judged as inadequate or requiring improvement compared with 20 per cent of state schools. According to the dossier around £50m has been spent on the free schools which were either declared inadequate or requiring improvement. A further £1.043m was spent on free school applications that were cancelled or withdrawn.

Figures show that 79 per cent of pupils in local authority-run schools reach the required standard in reading, writing and maths tests for 11-year-olds – compared with 70 per cent in free schools. Of those free schools whose 2013 national-curriculum test results were published, all except one underperformed compared with other schools in their local authority and the national average.

Labour has also accused the Government of “trying to massage the figures” around free- school performance pointing to the fact that Hartsbrook E-Act free school in north London was given a new name and a new official number after being declared inadequate by Ofsted. The school has the same head teacher, location and pupils but has been renamed Brook House Primary School. Hartsbrook now appears as “closed” on official databases and has had its performance record withdrawn. As a new school it is only due for re- inspection within the next four terms. (The Independent, 19.10.14)

NSN director says property firms should head up search for free school sites

The Director of the New Schools Network (NSN), the supposedly independent charity which has government funding to support and encourage free school applications, has called for the Government to outsource the task of finding sites for new free schools. Natalie Evans, NSN’s CEO, said that property firms could be contracted on a regional basis to find suitable buildings for new schools. She also said that Government should look at allowing new schools to open in existing under-subscribed secondary schools and suggested that “government should be buying up property and sites in areas where there is an absolute shortage of school places, either existing or projected.” (Academies Week, 19.09.14)

Police pass Kings Science Academy ‘fraud’ file to prosecutors

Police investigating alleged fraud at the Bradford free school have passed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service, the Yorkshire Post reports. The West Yorkshire Police began its investigation of Kings Science Academy in October 2013, arresting the school’s founder and former principal Sajid Raza in early 2014. Mr Raza was sacked by the school in August following a disciplinary investigation, which the school said was unrelated to the fraud investigation.

The Kings Science Academy has been at the centre of controversy since it emerged that a DfE investigation alleged that fabricated invoices had been submitted by the school to claim public money. The police investigation is ongoing.

It has also emerged that the free school will be transferred to a local academy chain - Dixons Academy Trust – which already runs three free schools across Bradford. Parents were informed by letter on 15 September. (Yorkshire Post, 15.09.14; 10.10.14) 9 Al-Madinah free school payment to be 'passed to police'

The BBC reports that an unauthorised payment of around £12,000 made to a former employee of the Al-Madinah free school is to be reported to police by the school which is now run by a new trust. The disputed money was paid to the school's co-founder Shahban Rehmat, who has since been sacked, and was approved by the former chair of trustees Shazia Parveen, who left in January. (BBC News Derby, 22.09.14)

A third of free schools have employed unqualified teachers

Around a third (32 per cent) of free schools report having hired unqualified teachers, according to a DfE survey report, Are free schools using innovative approaches? The findings are based on a survey of 74 free schools (43 per cent of those open at the time) which chose to respond. According to the report, non-QTS teachers were most likely to teach PE, maths, modern foreign languages, or art and design.

The DfE report also reveals that among those free schools surveyed:

• 16 per cent do not offer Design and Technology as part of their curriculum; • Around 15 per cent do not offer modern foreign languages; • Around 10 per cent do not offer history; • Around 10 per cent do not offer Citizenship; • Around nine per cent do not offer Art and Design; • around nine per cent do not offer ICT; • Around eight per cent do not offer music; • around eight per cent do not offer Religious Education; • Around five per cent do not offer Physical Education; • Around five per cent do not offer geography.

The report can be read at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/359483/D FE-RR286_-_Are_free_schools_using_innovative_approaches.pdf

Charity which opened school with just 12 pupils wins right to open Merton secondary school

A charity has had its bid for a new free school in the London Borough of Merton approved by the Department for Education (DfE) despite the fact that it opened a primary school - Park Community School - with just 12 pupils in the borough in September. Chapel St beat a rival bid from the Harris Federation to open a secondary school. The proposed school will open its doors in September 2016 and will be called Trinity High School. (Wimbledon Guardian, 02.10.14)

Hunt criticises “half-empty” free schools

During a visit to Leeds in September Shadow Education Secretary Tristram Hunt criticised the Government for creating “half-empty” free schools while places were urgently needed in parts of the city. There has been considerable controversy over the £3.1m Leeds Jewish free school which opened with just eight pupils last year and took on a further 11 in year seven in September 2014 – meaning it is less than half full in both of its two year groups. 10 Mr Hunt said: “It’s not right that while there are free schools standing half-empty on one side of town, local authorities are not allowed to build new schools where there is pressure on places – Labour will change that so that new schools are re located where they are most needed.” (Yorkshire Post, 09.10.14)

Free school is only undersubscribed primary in Westminster

CET Primary School, which opened in 2012 and is based in an office block in Edgware Road, began the new school year with unfilled places. The school received just 50 applications for 56 places while all other schools in the borough of Westminster were heavily oversubscribed, with most receiving two applications for every place.

Last year CET was forced to hand back more than £36,000 of government funding because it failed to recruit enough pupils. An Ofsted inspection carried out in January 2014 resulted in a judgement of requires improvement and during the summer the school was taken over by the academy chain Reach2. It was officially renamed the Minerva Primary Academy when it reopened on 1 September. (West End Extra, 26.09.14)

£18m free school opens with just 17 pupils

A south London free school which cost the Government £18 million opened in September with just 17 pupils. Trinity Academy is a secondary free school which occupies a pre-existing building on the former Brixton Hill campus of Lambeth College. The DfE purchased the freehold of the site for £18m from Lambeth College, though the free school is only based on part of the campus, with the rest to be used for a number of other education centres. According to Lambeth Council figures the borough expected to have 226 more places this year than required. (Academies Week, 19.09.14)

Leeds battle over free school land

Leeds council are reported to be considering legal action over the DfE’s decision to requisition the site of a former primary school to a Sikh ethos free school - Khalsa Science Academy – without payment. The council say that the former Fir Tree Primary School building in Chapeltown is a valuable Leeds asset potentially worth almost £1m on the open market, and the city should be recompensed for it. Read more at: http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/top-stories/court-battle-looms- over-leeds-council-s-free-school-handover-row-with-government-1-6851031

Leicester's Sikh free school looks set to open after funding withdrawn

Falcon’s Primary School, a Sikh free school which was due to open in Leicester but had its funding withdrawn by the DfE on 29 August, now looks set to open following the intervention of local Labour MP Keith Vaz. Schools’ Minister Lord Nash wrote to the school citing a breakdown “in the relationship between the trust, several members of the Falcons Primary School local governing body, the Principal Designate and other staff members” as the reason for the withdrawal of funding. However, the DfE has now agreed to allow the school to open on the condition that the trustees, who make up the Akaal Education Trust, meet a number of conditions, including restructuring the board of trustees and governing body to include more people from the primary education sector and finding a new Principal. Trustees were also asked to provide a secure financial plan

11 and budget for future sustainability. Thirty-seven pupils should now be starting at the school after the October half-term. (Leicester Mercury, 17.10.14)

C osta Coffee opening more branches in state schools

The Mail reports on an increasing number of state schools with Costa Coffee outlets. In most cases the concessions are introduced by catering companies which provide school meals. These firms then pay to become Costa franchisees and, in turn, make money from selling coffee in schools. It is unclear whether the schools themselves profit. While many of the schools with Costa branches are private, there are also a number of state schools including Hadley Learning Community in Telford, Shropshire; Hinchingbrooke School in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire; Appleton School in Benfleet, Essex; Greenford High in West London; Wren Academy in North London; Highams Park School in East London; Xaverian College in Manchester; and North Durham Academy in Stanley, County Durham.

Over the summer Camborne Science and International Academy became the first school in Cornwall to open a Costa outlet as part of a six-figure contract awarded to catering company Taylor Shaw. The deal also includes four other eateries and several other local schools. The academy has maintained that the Coffee shop is only for the use of sixth form students and teachers and will provide employment opportunities for the older pupils. (Mail Online, 20.06.14, West Briton, 10.07.14)

INTERNATIONAL

Chicago charter schools lag behind public schools

Charter schools have not improved Chicago's public school system and do not perform as well as comparable traditional schools, according to a new report from The Institute on Metropolitan Opportunity, an urban research group at the University of Minnesota Law School. The report concludes that, taking into consideration factors such as economic status, Chicago charters lag behind schools run by the local education authority in producing students who meet or exceed standards for reading and maths, as well as in graduation rates. The institute also says its research found that "charters are much less likely to be racially or ethnically diverse.”

Among other policy suggestions, the report calls for a three-year moratorium on charter school expansion and more research.

Read more at: www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chicago-charter-schools- study-met-20141013-story.html

Sweden’s for-profit free schools could face clampdown

The new Social Democrat-led coalition Government in Sweden has announced that it will set up a commission exploring ways to limit private sector activity in state education, health and care, Education Investor reports.

The move follows growing concerns over financial management of for-profit free schools which compose around 70 per cent of all Swedish free schools. In May 2013 one of the

12 country’s biggest operators - JB Education - collapsed leaving 11,000 pupils in uncertainty and debts of around a billion crowns (£86 million).

In December, Reuters reported that one in four Swedish secondary schools was lossmaking and that, since 2008, the risk of insolvency had increased by 188 per cent. Questions over standards have been fuelled by Sweden's falling scores in international league tables and examples of cost-cutting in schools. Praktiska Sverige AB, a large for- profit free school catering for 5,000 students, was recently accused of not providing enough temporary teachers with degrees, or adequate access to libraries and school nurses.

The Social Democrats have pledged to make all private education companies publish their financial accounts while their collation partners the Left Party want to see all profits made from state education, health and care limited or wholly reinvested. The commission, which has been characterised as a compromise between the two parties, will not report its findings until 2016. (Education Investor, 20.10.14)

Italian school students protest privatisation

Italian school students staged protests across the country on 10 October over proposed Government reforms that will see extensive privatisation within the schools’ system. Amongst other changes the centre-left Government of Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi intends to: introduce private sector funding into the school system, with individual schools competing against each other for private resources; increase school opening hours; introduce performance-related pay; and make students of technical subjects undertake unpaid apprenticeships.

Read more at: http://www.teachersolidarity.com/blog/italian-school-students-protest- education-reform#sthash.FM2dQ1Q2.dpuf

Is Texas about to ditch Pearson?

The Telegraph reports that the US state of Texas is on the verge of announcing that it will not renew the British Education giant’s contract to provide testing in its schools. The deal is worth around $500m (£310m) over five years to Pearson and its loss would constitute a major blow. In August Pearson and Apple were both dropped from a $1bn project to supply digital textbooks on iPads to schools throughout Los Angeles, amid concerns that they were in contact with the schools authority before the contract was awarded. Texas is expected to announce its decision on the contract renewal in November.

Pearson has issued three profit warnings since April 2013 and posted a 41 per cent drop in first half profits from £124 million in 2013 to 73 million in July 2014. Pearson’s problems have been blamed on a decline in college enrolments and public spending cutbacks in North America, its biggest market, and similarly difficult conditions in its “core markets”: the UK, Italy and Australia. It is also undertaking an expensive restructuring process, costing £176m last year and a predicted £50 million for 2014. This will also see around a 10 per cent cut in its global workforce by the end of this year.

Pearson is hoping to streamline its different business and is also seeking to expand in digital learning and so called “emerging markets”. (The Telegraph, 11.10.14, Education Investor, October 2014).