Government Acts over Hastings Schools Funding
ERIN WARD
The Government has committed to abolishing the current Academy Schools’ funding model following the intervention of local MP Helena Dollimore in the House of Commons on 9 December.
Staff, parents and children demonstrate outside of The Baird Primary Academy in July 2024
The Labour and Cooperative Member of Parliament told the Education Minister, Catherine McKinnell, that parents, teachers and students in her constituency “were horrified to find out that the University of Brighton Academies Trust (UBAT) has been taking a whopping 20% of the Government grant meant for our local schools and education.” She went on to ask “What is the Minister doing to resolve these issues and make sure that every child in Hastings and Rye gets the best quality education?”
In response, the Education Minister, Gillian Keegan, admitted that the outcomes in some schools in Hastings were “just not good enough.” She said the Department for Education was “determined to drive up standards” and would “continue to work with the University of Brighton Academies Trust on that.”
The Minister went on to commit the Government “to ending its current financial model and to collaborating with school leaders on future budget setting to ensure we can drive high and rising standards in every school, including in Hastings.”
The move comes after months of negotiations between the teachers’ union, the NEU, and UBAT, attempting to stave off further industrial action. On a ballot in which almost three-quarters of all union members voted back in June, 93% voted to strike, leading to a total of five days of industrial action.
The issue has been ongoing since late April, when it was disclosed UBAT had taken nearly £3 million (25.9%) of the St Leonards Academy’s funds and around £1.1 million (16.45%) from the Hastings Academy and retained the money in their central funding pool – significantly more than the 5-8% that Academy Trusts generally take.
James Ellis, the NEU’s lead representative for local schools, says, “We believe that UBAT has historically been spending huge sums of money on their central team, whilst giving inadequate funding to the schools and frontline services that directly benefit young people in Hastings. This has led to excessive workload for our members and has damaged the quality of education that we can provide for our students.”
Since strike action was suspended in September, UBAT have agreed to a complete change to their funding model and have already made many executive staffing changes, such as the chair of trustees stepping down. As a result, they have requested that the NEU allow them time to reorganise their finances and create a new long-term plan for the trust.
In a statement to HIP, Ms Dollimore said, “since being elected, I have worked to resolve problems with the University of Brighton Academy Trust, which have led to around 3000 children missing school. I share concerns about the management and finances of UBAT, and in recent weeks I have had meetings with Ministers and officials in the Department of Education to raise these issues.”
More than 10,000 schools – nearly half of the UK total – are Academies, run by 1,200 multi-academy trusts. All could potentially be affected by the Department for Education’s new funding model.
We contacted UBAT for comment but have not received a response.
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