A troubled academy trust saddled with an over \u00a38 million deficit is set to be carved up in one of the largest-ever MAT closures.<\/p>\n
Schools Week<\/em> previously revealed<\/a> how the Arthur Terry Learning Partnership (ATLP) had racked up seven-figure losses after purchasing iPads as part of an initiative to provide 11,000 devices for all pupils and staff.<\/p>\n Staff walkouts across 20 of its schools over planned redundancies and the resignation of the trust\u2019s CEO<\/a> later followed.<\/p>\n But today, interim boss Lee Miller revealed education secretary Bridget Phillipson has decided all the trust\u2019s academies \u201cshould transition to a small number of high-performing, regionally based\u201d chains.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is intended to ensure schools continue to benefit from strong regional expertise, local understanding and ongoing support,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile this decision ultimately rests with the secretary of state, we believe this approach provides the strongest opportunity to support ongoing school improvement, long-term stability and the very best educational outcomes.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2024, Arthur Terry was issued with a notice to improve by the Department for Education on financial grounds after being offered a \u00a31.5 million government loan and posting an almost \u00a34 million deficit.<\/p>\n But 2024-25 accounts, published last month, show the 24-school MAT received more cash as it slipped to an \u00a38.4 million deficit.<\/p>\n In all, it has been loaned \u00a33.5 million, all of which \u201chad been drawn down by the year end\u201d.<\/p>\n Trust chiefs struck an agreement in principle with officials for \u201can additional \u00a31 million of repayable funding\u201d.<\/p>\n The DfE has also \u201cagreed to provide a non-recoverable fund to cover the costs associated with restructuring\u201d, Arthur Terry recently confirmed.<\/p>\n The trust also consulted on the next phase of its controversial use of iPads, having bought 5,500 devices and leased 5,500 more, which created \u201can ongoing annual commitment of over \u00a31 million\u201d.<\/p>\n It has since decided to stop issuing the tech \u201con a universal one-to-one basis\u201d and return the leased tablets when their agreements end in July<\/a>.<\/p>\n Leaders \u201cwill decide how best to deploy devices\u201d from September.<\/p>\n Speaking this afternoon, Miller stressed the trust has \u201ccontinued to make progress in strengthening governance and improving the trust\u2019s financial position\u201d since his arrival in January.<\/p>\n He said discussions over the trusts his schools will move to and the timescales \u201cremain ongoing\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThroughout this period, ATLP will continue to operate fully, maintaining\u00a0its focus on school improvement and operational stability whilst supporting schools, staff and pupils,\u201d Miller added.<\/p>\n The last high-profile case of a trust of a similar size being wound up came in 2017. The Wakefield City Academies Trust gave up all 21 of its schools<\/a>.<\/p>\n This followed financial scandals and Ofsted pressure to turn around its schools after two were put into special measures in the space of three months.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Academies in 24-school MAT to ‘transition’ to other chains as DfE plans one of biggest-ever trust closures<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":311204,"featured_media":246864,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[32,572],"post-theme":[2381],"class_list":["post-246896","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-academies","tag-department-for-education","post-theme-academies"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\tiPad scheme changes<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Financial \u2018progress\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n