And school bosses have warned more NTIs could be in the offing as funding continues to be squeezed.<\/p>\n
Julia Harnden, of the leaders\u2019 union ASCL, said trusts would be in different positions, depending on factors such as the historic level of reserves, the composition of schools and falling rolls. \u201cBut many are struggling financially.\u201d<\/p>\n The Department for Education issues NTIs to trusts when it has concerns about financial management or governance.<\/p>\n The documents state what the chain must do to address these issues. Failure to do so \u201cwill be deemed a funding agreement breach\u201d and could lead to the trust shutting.<\/p>\n Twenty that have been issued to 19 trusts running 129 academies are listed on the Department for Education\u2019s website.<\/p>\n On average, the chains each have six schools. Only five have 10 or more.<\/p>\n A similar system exists for council-maintained schools, with local authorities issuing their own notices when funding rules are breached.<\/p>\n DfE figures obtained through freedom of information show 159 local authority-run schools across 26 councils were subject to a notice of financial concern in 2023-24, up from 94 the year before.<\/p>\n Samira Sadeghi, of the Confederation of School Trusts, stressed NTIs were issued when \u201cthe most complex changes are needed\u201d.<\/p>\n These were \u201clikely to need both time and additional professional and financial support to implement\u201d.<\/p>\n Our analysis of the published notices shows all but two cite the trust\u2019s reserves or \u201cweak\u201d finances as a reason for the NTI.<\/p>\n Among them was the Beckmead Trust, which runs 12 special schools. It was given a notice in September after appealing to ministers for an emergency bailout.<\/p>\n A spokesperson insisted Beckmead was \u201ca well-run trust\u201d and that it would return to a surplus this year.<\/p>\n \u201cA 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.\u201d<\/p>\n The SAND Academies Trust in Gloucester was sanctioned two months ago after its newly installed chief financial officer discovered \u201chistoric financial failings\u201d.<\/p>\n However, a National Governance Association (NGA) report from 2024 found there had \u201cbeen a steady decline in the number of notices issued\u201d over the previous 10 years, with MATs becoming \u201cless likely to fail\u201d.<\/p>\n Of the 19 trusts with open notices against their names, seven \u2013 running two schools on average \u2013 were told to weigh up joining another MAT.<\/p>\n Stephen Morales, the chief executive of the Centre for Education Operational Excellence, thinks trusts in these situations would need to \u201cpull a rabbit out of the hat\u201d to provide the \u201cfinancial confidence\u201d to convince the DfE they did not need to merge.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the NTIs are basically saying, \u2018Explore that because your survival depends on it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Pointing to the number of single-academy trusts in deficit, ministers posed a \u201cchallenge to our best standalone schools\u201d earlier this year to partner with others and make the system less fragmented.<\/p>\n Last June, the South Cumbria Multi-Academy Trust was told to \u201cstrongly consider merging with a high-quality\u201d chain.<\/p>\n Plans to join one of England\u2019s biggest MATs, the Co-op Academies Trust, have since been given the go-ahead. The move is expected to be completed next year.<\/p>\n Steve Jefferson, the chief executive of South Cumbria, said his six schools would form Co-op\u2019s first hub in the area.<\/p>\n This would bring increased capacity, investment and \u201csignificant benefits\u201d that included \u201ceducational opportunities, enhanced support and shared expertise\u201d.<\/p>\n But the National Foundation for Education Research has said that claims large trusts could manage their finances more effectively were \u201cdifficult to evidence\u201d.<\/p>\n Larger trusts could pool cash, making it \u201cdifficult to observe the real circumstances of an individual MAT school and compare that with single trusts or maintained schools\u201d.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, three of the NTI trusts were ordered to cut staff.<\/p>\n St Ralph Sherwin Catholic MAT was told in February to \u201censure all financial recovery proceeds at pace\u201d. It must \u201cprovide evidence it is expediting efficiencies to bring in-year savings, including staff restructuring\u201d.<\/p>\n Kevin Gritton, its chief executive, previously said he has worked with officials on a financial recovery plan, with changes planned to \u201cstaffing structures at some schools and our central team\u201d.<\/p>\n The SAND Academies Trust was ordered \u201cto undertake a comprehensive review of its structure and staffing models as a means of reducing costs\u201d ahead of the next academic year.<\/p>\n It confirmed an independent forensic investigation had also been commissioned to establish \u201chow the financial position arose and to ensure full accountability\u201d.<\/p>\n A spokesperson said staff pay was secure, with financial support in place, as the trust focused on \u201cputting things right\u201d.<\/p>\n Many NTIs also order trusts to look for savings or efficiencies.<\/p>\n One was also told to “demonstrate that every possible economy is being made to achieve a balanced budget”. As part of this, it had to consider its senior leadership structure and staffing costs.<\/p>\n Harnden said ASCL was concerned by the highly pressurised financial climate that schools operate in, which is driven by a lack of government funding.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a very real risk that, if funding rates do not increase, we\u2019ll see more notices to improve, bailouts, and cost-cutting programmes.\u201d<\/p>\n A report from the Kreston group, a network of accountancy firms, found only 37 per cent of trusts returned in-year losses in 2024-25, down from 60 per cent 12 months earlier. The largest MATs recorded gains of \u00a31.1 million on average.<\/p>\n Despite this, \u201ca great deal of uncertainty\u201d remained. All trusts, except medium-sized MATs, were forecasting reserves to fall by up to 43 per cent over the next two years.<\/p>\n Our analysis suggests eight of the 11 trusts issued with an NTI before the start of this academic year have been handed a government bailout. Despite this, finances deteriorated in five of the 11, with three recording seven-figure deficits.<\/p>\n The most high-profile examples are at St Ralph and the Arthur Terry Learning Partnership. The former, a 25-school chain based in Derby, was given a second notice four months ago after slipping \u00a39.2 million into the red.<\/p>\n And Arthur Terry\u2019s deficit has almost doubled to \u00a38.4 million since it received its NTI two years ago.<\/p>\n Lee Miller, its interim boss, confirmed education secretary Bridget Phillipson had decided its 24 academies should \u201ctransition to a small number of strong, regionally based\u201d chains. This would \u201csupport long-term stability and ongoing school improvement\u201d.<\/p>\n Morales called the notices a \u201cblunt instrument\u201d that failed to address structural problems that caused trusts to be in \u201csuch a bad place\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThey conflate different levels of risk, they\u2019re retrospective and there\u2019s limited nuance. It limits their efficacy because if a really good school goes to the wall for reasons beyond its control, then that\u2019s terrible.<\/p>\n \u201cBut if a poorly run school isn\u2019t serving its children particularly well, then we need to think about how those learners are better served by someone else.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Julia](\"https:\/\/schoolsweek.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Julia-Harnden-inset-300px.jpg\")
Council-maintained schools<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/schoolsweek.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Samira-Sadeghi-inset-400px.jpg\")
Joining forces<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Staff cuts<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"Stephen](\"https:\/\/schoolsweek.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Stephen-Morales-movers-300px.jpg\")
\u2018We\u2019ll see more notices\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\u2018Blunt instrument\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/schoolsweek.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Emma-Balchin-inset-400px.jpg\")