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

• E-ACT Blackley Academy
• Chalfont Valley E-ACT Primary Academy
• Denham Green E-ACT Primary Academy
• Greenfield E-ACT Primary Academy
• Ilminster Avenue E-ACT Academy
• Mansfield Green E-ACT Primary Academy
• Merritts Brook E-ACT Primary Academy
• E-ACT Pathways Academy
• Nechells Primary E-ACT Academy
• Reedswood E-ACT Primary Academy
• St Ursula’s E-ACT Academy

Secondary

• E-ACT Burnham Park Academy
• City Heights E-ACT Academy
• The Crest Academy
• Heartlands Academy
• North Birmingham Academy
• The Oldham Academy North
• The Parker E-ACT Academy
• Parkwood E-ACT Academy
• Shenley Academy
• West Walsall E-ACT Academy
• Willenhall E-ACT Academy

All-through

• Danetre and Southbrook Learning Village

Schools previously sponsored

Primary

• Aldborough E-ACT Free School (to 31 May 2014)^[12] (now sponsored by Loxford School Trust), with effect from 1 June 2014. The school is now known as Aldborough Primary School.
• Hartsbrook E-ACT Free School (to 31 August 2014)^[13] (now sponsored by Lion Education Trust), with effect from 1 September 2014. The school was closed on 31 August 2014, and re-opened on 1 September 2014 as Brook House Primary School.^{[14][15][16][17]}

Secondary

• E-ACT Leeds East Academy (to 31 August 2014)^[18] (now sponsored by White Rose Academies Trust), with effect from 1 September 2014. The school is now known as Leeds East Academy.
• Leeds West Academy (to 31 August 2014)^[19] (now sponsored by White Rose Academies Trust), with effect from 1 September 2014.
• Forest E-ACT Academy (to 28 February 2015)^[20] (now sponsored by SGS Academy Trust, with effect from 1 March 2015. The school is now known as The Forest High School.
• Sherwood E-ACT Academy (to 31 March 2015)^[21] (now sponsored by Redhill Academy Trust). E-ACT was the sponsor until the end of March 2015. The school is now known as Sherwood Academy. The Redhill Academy Trust will continue to sponsor the school until Summer 2016, when the school site is planning to close.^[22]
• The Purston E-ACT Academy (to 31 August 2014)^[23] (now sponsored by The Rodillian Multi-Academy Trust), with effect from 1 September 2014. The school is now known as The Featherstone Academy.
• Trent Valley Academy (to 31 May 2014)^[24] (now sponsored by The Lincoln College Group), with effect from 1 June 2014. The school is now known as The Gainsborough Academy.
• The Winsford E-ACT Academy (to 31 August 2014)^[25] (now sponsored by The Fallibroome Multi-Academy Trust), with effect from 1 September 2014. The school is now known as The Winsford Academy.

All-through

• Dartmouth Academy (to 31 August 2014)^[26] (now sponsored by Kingsbridge Academy Trust), with effect from 1 September 2014. Nick Hindmarsh, Principal has said that: "The name of the trust will change following a consultation exercise across the schools’ communities".

References

1. Wilby, Peter (7 November 2011). "Academy sponsor defends high pay and high expectations". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
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.

External links

• Official website