Trust Concerns and Financial Issues at Arthur Terry Schools, Expert Says
Unravelling the financial challenges and staff unrest behind the ongoing strike action.
Arthur Terry schools are facing significant challenges following a government-issued “notice to improve” related to their financial situation. Chris Whiting, Managing Director of Academy Advisory, explains the causes behind the dispute and the resulting staff strikes.
The trust is dealing with a deficit of around £8 million, requiring a loan from the Department for Education that must be repaid over time under close government oversight. Whiting explains, “Spending had gone out of control. They have significant deficits of around 8 million pounds.”
Most of the trust’s expenditure—between 70 and 80 percent—is on staffing costs, making staff reductions a key part of cost-saving efforts. Whiting says, “The staff are concerned for their jobs. They’re also concerned for the children that they serve and to make sure these changes are not going to impact on the education that they can provide.”
He stresses that the financial problems are due to leadership failures, not staff actions: “The financial mismanagement was not an issue of their creation. It was a creation of failure in leadership and financial management.”
The government’s notice is a rare intervention, given only when trusts fail to meet standards outlined in the Academy Trust Handbook. Whiting notes, “Notice to improves are given out by the government quite infrequently… It’s quite rare to see industrial action of this scale.”
Funding pressures and rising demand for special educational needs support add further strain. Whiting points out, “We have a spike in demand and we don’t have enough special places… School budgets are being used to backfill money that should be coming from local authorities.”
A breakdown in communication and trust between staff and leadership appears to be fueling unrest. “What is clear is that communication has failed and there could well be a failure in trust with the leadership of that organisation,” Whiting says.
He highlights governance concerns, including the lack of an internal audit for at least 12 months before the notice to improve: “That is an important part of being able to make sure that the internal controls are functioning properly and things like this can be avoided.”
Looking ahead, Whiting stresses the need for leadership to take responsibility and improve communication: “There’s a lot of bridge building to happen and that can only happen if there’s a change to culture and an improvement to communication.”
Finally, Whiting questions the official explanation blaming the issues on a past accounting error, calling it insufficient: “To blame an error of this scale… on one simple thing seems to me to be an indication of not taking responsibility for the full situation.”