A report from the House of Commons Public Accounts Select Committee says that the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills pressed ahead with a four-year expansion of private HE colleges without a robust legislative framework to protect public money and…

The Department for Education claims £1.1million has been spent so far on failed free school projects, but according to analysis by the Labour Party it could be nearly four times that figure…. Read article from www.mirror.co.uk  

This Left Foot Forward blog argues that, regardless of the future threat of for-profit schools, privatisation of English state schools is already underway and that this has been highlighted in the “the brilliant TUC-commissioned report Education not for Sale”……

The largest academy chain in the country is seeking to outsource all non-teaching posts in its 77 schools, from librarians to caretakers, to a for-profit organisation within the next month…

New research commissioned by the House of Commons Education Select Committee has identified four broad areas where real or perceived conflicts of interest may occur for Academy Trusts under current arrangements,

Extract from www.tes.co.uk Education secretary Nicky Morgan has refused to rule out the introduction of for-profit schools should the Conservatives win next year’s general election. Ms Morgan told an exclusive TES web-chat that the issue of allowing schools to be established by profit-making companies…

Extract from www.local.gov.uk The Local Government Association has called on the government to give local authorities much greater powers to keep a check on academies and free schools.  Councillor David Simmonds, chairman of the LGA’s Children and Young People Board, said:…

Extract from www.parliament.uk In a new report, the Public Accounts Select Committee questions the role of the Education Funding Agency with regard to school funding. The Chair of the Committee said: “[The Agency] needs to do more to address potential conflicts…

Extract from www.theguardian.com The breakneck expansion of private colleges should be investigated by the government spending watchdog, the National Audit Office.  According to the Chair of the Public Accounts Select Committee, this is an urgent matter following shocking and serious…

Extract from www.independent.co.uk Opening the new schools “at such speed” has led to risks, including a failure “to ensure public money is used properly”, even though £1.1bn has already been spent on them, say MPs on the cross-party Commons Public…