Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to hold an inquiry into the operation of the Wakefield City Academies Trust.

Academy trusts operate under a strict system of oversight and accountability. The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) periodically visits multi academy trusts to assess their financial management and governance arrangements. We do not publish these routine assurance reports. The ESFA undertook a routine review of Wakefield City Academies Trust between June and September 2015 and made a follow-up visit in July 2016. At this time, we do not intend to publish the ESFA report into Wakefield City Academies Trust, as this could be obstructive to the process of ensuring all the schools are placed with new trusts.

The Department is working closely with Wakefield City Academy Trust to manage a smooth transition for its pupils. The Department’s priority is to ensure that all children receive the best possible education, by transferring the schools to trusts that will be better able to improve outcomes for pupils.