Hastings MP calls for education trust to return 'millions diverted away from our students into coffers in Brighton'

Sally-Ann Hart said the University of Brighton Academies Trust (UBAT) ‘withholds staggering amounts of money’ from schools’ income.

The move comes from a Freedom of Information request made by the MP, who has also launched a petition.

The teachers’ union, the National Education Union (NEU), has also threatened strike action, calling for the trust to return to schools the ‘excessive amount of public funding it has withheld from schools already in crisis’.

Mrs Hart said on her Facebook page: “I've uncovered shocking figures about the University of Brighton Academies Trust (UBAT), the trust overseeing Hastings Academy and St Leonards Academy, our town's largest secondary schools.

“My Freedom of Information request (FOI) shows this trust withholds staggering amounts of money from our schools’ income, diverted away from our students into their coffers in Brighton, leaving them understaffed and struggling.

“An unbelievable 25.9 per cent of the annual funding grant for St Leonards Academy is withheld centrally - nearly £3 million, while at Hastings Academy, it's 16.45 per cent - around £1.1 million. This compares with typical five per cent and eight per cent deductions by other Multi Academy Trusts using similar funding models.

“Our schools are being forced to reduce costs year after year whilst UBAT’s bank account is swollen by the £4 million taken from some of our most hard-to-reach learners.

“That's why I am demanding that the University of Brighton Academies Trust does the right thing. Return the funds that rightfully belong in our schools. Transfer control of our schools to an academy trust that prioritises our children's future.

“Our kids deserve every opportunity to succeed; we need this money kept here in Hastings and St Leonards.”

Hastings NEU District Secretary Jenny Sutton said: “We are writing to UBAT to ask them to confirm how much they have taken from the public funding allocated to their schools and to demand they return this funding so that it can be put to the purpose it was intended, to properly fund our schools.

“Our schools are already in crisis with decrepit and often dangerous buildings, large class sizes and too few staff.

“These schools serve deprived communities with a high proportion of Pupil Premium students and SEND needs. Attendance and achievement rates are already below national average. Further cuts will undermine any progress that has been made for local children and will inevitably lead to a deterioration in behaviour, lower attendance and poorer outcomes for our pupils.”

The NEU said that as a result of inadequate funding, the Hastings Academy is facing the loss of all agency supply staff and the potential loss of external mental health support and counselling services for children. Teaching assistants are not being replaced and the school has already removed student support managers, significantly adding to teachers’ workload, it added.

It also said Robsack Wood Primary Academy and The Baird Primary Academy are facing the loss of teaching and support staff.

The schools in UBAT include West St Leonards Primary Academy, Dudley Infant Academy, The Baird Primary Academy, Churchwood Primary Academy, Robsack Wood Primary Academy and Silverdale Primary Academy, as well as Hastings Academy and St Leonards Academy.

NEU District Secretary Sutton added: “It already feels as if schools are at the frontline of a social crisis caused by 14 years of austerity. Teachers and support staff are run ragged supporting unprecedented numbers of children in mental health distress and increasing poverty.

“One in three teachers are leaving the profession within five years due to stress, workload and inadequate pay. We have the largest class sizes in Europe and some of the poorest educational outcomes.

“We will not hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to ensure that our interests, and the interests of the communities we serve, are protected, including balloting for strike action.”

The petition can be found at: https://sallyannhart.online/sos1066.

The University of Brighton Academies Trust has been approached for comment.