If DfE had prior knowledge and gave support of the purchase of the St Cuthmans site by Durand Education Trust in 2010

The request was successful.

Dear Education and Skills Funding Agency,

Please could you send me any communication between Department for Education and its Partnership for Schools division with the Durand Academy group of interrelated entities including London Horizons, Durand Education Trust and Durand Foundation School that concerns the purchase of the St Cuthmans site in Stedham, West Sussex between the period November 2009 and November 2010. In particular, any communication that expresses support or otherwise by the DfE of the purchase of the site by Durand Education Trust in June 2010 including any knowledge of the 1st April 2010 sale agreement between Alderley Land and London Horizons Limited that conditioned the purchase.

It is in the public interest to know what, if any, assurances were given that the Government of the day or the Opposition would support the purchase of the site without carrying out the necessary due diligence ahead of approval of the business case for what turned out to be a deeply flawed and subsequently failed project for a free state boarding school.

Yours faithfully,

Adrian Hearle

ACCOUNT, Unmonitored, Education and Skills Funding Agency

 

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

Thank you for your recent enquiry. A reply will be sent to you as soon as
possible. For information; the departmental standard for correspondence
received is that responses should be sent within 20 working days as you
are requesting information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Your
correspondence has been allocated reference number 2018-0026501.

 

Thank you

 

Department for Education

Ministerial and Public Communications Division

Tel: 0370 000 2288

 

academy questions, Education and Skills Funding Agency

1 Attachment

Dear Adrian
Please find letter attached
ESFA

academy questions, Education and Skills Funding Agency

Ref: ENQ-272607-N8D1Y419/06/2018

Dear  Adrian Hearle

I am very sorry that your request for information which was received on 16
June 2018 been delayed.

You requested:

Please  could you send me any communication between Department for
Education and its Partnership for Schools division with the Durand Academy
group of interrelated entities including London Horizons, Durand Education
Trust and Durand Foundation School that concerns the purchase of the St
Cuthmans site in Stedham, West Sussex between the period November 2009 and
November 2010. In particular, any communication that expresses support or
otherwise by the DfE of the purchase of the site by Durand Education Trust
in June 2010 including any knowledge of the 1st April 2010 sale agreement
between Alderley Land and London Horizons Limited that conditioned the
purchase.

It is in the public interest to know what, if any, assurances were given
that the Government of the day or the Opposition would support the
purchase of the site without carrying out the necessary due diligence
ahead of approval of the business case for what turned out to be a deeply
flawed and subsequently failed project for a free state boarding school.

I hope to be able to send a full response to you within 10 working days.

 

Please accept my apologies. If you have any queries about this letter,
please respond to this email. Please remember to quote the reference
number above in any future communications.

ESFA Enquiries team

show quoted sections

Dear academy questions,

The Committee of Public Accounts report on Converting schools to academies dated 4th July 2018 states as its first recommendation that "The Department should review academy trust failures to identify lessons for its scrutiny arrangements. It should write to us by October 2018 setting out the main reasons for the failures and how it proposes to strengthen its scrutiny of prospective academies and sponsors to ensure that risks are being well managed before and after conversion."

Understanding and being honest about the learnings from the role the DfE might have played in supporting the purchase of the St Cuthmans site without proper due diligence and processes being followed is key to the failures of the Durand free state boarding school project. I trust that you will be diligent in meeting my request for information.

Yours sincerely,

Adrian Hearle

academy questions, Education and Skills Funding Agency

3 Attachments

Dear Adrian Hearle

Please find attached a letter and attachments regarding your FOI request

ESFA

show quoted sections