Officials kept mum about academy probe as merger decided

An investigation into an academy trust’s payment of nearly £5,000 for “consultancy services” rendered by the CEO’s mother was conducted in secrecy while decisions regarding its merger were underway.

The discovery has reignited discussions on the transparency of pivotal decisions made by academies.

Such decisions typically occur during confidential regional advisory board meetings, attended solely by senior government officials and school leaders.

The Department for Education emphasized that details about “live investigations are kept confidential,” while education consultant and former trust CEO Frank Norris described the choice to conceal information regarding Heart Education Trust as a “misstep.”

Norris commented: “I understand the urgency to resolve these issues, but if the investigation had been allowed to conclude, the regional board could have considered all the evidence available.”

“This would have ensured that the final decision made was more secure in the long run.”

The investigation’s “outcome” report, released earlier this month, highlighted that 29 breaches of academy protocols were found at the Heart Education Trust last year.

It revealed that the four-school multi-academy trust “engaged in four related-party transactions totaling £4,747 with a former senior staff member without the necessary policies, contracts, or adequate assessments of value for money.”

Additionally, these transactions were not reported in its annual accounts or to the Education and Skills Funding Agency, which is mandatory.

Documented minutes omit mention of inquiry

Heart’s latest accounts – for the year 2023-24 – indicated that regulations concerning “related-party transactions were not followed regarding transactions amounting to £1,790.”

The payments were made to the trust’s founding chief executive Christina Kenna for “consultancy services and other support.”

Kenna is the mother of Hazel Cubbage, who took over as Heart’s CEO in 2022. Cubbage did not comment on the government’s findings.

The report noted that, concurrently with the investigation, the DfE’s “regions group conducted its own intervention with the trust,” leading to the reallocation of Heart’s schools to the Unity Schools Partnership in September 2024.

The department’s advisory board for the eastern region convened in April to discuss the transition. DfE guidelines indicate that advisory board members, who are generally trust leaders, “inform” government decisions but “are not the decision-makers.”

However, the notes from this meeting fail to mention the ongoing inquiry. Norris remarked that it “appears certain information was concealed in the interest of advancing matters rapidly.”

The DfE maintained that its “live investigations are confidential” to safeguard the inquiry’s “integrity,” ensure “fair and due process,” and protect the individuals involved.

It stated: “Confidential matters are not to be discussed in public forums and will not be included in notes available to the public. [Advisory board] notes do not serve as formal minutes of the meeting.”