DfE schools funding under the spotlight

摘要

The Department for Education (DfE) was unprepared for the financial consequences of expanding its academy schools programme, spending watchdogs have reported. Between the Coalition government taking office and March 2012, the DfE spent ￡8.3bn on the programme, a National Audit Office (NAO) study released on 22 November found. Academy numbers have soared ten-fold, from a mere 203 in May 2010 to 2,309 by September this year, and the auditors calculate the department ran up ￡1bn in unforeseen additional costs from helping so many local authority schools convert to academies.