Leadership crisis at acclaimed Birmingham schools

THE governing body of the once-acclaimed academy trust Perry Beeches is to step down and its executive headteacher will leave, handing control of the schools to the Department for Education.

Parents and staff at the Birmingham schools will be told the news today, the Guardian has reported after receiving a copy of the exit statement.

The academy trust had been popular with politicians keen to associate themselves with high-performing academy schools. Michael Gove, when he was Education Secretary, had said: “The two best schools in Birmingham are Perry Beeches I and Perry Beeches II”. 

Last month Mr Nolan defended his record in the wake of a damning report into the financial management of the trust.

The Education Funding Agency has concluded “urgent action” was needed to strengthen the financial governance that saw Mr Nolan paid as headteacher and also via a subcontracting arrangement to a company that he was the sole director of.

It is understood that two planned schools, which had been approved by the Department for Education, will not now go ahead.