The boss of seven schools in Bromley has left after allegations around payments totalling more than £140,000 sent to a company he owns.
Education for 21st Century, which manages academies including The Ravensbourne School and Mead Road Infant School, has confirmed the departure of CEO Paul Murphy.
This comes after a government investigation into the trust’s finances.
The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) visited the trust in May after allegations emerged.
It discovered tax and national insurance were not deducted from payments of £145,006 made to a non-trading company owned by the former CEO.
ESFA says these payments were invoiced as 'CEO duties' between September 1, 2014 and May 3, 2018.
The case has now been referred to the HM Revenue and Customs which will continue the investigation.
Bob Neill, MP for Bromley and Chislehurst, said on Twitter he was aware of concerns about the trust and “shares many of them”.
I understand your concerns and share many of them. I have already raised this with Ministers and the ESFA https://t.co/UENoB6Q1z2
— Bob Neill (@neill_bob) November 8, 2018
He added he has raised this with ministers and the ESFA.
Parents of Mead Road Infant School in Chislehurst expressed worries in September after “six or seven” teachers left in the summer.
Education for 21st Century says it has now appointed a new CEO.
A spokesman said: “We are proud of the excellent education we deliver to over 6,000 pupils and students in our schools. All our schools have been inspected by Ofsted and have been rated good or better.
“We accept that some of our processes and systems centrally have not kept pace with our growth and we are working closely with the Regional Schools Commissioner’s office and the Education and Skills Funding Agency to strengthen these areas as quickly as possible.
"We have already appointed a new acting chief executive officer, and our actions will also include bringing in some new trustees to join the existing trustees, all who have excellent experience and expertise, so that our oversight and governance is as strong as the education we deliver every day.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel