A ROW has erupted following a promise to hand hundreds of thousands of pounds to St Luke’s School during its transition to academy status.

Swindon Borough Council has agreed to give £800,000 to the White Horse Federation to reduce the school’s “future maintenance obligations” and, according to a cabinet report, to enable it “to move forwards”.

But the decision to part with £800,000 has been heavily criticised by Labour, especially as SBC budgeted a mere £80,000 for the school when it was under the control of the Local Education Authority.

The Labour Group’s shadow lead for education, Coun Carol Shelley, said it was, as far as she was aware, the first time the council has agreed to allocate capital funding to a school that is about to be transferred to a multi-academy trust.

She pointed out that, given that academies can apply for funding from central government, parting with £800,000 – a figure less than the £1.3m initially requested – was simply wrong.

“I think schools still within the LEA will be horrified to find out that this money is being taken away from improvements to their schools and given to a multi-academy trust who have the opportunity to bid for capital funding to the government.

“I fear that other Swindon schools will think there is a double standard in that the WHF gets a huge sum for taking on a school the council has failed to run properly.”

St Luke’s is a special school that in 2016 was placed in special measures by Ofsted. When a community school is placed in special measures, it is required by law to become an academy. The WHF are the school’s sponsors who currently manage it on behalf of SBC.

Of the £800,000 requested, £245,000 will be handed over prior to the completion of the academy conversion process “to allow the WHF to commence immediate capital improvements to the school”.

The remaining £555,000 cannot be drawn down until the WHF formally take the school into their academy chain.

The council have given me no building survey that justifies the release of £800,000 and for that reason I cannot support this spend,” Coun Shelley added.

But the Conservative cabinet member for children’s services and school attainment, Coun Fionuala Foley, hit back, accusing Labour of “putting process before pupils”.

She said: “St Luke’s provides education for some of the most challenging school children in the borough and the investment as part of the school’s transfer to an academy trust was essential.”

She maintained that other schools will not loose out because “the council has an annual maintenance programme for its schools which is unaffected by the financial assistance being provided to St Luke’s”.

It is thought that failing to provide the funding would result in the WHF withdrawing from the agreement, leaving SBC to find a new sponsor.

Coun Foley ended by urging the opposition “to stop making education a party political football,” and added: “Let us start a new page, and work together so that all Swindon’s children get the best start in life.”