THE company in charge of seven schools has tried to reassure parents after it was reprimanded for losing £900,000 in a year.

The Dominic Barberi Multi Academy Company, which includes St Gregory the Great and Our Lady's schools in Cowley, was rapped by its own trustees and the Government after is most recent accounts showed a deficit of £879,000.

In the accounts, the trustees said this was due to "high expenditure that went unchecked against a background of weak financial controls and lack of transparency."

Councillors and parents said it raised concerns about the impact on children's education but St Gregory the Great headteacher Dr Marcella McCarthy said the school had taken steps to sorting the problem out.

Education expert and Oxfordshire county councillor Professor John Howson warned the worst case scenario could be the trust closing schools, although Dr McCarthy dismissed this.

He said: "The trust could walk away from those schools and the local authority would be left to pick up the pieces.

"The risk is that it could disrupt the education of children if they are forced to close them because of bad management and governance that is not tight enough."

The multi-academy company received a letter from the Government's Education Funding Agency (EFA), which controls funding for all state-provided education, earlier this year ordering it to urgently sort out its finances.

Its trustees said the board had acted to strengthen controls and "improve visibility of the company's trading and cash performance" and expected it to be in profit for 2015/16.

Dr McCarthy said the problems stemmed from St Gregory the Great becoming an 'all-through school' in 2013 by accepting primary age children.

She said: "It is fair to say that the financial process did not really have the robustness at that time to support such a big organisation.

"We have now brought in other experts and we have got new directors with financial expertise.

"One of the problems with academies is you have got a lot of volunteers and it is very hard for them to deal with these complex financial issues.

"We have got schools who are interested in joining our trust, I would say the reverse is true from us having to close schools."

Oxfordshire County Council cabinet member for education Melinda Tilley said it also raised questions about the Government's plans to make all schools academies by 2020.

She said: "This is definitely more evidence that we should not be moving towards academisation.

"Schools that are financially sound and are doing well should not be forced into converting, it is outrageous."

The EFA ordered it to revise its recovery plan and undertake further actions to strengthen governance and leadership or face the possibility of Government intervention, including the withdrawal of funding.

Parents have been quick to defend the schools, while expressing their worries over the trust's management.

Jason Woodburn, 46, whose seven-year-old daughter Jessica attends the trust's St Thomas More School in Kidlington said: "Anything running at a loss is a concern for parents and what happens to a school is a concern, especially if it leads to staff shortages.

"To be fair to the school the teachers there are fantastic but you have to be concerned if they are losing money."

Speaking yesterday at the gates of St Gregory the Great school several other parents, who wished to remain anonymous, said they had not been informed of the reprimand.

One dad said: "For me it's a surprise as I wasn't aware of it. I never thought about the company itself; as a parent you're normally concerned about the school. Now it's mentioned I will probably pay more attention. Most of the parents are happy with the school so far but this will raise some concerns."

Another parent added: "It does worry me a bit - how is it going to affect St Greg's? The school itself is fantastic."

But Jayne Watson, 48, said she was not concerned by the figures as long as her 12-year-old daughter Ellise enjoyed her education at St Gregory the Great.

She said: "I was not aware of it. But Ellise is really, really happy there.

"I always think if they are happy they are learning well so it does not bother me."

The schools run by the trust:

  • Our Lady’s, Cowley
  • Our Lady of Lourdes, Witney
  • St Gregory the Great, Cowley
  • StJohn Fisher, Littlemore
  • StJoseph’s, Carterton
  • StJoseph’s, Thame
  • St ThomasMore, Kidlington