City Academies on hold

QS News understands that decisions on granting funding for future schools have been temporarily suspended while civil servants carry out value-for-money assessments on the projects.

One consultant working on plans for a new school in the Midlands said: “We have been put on standby on the job. It’s been suspended for the time being.”

Another consultant working on the programme added that a review was in place by the Department for Education and Skills since Labour won the General Election last month. He said: “There's a bit of a hiatus. The Academies division are looking to make sure they have value for money for future projects so are spending more time on project due for funding sign-off. They (the civil servants) are making sure what is coming through is right.”

A spokesman for the DFES refused to comment on the Academy programme. The spokesperson said: “All new builds (schools) are assessed versus strict value for money criteria.”

City Academies have been criticised in recent months by the National Union of Teachers because they are two-thirds more expensive than a traditional school: the average is around £25m, compared with £15m for an old-style school.

They also received flak after a newly-opened one, the unity school in Middlesborough, failed its latest Ofsted report last month.

The initiative is aimed at turning round poorly-performing schools, and plans to create 2,000 new academies by 2010. The government provides 90% of the funds for the school, while the rest comes from private sector backers.