DfES defends academy sponsors

The government has denied misleading people about city academies after it was revealed that most of the schools' sponsors have yet to pay the money they have promised.

Reports today suggest four academies that opened last September have not yet received any of the £2 million pledged by their private sponsor, while a further ten have received some cash but far less than was promised.

According to The Guardian, only four of 27 academies opened so far have received the full amount of money – something critics insist must be resolved before the government presses ahead with plans to build 200 by 2010.

"This revelation exposes government spin and raises yet more questions about the beleaguered academies scheme," said Liberal Democrat education spokeswoman Sarah Teather.

"The government has led everybody to believe that the £2 million will be handed over from the first day the doors open to pupils at each academy. After all, the sponsor can exercise control over the curriculum, staffing and admissions from this day onwards."

However, a spokeswoman for the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) insisted there was "no question" of the sponsorship – part of the £25 million total cost of each city academy – not being paid, but said it was natural for it to come in stages.

"Donations are normally made over the lifetime of the building costs of the project. That's why there are no figures - yet - for some of the academies that opened as recently as September 2005," she said.

The revelation is only the latest controversy to hit the already unpopular academies scheme, however – it comes just weeks after claims that sponsors were being enticed to join the programme with promises of peerages. The government denied this.

Education professionals have also expressed concern about the level of input sponsors have in the curriculum, while a recent report from New Philanthropy Capital warned the schools did not provide sufficient value for money.

Today Ms Teather insisted ministers must address these controversies, saying: "Taxpayers deserve answers about whether the scheme is value for money, how cash is being raised and how sponsors are rewarded."

Similarly, Chris Keates, general secretary of head teachers union Nasuwt, warned: "How many more embarrassing pieces of information have to be revealed about academies before the government realises it must review the whole programme?"

However, the government has vowed to press ahead with the schemes, with the DfES spokeswoman saying: "Our sponsorship position is buoyant and we are half-way to our goal of having 200 academies open or in the pipeline by 2010."

She added: "Sponsors make more than a financial contribution - they are working to help turn around a history of poor achievement in some of the most deprived schools in the country."