"Schools that thought academy status would bring in extra cash are now getting a terrible shock
There's still a smell of new carpet in the special-needs block at Balcarras school in Cheltenham, and the staff look rather pleased with themselves. "Its hard to believe we fitted everything into the space we used to have," says Louise Young, the academy's deputy head of individual learning. "The kids love it, too."
But elsewhere in the newly converted academy, a "development plan" featuring extra post-16 classrooms and a dance studio is gathering dust. Some carpets may be new, but there's no doubt the shine has come off the academy dream at Balcarras.
From September, the school's budget will be cut by more than £400,000 – the equivalent of nine teachers. Its head, Chris Healy, admits he looks back wistfully on the halcyon early days of 2011, when the newly converted school was basking in the glow of a promise of around half a million pounds extra in the bank each year."
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