| SPOTLIGHT |
Special school trust Parallel Learning is to close, after having to pay back a £3.38m settlement it struck with Lambeth Council following a legal claim for unpaid payroll services.
A settlement was agreed in 2019-20, and the money was repaid in March. A further £504,000 relating to a pension fund liability is also due to be repaid – which the trust said would be “completed shortly”.
Annual accounts for last year, published in February, show the trust had a £2.3m deficit.
The closure will involve the transfer of the trust’s six academies, based across South London, Kent and Essex, to new providers.
The Board’s decision to transfer the academies was made after the appointment of interim CEO Angela Barry, who will now oversee the closure.
A spokesperson for the trust said: “Our Board has voluntarily taken the decision to transfer our academies to new providers so that we can best assure the schools’ ongoing improvement. This process is underway and progressing well.
“As per our accounts, there was a settlement agreed with Lambeth Council and this has been repaid. We are in the process of settling the pension liability and this will be completed shortly.”
A spokesperson for Lambeth Council said: “Lambeth entered into a negotiated agreement with Parallel Learning Trust for the amount owed in payroll costs, which has now been fully recovered. The Trust has been paying the pension deficit in line with the Rates and Adjustment Certificate published in the 2022 Actuarial Valuation of the Lambeth Pension Fund.”
Lottie Winson
