I noticed with some concern that educational trust which runs academies including University of Chester Academy Northwich (UCAN) and University Primary Academy Weaverham (UPAW) along with some other schools is set to start making some staff redundant after posting a forecast deficit in excess of £3 million.

The University of Chester Academies Trust (UCAT) has been served a ‘financial notice to improve’ by the government’s Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA).

Now reports are suggesting UCAT may have to lose nine teachers and 24 support staff as part of a ‘restructuring process’.

According to a spokesman: “The Trust continues to have ongoing discussions with the Department for Education and is looking at all options, including the possibility of finding new sponsors for some schools.

“UCAT is committed to providing the best educational experience it can for its pupils.”

Well that’s OK then.

The question I would ask is why do we have to have academy schools at all? What is the point of them?

I ask this question in all seriousness and if anyone who is currently working in education can give me a considered response and explain the benefits, I would be absolutely delighted.

Once upon a time, schools were run by local authorities and there was a clear line of communication and responsibility.

We elected our councillors to form a council. Then those councils had education departments and they ran the schools.

We, as consumers, knew who was in charge, who to complain to and who to hold accountable.

I’ve had to look this up but academies are publicly funded schools which operate outside of local authority control.

The government describes them as ‘independent state-funded schools’. This, apparently, gives academies have more freedom than other state schools over their finances, the curriculum, and teachers’ pay and conditions.

One of the key differences is that they are funded directly by central government, instead of receiving their funds from the local authority.

In addition, they receive money which would previously have been held back by the local authority to provide extra services across all schools, such as help for children with special educational needs.

When academies first came into existence, they did not have to follow the national curriculum.

They could choose their own curriculum, as long as it was ‘broad and balanced’.

Call me old fashioned but I really rather liked the ‘old’ system. I could be wrong but I’m struggling to see what benefits our children have actually received from the lemming-like rush from schools to become academies.

But I am open to persuasion. Correct me if I’m wrong and tell me all the good things about academies.

By our columnist The Fly in the Ointment