The Department for Education published a Notice to Improve for Mighty Oaks Academy Trust on 2 October 2026, although the underlying letter is dated 1 July 2026. The published GOV.UK page says the letter and annex together form a written notice to improve financial governance and financial management at the trust. (gov.uk) In the letter, DfE says the trust's breaches of the Academy Trust Handbook on financial management were significant enough to warrant formal intervention. It adds that the notice reflects the trust's weak financial position and continued concerns about governance and board oversight of financial management. The department also records that the trust has undergone significant leadership change since September 2025, including a new accounting officer and a new chair of trustees in May 2026. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)
Annex A says the notice follows breaches of paragraphs 2.8, 2.10, 2.18, 2.19 and 2.20 of the Academy Trust Handbook. Those provisions cover financial planning, board approval of a balanced budget, monthly management accounts, regular sharing of those accounts with the chair and board, and timely action to protect financial viability. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) Taken together, the cited handbook provisions show that DfE's concerns extend across budget setting, monthly reporting and the board's response to financial risk. The issue set out in the notice is therefore one of financial control and oversight at trust level, rather than a narrow procedural defect. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)
The immediate consequence is a loss of some normal academy trust freedoms. The notice says Mighty Oaks must obtain DfE approval in advance for special staff severance payments, compensation payments, debt and loss write-offs, guarantees and indemnities, certain asset disposals, certain land and building leases, and any carry-forward or pooling of general annual grant beyond handbook limits. The letter also states that retrospective approval would itself count as a breach. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) The Academy Trust Handbook states that a Notice to Improve is used where DfE has concerns about financial management or governance, and that failure to comply becomes a funding agreement breach. It also says delegated authorities may be revoked until the department is satisfied that improvement is sustainable. (gov.uk)
Annex B places the trust on a monthly reporting cycle for at least 12 months from agreement of the plan. By the 20th of each calendar month, it must send DfE a revenue and expenditure report with explanations for significant variances, a balance sheet, a rolling 12-month cash flow forecast, details of aged creditors creating cash pressure, and separate accounting information for central teams. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) Within eight weeks of the notice being formally issued, the trust must submit a revised financial plan showing how it will return to a cumulative surplus position by the end of August 2028 and remain there thereafter. DfE also requires robust forecasts through 2027/28, realistic pupil-number assumptions and a clear efficiency and savings plan. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)
DfE has also tightened governance reporting. The trust must notify the department of all board meetings, including extra-ordinary meetings, and send draft minutes within five working days. The annex says those minutes should show that the board is providing appropriate challenge and has the skills needed to discharge its duties effectively. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) A separate condition requires a credible plan setting out which recommendations from the school resource management adviser programme will be adopted and how. DfE guidance describes school resource management advisers as experienced sector professionals who provide peer-to-peer advice to schools and trusts on using resources effectively. For Mighty Oaks, the implementation plan is due four weeks after the notice, followed by monthly progress updates until the actions are complete. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)
The notice also links financial recovery to structural change. Annex B requires Mighty Oaks to continue working with St Barts Multi Academy Trust and DfE to facilitate the planned transfer of the trust as soon as possible. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) If the trust causes unreasonable delay to that transfer, the annex says it must instead adopt the latest model funding agreement and articles of association and commission an external review of governance on terms agreed with DfE, with the findings shared with the department. Delays caused by the trust would be treated as a breach of the condition. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)
In practical terms, the published material is centred on trust-level finance, governance and transfer arrangements rather than classroom provision. The direct effect is tighter departmental control over financial decisions, a formal timetable for recovery evidence and closer scrutiny of board activity. That reading follows from the contents of the notice and annex. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) The handbook says a trust must place a published Notice to Improve on its own website within 14 days and keep it there until it is lifted. For Mighty Oaks, the notice will end only when DfE is satisfied that every condition has been met, the trust is compliant with the current Academy Trust Handbook and no further breaches have been identified. The notice therefore operates as both a recovery mechanism and a public accountability measure for the handling of academy trust finances. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)