This statement was posted on the Bellevue Place Education Trust on Sunday April 10th by Mark Greatrex. The Wembley Matters blog and Sunday Times article on BPET were published on the same day. LINK
Governance of Bellevue Place Education Trust
In response to the recently published Sunday Times article Bellevue
Place Education Trust wishes to be very clear that the Bellevue
shareholder who made an investment in Bellevue Education via a company
registered by Mossack Fonseca in the British Virgin Islands has no
connection with the Trust.
Bellevue Place Education Trust is a not for profit charitable trust
set up with the sole intention to establish and maintain high performing
schools in and around London. The Trust was established by two
parties, Bellevue Education and Place Group. The Trust’s governance structure is clear as to the structure and who the members and trustees are.
Below for transparency, is our statement we sent to the Sunday
Times. We have made it very clear that Bellevue Place Education Trust
is a not for profit charity that was approved by the Department for
Education to manage and maintain state funded free schools. The Trust
is a separate, independent organisation from Bellevue Education that is
solely focused on offering high quality education provision to its
pupils. We have some fantastic staff and governors who are supporting
the delivery of this vision and we aim to see off these allegations as
promptly as possible, enabling us to focus on our core purpose.
Below is the statement we have issued we have also included the Department for Education’s clear statement.
Statement from Bellevue Place Education Trust send to Sunday Times:
“Bellevue Place Education Trust is a multi-academy Trust,
sponsoring seven primary Free Schools across London and the South-East.
The Trust’s core purpose and responsibility is to establish, maintain
and manage state funded Free Schools. All Bellevue Place Education
Trust schools are focused to deliver high quality education provision in
areas where there is a shortage of primary school places.”
“Bellevue Place Education Trust is an independent charitable
organisation, with six trustees, of which one is Mark Malley. Trustees
delegate responsibility to a Local Governing Body for each school, who
appoint all staff (except the Headteacher), set the schools budget and
ensure the curriculum meets the needs of the pupils, in line with the
vision of the Trust.”
“In applying to be a Free School promoter, the Trust undertook
stringent due diligence and was approved by the Department for Education
and Charity Commission.”
A DfE spokesperson:
“We demand the highest moral and professional standards from anyone
involved in educating our children and, in common with every free school
proposal, Bellevue Place Educational Trust (BPET) was subject to
detailed scrutiny. We are clear that no-one will be handed control of a
school unless we are entirely happy with the result of the checks.
“Bellevue Education and BPET are separate organisations. Our records
show the individual named is not in any way involved in the governance
of BTEP schools. There are strict rules that prevent free schools and
academies being run as for-profit organisations.
“These include due diligence checks, credit checks, and enhanced
Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly Criminal Records Bureau) checks
and may include police and other checks necessary to ensure the
suitability of people to be part of the free school programme. As part
of those checks, we would look at an individual’s association with other
people or organisations.”
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This is what the Evening Standard wrote about BPET in February 2014 LINK
Both partners clearly have interests in financial returns.
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These are the most recent accounts of the Belleveue Place Education Trust that I can find:
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This is what the Evening Standard wrote about BPET in February 2014 LINK
Both partners clearly have interests in financial returns.
Bellevue Place Education Trust is a partnership between two companies, Bellevue Education, founded in 2003 by former prep school headmaster Mark Malley, and chaired by private equity investor Mawan Naja, and Place Group, a provider of educational advisory services, including “potential income generation” and the identification of “appropriate investment vehicles”, to groups setting up free schools and academies.
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These are the most recent accounts of the Belleveue Place Education Trust that I can find:
