The Department for Education has been using 10 different IT systems to oversee and manage more than 7,000 academies and free schools, it has been revealed.
The government is now set to spend £2.2m employing a technology giant to streamline its systems following criticism of the department’s oversight of these schools.
Fujitsu has said it will make the DfE’s approach more efficient and reduce the time spent searching for information.
However, Parliament’s spending watchdog has questioned why this investment is only happening now, long after the rapid expansion of the academies and free school programme began.
Meg Hillier MP, chair of the Public Accounts Committee, said: “It looks as though it is closing the door after the horse has bolted. The government rushed to open academies and free schools and had this target for 500 more free schools in its election manifesto before it had a system in place to manage them.”
Her comments follow a critical report from her committee last year over the department’s management and oversight of free schools.
The £2.2m two-year contract with Fujitsu is part of the DfE’s Academies and Free Schools System Integration Programme.
Fujitsu said: “In order to manage the growing number of more than 7500 academies, the System Integration Programme will bring greater integration, centralisation and sharing of data and information” across different DfE systems.”
Judy Anckorn, deputy director (South Central & East), at the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) said “Fujitsu’s appointment is a critical step to help us deliver new digital services that will enable the DfE to improve the way we administer academies and free schools.
“The services will ensure a better user experience for school administrators who are seeking to apply to become an academy, as well as reporting and analytical capability for Department employees responsible for managing them”.
A DfE spokeswoman added: “We are looking forward to working with Fujitsu to develop more integrated systems to support the Department and Education and Skills Funding Agency with our work with academies and free schools. It will also help us to deliver digital self-service to schools to enable them to work more efficiently.”
The DfE highlighted its Academies and Free Schools System Integration Programme in response to criticism from the PAC last year.
Ms Hillier said today: “It seems like it’s a sensible approach they are taking now but it rather demonstrates the concerns that we raised in our report about the shortcoming in department’s oversight of free schools and academies that they are only just doing this now.
“And it is still in the testing phase so will be a period of time before this is actually in place.”
The PAC’s Converting Schools to Academies report said: “The Department’s arrangements for oversight of schools are fragmented and incoherent, leading to inefficiency for government and confusion for schools.”
It recommended the department ensure its “oversight of schools is made more coordinated and effective”.
In its response, the DfE highlights its plans for the Academies and Free Schools System integration programme.
A DfE spokesperson said today: “The department takes very seriously the concerns raised by the PAC and NAO (National Audit Office) about the management of academies and free schools. We continue to address these concerns, including improving our systems and investing in the Academies and Free School System Integration programme.
“The department is looking forward to working with Fujitsu to develop more integrated systems to support the department and ESFA to work with academies and free schools. It will also help us to deliver digital self-service to schools to enable them to work more efficiently.
In response to the PAC last year, the DfE said: “The department has also been working to improve data and systems across both organisations. This includes bringing together data from across the Department and ESFA on educational, financial and governance issues to inform a holistic picture of issues at academy trusts.”
