Ian Comfort

Ian Comfort CEO of AET

Ian Comfort at the AET Annual Conference June 2015
Born May 1953
Education Open University Mathematics
Occupation Educationalist

In October 2012 Ian Comfort became the CEO of Academies Enterprise Trust, which was the largest Multi-Academy Trust in England,[1] sponsoring more Academies than any other organisation.

Career history

Prior to joining AET (Academies Enterprise Trust) in 2009, Ian Comfort, was the Chief Executive of Edutrust,[2] a Multi-academy Trust which was renamed as E-ACT in 2010[3] He began his teaching career as a Maths teacher and progressed to become a Director of a Local Education Authority before becoming the Chief Operating Officer for the Ark Academies Chain [4] Joining AET in 2009 Ian Comfort was Group Secretary and General Counsel.[5] Following the retirement of David Triggs, the previous CEO in Sept 2013,[6] AET posted the notice of Ian Comfort's appointment as interim CEO on 2nd April 2014.[7]

As CEO of Academies Enterprise Trust Ian Comfort is also CEO of London Academies Enterprise Trust[8] which is a subsidiary trust within the AET family, containing 4 secondary schools.

Financial matters

In June 2015 Ian Comfort was reported as earning £220,000 per annum,[9] which was the second highest pay of CEOs in England leading Multi-Academy Trusts[9] In 2013 concerns were expressed nationally about the fact that he had received £329,000 in addition to his salary for "project management services".[10] This contributed to criticism of the Department for Education for allowing "related party payments" within Academy Trusts.[11]

In September 2014 Ian Comfort announced a downsizing of the Academy chain, which saw it reduce from 77 Academies to 68.[12] In the summer of 2014 Ian Comfort led a proposal for a Joint Venture with a for-profit business patner, which would have led to the largest outsourcing of school services within England. Following a letter of concerns on 10 Jun 2014, from 8 main teaching unions, the proposal was dropped.[13]

Individual Academy matters

In June 2015 Ian Comfort met with Sir George Young, the Hampshire MP to discuss concerns about school improvement at Winton Community Academy[14] In October 2015 Sir David Carter wrote a public letter to Ian Comfort warning about the unacceptably low standards at Millbrook Academy, a secondary school within the Academies Enterprise Trust group.[15] On the Isle of Wight, low pupil numbers following the decline of Weston Primary school into Special Measures, meant that the school had to be closed. Ian Comfort led the closure commenting publicly on how sad it was, but that it was no longer possible to provide the quality of education which pupils deserve, when numbers had dropped so low.[16]

In the spring of 2015, following a campaign led by MP Priti Patel, Ian Comfort announced that AET would no longer be considering merging the Academies in Witham.[17] In the summer of 2015 Ian Comfort also made national news by announcing that Academy Principals within AET have less freedom than headteachers of maintained non-academy schools.[18]


References

  1. ↑ Clark, Thomas. "Michael Gove's ideological vandalism of the education system". Another Angry Voice Blogspot. Retrieved 17 Dec 2015.
  2. ↑ Curtis, Polly (28 Nov 2008). "Government launches inquiry into academy funds allegations". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 Dec 2015.
  3. ↑ Paton, Graeme (24 Feb 2014). "Academies chain stripped of 10 under-performing schools". The Telegraph. Retrieved 17 Dec 2015. See also "England's Schools Not Open For Business" (PDF). ATL Union. ATL. Retrieved 17 Dec 2015.
  4. ↑ "Ian Comfort: Group CEO". Academies Enterprise Trust. Academies Enterprise Trust. Retrieved 17 Dec 2015.
  5. ↑ Archard, Michelle (12 Sep 2013). "Top head quits role at academy trust". Southend Standard. Retrieved 17 Dec 2015.
  6. ↑ Vaughan, Richard (10 Sep 2013). "Head of country's largest academy chain steps down". TES. Retrieved 17 Dec 2015.
  7. ↑ "Ian Comfort". Academies Enterprise Trust. Academies Enterprise Trust. Retrieved 17 Dec 2015.
  8. ↑ "London Academies Enterprise Trust". Endole. Endole. Retrieved 17 Dec 2015.
  9. 1 2 McGauran, Ann (5 Jun 2015). "Academy CEO Pay: How much do the biggest trusts pay?". Schools Week. Retrieved 17 Dec 2015.
  10. ↑ Boffey, Daniel (20 Jul 2013). "Academy chain under fire following revelation of payments made to bosses". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 Dec 2015.
  11. ↑ Sweet, Pat (10 Mar 2014). "DFE Slammed over related party payments at academies". Accountancy Live. Retrieved 17 Dec 2015.
  12. ↑ Hurst, Greg (1 Sep 2014). "Academy chain AET may lose control of schools". The Times. Retrieved 17 Dec 2015.
  13. ↑ "AET proposed Joint Venture" (PDF). UNISON. UNISON. Retrieved 17 Dec 2015.
  14. ↑ "Sir George Young and Kit Malthouse meet AET to discuss Winton Academy in Andover". Retrieved 17 Dec 2015.
  15. ↑ Carter, Sir David. "Pre Warning Letter" (PDF). Department for Education. Department for Education. Retrieved 17 Dec 2015.
  16. ↑ Weeks, Jon. "Weston Academy Closure Approved". Isle of Wight Radio. Retrieved 17 Dec 2015.
  17. ↑ Lodge, Will (27 Feb 2015). "Witham schools merger plan shelved by Trust". East Anglian Daily Times. Retrieved 17 Dec 2015.
  18. ↑ Wiggins, Kaye (17 Jul 2015). "Academies boss: Maintained-school headteachers have more freedom than those in academy chains". TES. Retrieved 17 Dec 2015.
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