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Sian Norris reports on the multiple ties to the Conservative Party of an online academy critical of “left-wing teaching unions”
The ‘sponsorship’ of a private education company providing free online lessons during the Coronavirus pandemic by Education Secretary Gavin Williamson raises questions of a potential conflict of interest, Byline Times can reveal.
Williamson is a sponsor of the Invicta National Academy, which offers free online English and Maths lessons for children to catch up on missed learning during the COVID-19 crisis and was established following the first Coronavirus lockdown last year.
It was incorporated as a community interest company on 3 July 2020 and the Invicta Online Company was incorporated as a limited company in September.
The Academy is dependent on sponsors to raise money to provide its lessons for free. Those sponsors include Williamson, who before Christmas threatened to take legal action against schools that planned to close to stop the spread of the Coronavirus.
The Ministerial Code states that ministers should be beyond any appearance of a conflict of interest. Sponsoring a private education company would appear to many reasonable people to be in direct competition with Williamson’s role in charge of state education.
There is no evidence that Williamson has provided the Academy with financial support. Byline Times has contacted him for comment.
Conservative MP Robert Halfon MP is another sponsor. The chair of the Education Select Committee and MP for Harlow, he has described the Academy as an “educational disruptor” doing “extraordinary” work.
They are are joined as sponsors by Laura Trott MP and Damian Collins MP. The latter has consistently voted in favour of increasing schools’ autonomy and academies, while voting to cut financial support for 16 to 18-year-olds in further education.
Others include Kristy Adams (whose name is spelled ‘Kirsty’ on the Invicta website) who stood as a Conservative parliamentary candidate in the 2017 General Election. She was linked to a “gay cure” church that sought to drive out “demons” from LGBT people with prayer.
The Academy told Byline Times that “supporters” is a more accurate description of the role of its “sponsors”.
“‘Supporters’ is a more accurate description, as this is what they have done… through encouragement and such like,” it said. “A sponsor would imply that money has changed hands or there has been direct intervention… which there has not. All our funding comes from private donations which allows us to deliver free lessons… Invicta is not-for-profit.
“When we approached all MPs including Labour for support, it was only Conservative MPs who responded. We would welcome cross-party support for offering free lessons to children lockdown.”
Up until lunchtime today, the Invicta National Academy website referred to all the people named in this article as “sponsors” not supporters. It also stated that sponsors give “financial support” as well as “public, personal support”. However, after receiving Byline Times’ request for comment, the sponsors page was deleted and replaced with a supporters page listing directors only.
When accessed, the old sponsors page led to an error message although the URL clearly said: https://www.invictaacademy.com/sponsors
Later this afternoon, Halfon told Byline Times: “I am just an honorary supporter of the Invicta Academy and that has now been corrected on their website.”
