:00:07. > :00:08.In Look East tonight, failing pupils and losing money.
:00:09. > :00:11.The Academy trust behind nine Northamptonshire schools pulls out.
:00:12. > :00:23.The museums and universities worried over future links with Europe.
:00:24. > :00:26.And a cold start to the day tomorrow. They will have all the
:00:27. > :00:29.details later. They took on nine
:00:30. > :00:31.academies in our region, overseeing the education
:00:32. > :00:33.of thousands of pupils. But following a damning financial
:00:34. > :00:35.review, the Education Fellowship Trust has handed control
:00:36. > :00:37.of the schools back It is the first time an academies
:00:38. > :00:42.trust has failed on this scale. Equals x + 24, because it was
:00:43. > :00:52.the number, plus 24. At the academy in Wellingborough,
:00:53. > :00:54.classes teaching today But for this school,
:00:55. > :01:01.and eight others in Northants, All given up and soon to be
:01:02. > :01:09.taken away from their People are talking about
:01:10. > :01:14.changes that will be made. Ther is absolutely no
:01:15. > :01:16.changes being made here. We have got fantastic staff,
:01:17. > :01:27.very supportive parents, brilliant Nothing will change.
:01:28. > :01:31.We will just carry on as normal. Maths here adds up, but the trust's
:01:32. > :01:37.finances were unsustainable. In the report, some expenditure
:01:38. > :01:41.irregular or improper. ?1,000 being spent on 350
:01:42. > :01:45.designer Christmas cards. ?630 going on 60 corporate umbrellas
:01:46. > :01:48.and ?20,000 being spent When it came to recruitment,
:01:49. > :01:58.the report found family members were being employed
:01:59. > :02:01.without interview. The communications director's
:02:02. > :02:02.job was unadvertised, coming with a ?70,000
:02:03. > :02:07.salary and benefits. Founded just five years ago,
:02:08. > :02:10.the Education Fellowship Trust has already been the subject
:02:11. > :02:12.of two reports into their They say they requested
:02:13. > :02:21.the transfer of their academies because of the financial constraints
:02:22. > :02:23.on the education sector. They say they want to ensure
:02:24. > :02:26.a smooth and timely transfer that minimises the impact on pupils,
:02:27. > :02:28.staff and parents. At one of its primary schools,
:02:29. > :02:38.this from parents tonight. If really comes down
:02:39. > :02:40.to resources and capability. If they have the capability to run
:02:41. > :02:43.the school efficiently, It does not really matter
:02:44. > :02:48.who is is running the school, as long they do it well.
:02:49. > :02:51.That is the important thing. It is a bit worrying,
:02:52. > :02:56.as a parent, to make sure the children get the
:02:57. > :02:58.funding they should get. Unions say the trust should have
:02:59. > :03:00.been monitored more closely. What is particularly worrying is the
:03:01. > :03:03.Department for Education did not get a grip on this trust
:03:04. > :03:05.and actually prevent them, or put in, some sort of
:03:06. > :03:07.external mechanism, to control the way in
:03:08. > :03:14.which they were spending money. The problem to solve now -
:03:15. > :03:16.finding a new trust, following the failure
:03:17. > :03:36.of the Education Fellowship. Expanding the academy system
:03:37. > :03:38.has been a key policy Earlier, I asked Wellingborough MP
:03:39. > :03:41.Peter Bone, if this situation proves If you look across
:03:42. > :03:50.the piece, academies are outperforming local
:03:51. > :03:51.authority schools. So, they are actually improving
:03:52. > :03:54.education for children. What has gone wrong in this instance
:03:55. > :03:57.is that I think we put in an academy which does not have a real
:03:58. > :03:59.connection with the area. What we should be encouraging is
:04:00. > :04:02.smaller, local academies to expand. A report three years ago found
:04:03. > :04:04.lots of financial irregularities. In 2016, things had
:04:05. > :04:06.not improved much, bit it was the trust themselves that
:04:07. > :04:09.went to the Department and asked for their funding to be withdrawn.
:04:10. > :04:12.The department did not go to them. They are not being properly
:04:13. > :04:15.scrutinised, are they? I really do not think
:04:16. > :04:17.you can claim that. All schools are very
:04:18. > :04:18.heavily scrutinised, All schools are very
:04:19. > :04:26.heavily scrutinised, Whether the schools
:04:27. > :04:32.were handed back by the trust or whether the government forced
:04:33. > :04:34.that to happen, clearly, it was not going to be
:04:35. > :04:43.tolerated any longer. But it has been three years
:04:44. > :04:46.since we learnt of the financial problems, so why has it taken
:04:47. > :04:48.so long for government If this had been a local
:04:49. > :04:55.authority school, the exact same process would have
:04:56. > :04:57.been followed, except, you cannot get rid of a local
:04:58. > :05:00.authority, whereas, in this case, you can get rid of an academy
:05:01. > :05:05.and replace it with another. Will there be better scutiny
:05:06. > :05:08.of the way any new academy All schools, whether local authority
:05:09. > :05:14.or academy of free schools, are all inspected by Ofsted
:05:15. > :05:22.to the same rigorous standard. We see schools being put
:05:23. > :05:25.into special measures all the time. In this case, the academy was just
:05:26. > :05:27.not improving enough. I just want the best education
:05:28. > :05:30.for the people here and I think I just want the best education
:05:31. > :05:39.for the people here and I think So, I regard it as positive news.
:05:40. > :05:51.Here are not negative news. A couple from Northampton have been
:05:52. > :05:54.found guilty of 84 charges relating to sex and drugs
:05:55. > :05:56.offences against children. Joan Taylor, who is 43,
:05:57. > :05:58.and 47-year-old Nicholas Taylor Stuart Ratcliffe has
:05:59. > :06:16.been following the case This investigation was the largest
:06:17. > :06:18.of its kind ever carried out by Northamptonshire Police.
:06:19. > :06:21.For ten years, Nicholas Taylor and his wife Joan committed the most
:06:22. > :06:25.Between 1996 and 2006, mostly at their home in Briar Hill,
:06:26. > :06:28.children were given Class A drugs, after which they were assaulted,
:06:29. > :06:30.sexually abused and, in some cases, raped.
:06:31. > :06:32.Today, they were convicted of 84 charges against ten children.
:06:33. > :06:34.Speaking outside court, Northamptonshire Police said they
:06:35. > :06:37.were pleased with the convictions and that Nicholas Taylor had shown
:06:38. > :06:40.There was nothing nice about him. Throughout the entire time of this
:06:41. > :06:42.investigation and every engagement we had with him,
:06:43. > :06:45.he was aggressive and violent. He was just a deplorable individual.
:06:46. > :06:47.And he demonstrated that behaviour to his victims
:06:48. > :06:50.Clearly dominating them and abusing them - sexually,
:06:51. > :06:53.physically and in every possible way - for his own gratification.
:06:54. > :07:06.So, I am delighted with what has been said today.
:07:07. > :07:09.At the same time he was abusing children and supplying them with
:07:10. > :07:11.drugs, he was presenting himself as a reformed criminal.
:07:12. > :07:13.After an earlier prison sentence for burglary and drug offences,
:07:14. > :07:15.he regularly gave interviews with the local media
:07:16. > :07:24.about his new so-called crime-free life.
:07:25. > :07:27.and, perhaps, most surprisingly, he was also a guest speaker
:07:28. > :07:28.at Northamptonshire Police headquarters, where, ironically,
:07:29. > :07:33.he spoke about about ways to reduce crime.
:07:34. > :07:36.For the last ten years, the European Research Council has
:07:37. > :07:38.given millions of pounds of funding for studies across our region.
:07:39. > :07:41.And not just for scientific projects - the arts and humanities
:07:42. > :07:44.Now there are fears Brexit could leave a significant funding gap.
:07:45. > :07:53.Treasures from India here at this new exhibition
:07:54. > :07:55.at the Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
:07:56. > :07:57.With objects from around the world on display,
:07:58. > :07:59.it requires collaboration with experts from abroad and also
:08:00. > :08:12.A recent grant from the European Research
:08:13. > :08:17.Council for a similar project here was for more than ?1.6 million.
:08:18. > :08:20.European research funds have been really crucial, in enabling us to
:08:21. > :08:25.embark on ambitious, comparative projects.
:08:26. > :08:28.It would leave a huge hole if researchers here cannot access
:08:29. > :08:32.This is one of eight Cambridgeshire university museums,
:08:33. > :08:44.They are also used for teaching and supported by academic research.
:08:45. > :09:01.Over the past three years, Cambridge University has offered the
:09:02. > :09:05.highly successful Polish studies course mixing language and culture.
:09:06. > :09:08.The enthusiasm for the language and the culture and it has led to great
:09:09. > :09:27.Modern language experience also work with experience abroad and relying
:09:28. > :09:31.on the European funding. The structure is whether employees these
:09:32. > :09:39.are dope the future. Collaboration will undoubtedly continue, but there
:09:40. > :09:41.is no one uncertainty about the future.
:09:42. > :09:43.Northamptonshire Police has asked the Crown Prosecution Service
:09:44. > :09:45.to consider charges over General Election expenses in
:09:46. > :09:48.The Conservative MP Michael Ellis has not responded.
:09:49. > :09:50.In total, 12 forces have sent files to the CPS,
:09:51. > :09:52.relating to Conservative candidates' expenses incurred
:09:53. > :09:55.It comes after complaints about the way Conservative
:09:56. > :09:56."battle bus" visits to constituencies had been recorded
:09:57. > :10:00.Northamptonshire Police says this is a "live inquiry"
:10:01. > :10:03.That is all from the late news team here at Look East.
:10:04. > :10:07.We will leave you with Alex and the weather.
:10:08. > :10:23.Good evening. E colder start to the day tomorrow. It will bring some
:10:24. > :10:29.rain, but then clear sky falling. Overnight temperatures for- five
:10:30. > :10:36.Celsius. This is the pressure pattern pushing from the North West.
:10:37. > :10:44.The wind will pick up during the course of the day. A bright start,
:10:45. > :10:51.but rather chilly. The chance of some rain coming the north the
:10:52. > :10:58.region. High temperatures of around 9-10dC. The National weather coming
:10:59. > :11:00.up, but no here is the outlook. A wet start to the weekend. Steam
:11:01. > :11:03.roller double figures. Through the weekend
:11:04. > :11:08.there will be rain around, most occurring overnight.
:11:09. > :11:13.Good evening, quite a range of whether an offer earlier today in
:11:14. > :11:17.the north and north-west of the UK quite a lot of showers around,
:11:18. > :11:20.lively ones, little bit of sunshine in between. The best of the sunshine
:11:21. > :11:24.to be found at the other end of the country towards the south-east in
:11:25. > :11:28.Kent, lovely picture here from one of our weather watchers. A range of
:11:29. > :11:32.temperatures, too. 17 degrees for a few, on the other side of the
:11:33. > :11:36.weather front, only seven or 8 degrees. Showers in the north and
:11:37. > :11:39.west. The fresh air will win out over tonight coming in behind the
:11:40. > :11:41.cold front, which isn't bringing much rain but it will bring some,
:11:42. > :11:42.clearing