Posted on Wednesday 16th February 2022
A small number of services provided by Entrust to Staffordshire County Council will be brought back in-house by April 2023.
The decision comes after a standard 10-year review of the agreement between the county council and Entrust, a joint venture company created by Capita and the county council in 2013.
Entrust will continue to provide a range of support services to schools including curriculum support, music lessons, outdoor education, property design and maintenance, information technology, health and safety, HR and schools finance, cleaning and catering, grounds maintenance, education improvement services, special educational needs, governor services and other school improvement activity.
Part of the original agreement in 2013 also saw the company provide other services to the county council such as skills and employability, early years support and other property projects. These services are under discussion to be returning to the council, to reflect the changing school landscape in the county and new county council priorities.
Services Entrust provides directly to schools will remain largely unaffected, and the county council remains a 49% shareholder in the business.
The county council will now work with Capita on the scope of the changes, and will implement the new arrangements by April 2023.
County Councillor Mark Deaville, Cabinet Member for Commercial said:
“Ten years ago, we set up Entrust to ensure services to schools could continue to be delivered, under a changing school landscape of academisation. Since then, Entrust has successfully delivered services to more than 400 schools in the county, and around 4,500 schools nationally.
“A relatively small part of Entrust’s business is services provided to the county council. Over the last 10 years these services have changed significantly and now is time to take a step back and examine whether the current arrangements are still best provided by Entrust alongside the school services.
“After reviewing where we are, we are looking to bring some activities back in house so they’re better joined-up with other county council priorities, whilst still very much ensuring Entrust is the provider of choice for maintained schools and academies alike.”
Costi Karayannis, Managing Director and Client Partner for Education and Learning at Capita, said:
“Staffordshire County Council and Capita’s Entrust joint venture was established in 2013. It is a thriving organisation which both parties are committed to. Entrust delivers a range of services that make a tangible difference to the lives of teachers and pupils in Staffordshire and beyond, including national programmes for the Department for Education.”
John Doherty, Chief Executive of Entrust, said:
“It is a normal part of the business process for clients and suppliers to periodically review services to ensure that they consider likely funding profiles and to encompass future needs. The Council’s decision presents an opportunity to review how services are delivered for Staffordshire’s learners and citizens, and to consider how they may be further improved for the long-term.
“We look forward to working together through this process as well as continuing to deliver excellent education services for local schools.”