Academy conversion is seen by many as an exciting opportunity for schools to gain more independence and make positive changes to help drive up standards in education. It grants schools greater autonomy to allocate their budget as they see fit, improve curriculum quality for their students, set term times and decide the length of school days. It also allows schools to join a multi academy trust (MAT) which provides access to strong leaders with the ability to support a number of schools, improve teacher development and share their experience with others.
An academy is an independent school which receives funding directly from central government as opposed to their local authority. They are overseen by academy trusts. These are individual charitable bodies that are responsible for admissions, employment of staff and land, amongst other things. The day to day running of the school will lie with the head teacher who is overseen by the academy trust. The academy trust must consist of a minimum of three members (although the Department for Education strongly recommends five) who will have important powers under the articles of association. The Secretary of State has the power to appoint one member if he chooses. The academy trust will appoint the governing body which is responsible for the management of the academy on behalf of the members. The governing body will consist of trustees (or directors) including staff directors, the head teacher and other elected directors. MATs either need two parent trustees on its board of trustees or on its local governing body. Historically, schools had the ability to convert to become a single academy trust, but this is no longer possible in practice. Instead, schools now have the option to either form or join an MAT in which an academy trust is responsible for a number of academies. This means that economic benefits, services and best practice can be shared. In the MAT structure, there will usually be a local governing body which will have delegated governance functions and an advisory board which provides strategic advice. If you are a free school, the governance arrangements for a free school will be very similar to that of an academy. A free school is an academy which is set up from scratch or is a converting independent school.
The Department for Education published an ‘Academy Converter Checklist for Schools’, which provides a helpful tool for schools to ensure they have covered all stages of the process. It also contains steps that need to be completed after an academy trust has been established.
At Brachers we want to ensure that as all schools convert to academies they have the support, advice and guidance they need to help their school and pupils go from strength to strength. We aim to ensure that the school has a firm understanding of what an academy is, the responsibilities it has and how it can effectively manage its on-going compliance obligations. We have extensive experience in providing legal assistance during the academy conversion process and to date have helped numerous schools achieve an efficient transition.
Brachers can provide the following assistance:
Brachers understands the importance of supporting and encouraging the progression of education. As schools face this conversion process, Brachers appreciates that every academy will have unique needs and ambitions and we, therefore, strive to provide a service that recognises every academy’s aims and aspirations.
This content is correct at time of publication
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