From 2002, Labour's academy programme created 203 academies with a further 100 planned to open by September this year. With a new government proposing that all outstanding schools be automatically accepted for the programme and to convert within 3 months, the number for September may be set to rise dramatically.
The majority of previous conversions have been from existing state schools with the programme's original emphasis having been on deprived schools in inner city areas. However, 6 of the open academies were previously charitable, fee charging, independent schools.
In 2007 the DCSF published their prospectus to encourage successful charitable fee charging independent schools to play a greater role in education in the state sector and transfer their educational DNA to a brand new school: either by sponsoring or supporting an academy; or by becoming an academy in order to broaden its intake and spread educational opportunity to all local children where there is a need for more high quality school places.
We are aware of several independent schools that are considering a move to the state sector via the academies programme, and it may be that the new streamlined process will assist schools in achieving this.
This all sounds great in principle, but what does it mean in practice for independent schools that are considering a conversion?
Why convert?
The motivation for an independent school to consider a move to the state sector is usually that their governors have concluded that their current business model is not sustainable and they want to take control of the fate of the school. Often they will be struggling to balance the books as they face up to the costs of rising salaries and increased regulation.
At the same time, their customers - fee paying parents - are struggling with their own personal finances so fee increases are not an option. The result for many schools has been declining pupil numbers at a time when costs are increasing, which has persuaded the governors of some charities to review the long term viability of continuing to operate a fee charging school.
The proposal for an independent school to convert to an academy will often emerge from a more general strategic review of the school by the governing body. Initially, conversations will need to be held with the Local Authority and with the DCSF to establish their support for the proposals.
What's the difference?
Converting to an academy is a big change for a fee charging school but often much more palatable than closing the school and scattering pupils across neighbouring schools. When a school closes it affects a whole community - staff lose their jobs and ultimately the school site is sold, often for redevelopment. Academy conversion offers pupils the opportunity to continue their education with their classmates and the same teachers - as jobs will be saved and all staff will transfer across automatically.
Like most charitable fee charging independent schools, academies are set up as registered charities with an independent board of governors (referred to as the 'academy trust'). Normally, the board includes only one governor nominated by the local authority. Like foundation schools, they act as their own admissions authority and employ their own staff.
Academies are funded directly by central, rather than local, government. Their funding is determined by a funding agreement entered into directly with the Secretary of State with the academy receiving a grant based on pupil numbers. In return for the grant, a number of requirements are then imposed on the academy trust as to how the academy should be run.
Among other things, the academy will be obliged to teach the core subjects of English, maths and science in accordance with the national curriculum and also carry out assessments of pupils at the relevant key stages. They will also be inspected by OFSTED in the same way that maintained schools are.
Staff will transfer to the academy trust under their existing terms and conditions. All teaching staff will be required to have Qualified Teacher Status (with some transition exemptions granted) and staff are to have access to the Teachers' Pension Scheme and the Local Government Pension Scheme as appropriate. The academy trust is (subject to compliance with the TUPE Regulations) responsible for agreeing levels of pay and conditions with staff.
Admissions arrangements
The former independent school may no longer charge fees and must adapt its admissions policy to comply with the government's Admissions Code, which must be agreed directly with the DCSF as part of the funding agreement before the academy opens.
Entry tests cannot be used by academies unless they are part of approved aptitude selection (in the case of academies with a particular specialism) or banding arrangements. This may fundamentally alter the intake of the school, although initially most of the pupils attending will have joined the school when it was independent.
Existing pupils will have the option of remaining at the school although their parents will no longer have to pay fees. Class sizes are likely to increase, beyond just filling up empty places that existed prior to conversion, but to bring class sizes up to levels more typically seen in the state sector. The experience of many conversions is that they are popular with parents and pupils and are consequently oversubscribed.
Academies must also participate in the local Fair Access Protocol which means that they are obliged to admit an agreed number of children with challenging behaviour.
The school site and capital funding
In order to run the academy, the Department for Education will need to be satisfied that the academy trust has a sufficient interest in the school site. It may be that the freehold to the site is transferred to the academy trust or alternatively (and more typically) that a long lease arrangement is put in place.
In previous years, the establishment of an academy has involved considerable state funded capital expenditure in order to refurbish facilities, improve ICT provision and often to complete a new build. In our experience, this funding has been made equally available to independent schools converting. However, it remains to be seen what funds the new government proposes to make available for new academies.
Academies should in any case receive devolved capital funding (an annual grant paid through the Standard's Fund) on a similar basis to maintained schools.
The way forward
At the time of writing, the new government's education bill has not yet been published. The bill however promises automatic approval being given to schools judged to be 'outstanding' and a stream lined process to secure opening within 3 months.
Examples of independent schools which have become academies:
- Belvedere Academy, Liverpool
- Birkenhead High School Academy
- Bristol Cathedral Choir School
- Colston's Girls' School, Bristol
- William Hulme's Grammar School, Manchester
- The Hereford Steiner Academy, Herefordshire
Examples of independent schools in the public domain which are exploring conversion:
- St Ursula's School, Bristol
- Duke of York's Royal Military School, Dover
- European School Culham, Oxford
For further information please contact Chloe Brunton on 0117 314 5301 or Martha Burnige on 020 7665 0835.
This article was published in Independent Education Today - June 2010.
