The conversion of a school to academy status is more than a simple name change.  The new Academy Trust represents a completely new legal entity and it is important that the appropriate rights and obligations are vested in the Academy Trust after conversion to enable it to operate its academy as the school did before conversion.

Cutting through complexity

The process can be complex and time consuming, particularly if you’re tackling it for the first time.  Schools have often received grant funding or have entered into agreements with various other entities to share the costs and use of facilities.  In order for the Academy Trust to continue to operate these agreements and to prevent any breach of those agreements occasioned by the conversion, these have to be transferred to the Academy Trust.

Our experience makes it straightforward for you

We are well placed to assist you in transferring the school's contractual arrangements to the Academy Trust:

• Our team will negotiate and manage the process of transferring agreements from the school to the Academy Trust, including dealing with grant making bodies or other organisations sharing use of facilities with the school.
• We have standard documentation to facilitate the easy transfer of agreements from the school to the Academy Trust whilst protecting your interests at all times. 
• We are often involved in the transfer of agreements from one party to another and have significant experience of dealing with grant making bodies (such as the Football Foundation, the Big Lottery Fund and Sport England).  This means that:

- we understand the processes, especially the internal mechanics, involved in agreeing documentation with these organisations and the timescales required to complete the transfer before conversion

- we have built relationships with case workers and lawyers within grant making organisations, to assist with the negotiation and approval of transfers

- we are very familiar with the standard documentation produced by each grant making body and the areas that they are prepared to negotiate.

Cost effective 
Working with us saves you valuable time and resources. We offer fixed fees and discounted hourly rates ensuring you get the best advice at the best value for your school.

Please contact Jonathan Oddy on 020 7 665 0943 if you would like information or advice in this area.