Academies

What is an academy?

Academies are publicly funded schools independent of local authorities. According to the Department for Education (DfE), 'Becoming an academy gives professionals greater scope to innovate and raise standards for the pupils in their school, while remaining clearly accountable for the outcomes they deliver.' It is the government's intention that academies should, in time, form the majority of England's schools.

The government also encourages the establishment of free schools, which can be set up by parents or other special interest groups. These, too, are expected to be run as academies.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead acknowledges the creation of academies, recognising that the 'mixed economy' will provide choice and diversity for residents. A copy of our principles on working relationships between academies, maintained schools and the local authority is available to download below.

At the moment there are eight academies in the Royal Borough:

Lowbrook (primary) (from 1 April 2011)
Cox Green School (secondary) (from 1 December 2011)
Furze Platt Senior (secondary) (from 1 December 2011)
Datchet St Mary's (primary) (from 1 January 2012)
Altwood School (secondary) (from 1 July 2012)
White Waltham (primary) (from 1 September 2012)
Charters (secondary) (from 1 October 2012)
Desborough (secondary) (from 1 October 2012)

At the time of writing (October 2012) there are no other schools in the formal process of converting to become academies.

What is different?

Academies are given specific freedoms and flexibilities, including:

• Freedom in delivering the curriculum. But they must teach a broad and balanced curriculum including English, Maths and Science.
• Freedom to change the length of school terms.
• Greater control over their budgets. They receive the same funding as maintained schools, plus additional funding for services that the local authority would previously have provided.
• Ability to set their own pay and conditions for staff. Staff are employed by the academy, and Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (TUPE) rules apply to transferring school staff. Once established, the academy trust may consult with staff and unions about certain changes to terms and conditions, for example, to enable the academy to operate over different term lengths.

What remains the same?

Academies continue to serve children and their families in a particular area and they retain the same responsibilities as any maintained school as part of the learning community.

• The Headteacher still needs to work in partnership with the governing body on strategic matters.
• Academies are still subject to the law on employment, equality, admissions and special educational needs.
• They are required to follow the same rules over pupil exclusions as maintained schools. As at present, parents will be able to appeal against a permanent exclusion firstly to the academy's governing body and then to an independent panel.
• The statutory requirement to safeguard and promote the well-being of children remains unchanged and applies to academies as well as maintained schools and the local authority. As is the case in all schools, each academy will have a designated teacher and a designated governor for child protection, who will work closely with social care and early interventions services in the local authority and other agencies.
• Academies need to operate a complaints policy in the same way as any maintained school. Complaints will be dealt with according to each academy's formal procedure, after which complainants will have recourse to the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA).
• They are still subject to inspection by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted).
• Each academy is subject to the Freedom of Information Act.

The role of the governors

The principles of governance are the same in academies as in maintained schools but the governing body has greater autonomy. Governors take the decision about whether the school should convert to academy status. They establish the Academy Trust, a charitable company limited by guarantee responsible for the strategic oversight of the academy, with control over the school's land and other assets. They nominate the subscribers (members) to sign the Memorandum of Associations; and the Members of the Trust go on to establish the governing body via the Articles of Association. An academy has some discretion over the size and composition of the governing body.

The governing body can continue to delegate functions to committees, the Headteacher or any other holder of an executive office. They can also buy in additional skills and services such as Human Resources support or training for govenors.

What does the conversion process involve?

It has been made as simple as possible. Conversion information is available on the DfE website.

The process differs slightly according to the type of school and who owns the buildings and land. As a minimum, academies must:

• Create a company by registering the Trust with Companies House;
• Establish a new bank account for the Trust, so that the academy can receive funding; and
• Transfer, renew, purchase or procure contracts, service level agreements, licences and insurance, as appropriate.

The DfE currently pays a flat-rate grant to £25,000 to the school to help cover the cost of conversion to an academy. Model legal documentation is available on the DfE website to help reduce legal costs.

In terms of land ownership, in most cases academies will take a long lease (125 years) on the public land from the freeholder. In the case of private land, the owner and the Academy Trust need to reach an agreement. It is also possible for existing Foundations (such as those at many voluntary-aided schools) to continue holding land, providing there are no legal restrictions.

The role of the local authority

The local authority has a strategic responsibility under the Education Bill 2010 to:

• Ensure a supply of strong schools
• Ensure there is fair access for all to education
• Stand up for the interests of children and parents
• Commission new provision and oversee the transition of failing schools to new management
• Support maintained schools to improve or convert to academy status; and support collaboration in all other schools.

On a more operational level, the local authority is still responsible for:

• Transport for students living more than the statutory walking distance from home and for those unable to walk because of their special educational needs (SEN), disability or mobility problems.
• Educational psychology for children under statutory assessment or with a statement of special educational need.
• SEN assessment and statementing, monitoring of provision. SEN funding relating to resources allocated for individual pupils with high levels of need.
• Provision of Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) and Education Otherwise Than at School.
• Prosecution of parents for pupils' non-attendance. Academies are expected to ensure that attendance records are up to date.

The Royal Borough's principle towards its academies is that, as far as possible, services it provides to its maintained schools should also be available to academies. There would be a charge for such services, but currently no intention to make a profit. Academies are currently charged on the same basis as maintained schools. They may also be charged for services provided free to maintained schools, where funding has been transferred from the local authority to the academy to reflect the transfer of responsibilities.

Admissions

Academies set their own admission arrangements, including planned admissions numbers, but are required to confirm to the Admissions Code and collaborate with the local authority's school admissions team. They consider individual applications and arrange for appeals to be heard. However, significant changes from the present admissions position need the approval of the Secretary of State. The Academy must provide education for pupils who are wholly or mainly drawn from the area in which the school is situated.

The role of the local authority remains one of overall planning, of taking a lead in the local provision of education, and specifically in acting on behalf of young people and their families.

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