Academy conversion: Step-by-step guide to converting to Academy status

Before applying to convert

One of the first steps for a maintained school is to complete a Registration of Interest form. This is the initial notification to the Department for Education (DfE) that your school is interested in converting to academy status. Once the form is submitted, an individual at the DfE will be assigned to act as project lead for each conversion and work with you throughout the process.

Guidance

We recommend that the SLT reads the Academies Trust Handbook (“ATH“) since this is one of the key statutory documents that academies must comply with. It is better to become aquatinted with this guidance prior to conversion. Alongside the ATH, we would suggest reviewing the Good Practice Guidance for Multi-Academies Trusts (MATs). This explains what Regional Directors will look for when approving new academy trusts and provides guidance on developing a successful trust.

Consent

Before applying to convert your school will need to obtain consent from:

• The Governing Body of each school in the form of a Resolution
• Any Diocesan Board for faith schools
• Consent from any multi-academy trust for schools joining an existing MAT
• Consent, as appropriate, from your foundation or trust

Additional steps

• If your school has a PFI contract you must let your project lead know and they will be able to guide you through the additional steps that your school, the local authority and your PFI provider will have to take through the conversion process
• Instructing a solicitor early will ensure a smoothly managed conversion process. At this stage, we would seek to gather together all land registration documents so that you can be clear as to your school’s title to the land and all expected arrangements going forward
• Your school should obtain an actuarial assessment to understand how much money your trust will have to spend on pension contributions for staff members who are a part of the local government pension scheme
• You should compile a list of any commercial contracts that you seek to transfer to the new trust.

Due diligence

It is important for academies joining or creating a MAT to carry out due diligence. This is an essential part of risk management. Due diligence is a process by which stakeholders can understand relevant information such as costs, risk, benefits, assets and liabilities prior to an academy conversion and/or transfer.  It is beneficial to everyone involved to ensure that an informed decision is taken from the outset.

It is important that any information gathered is analysed to identify any risk related to the academy transfer and identify solutions. Some of the key risks may include:

• Legal and operational frameworks of the incoming academy and the MAT
• Financial performance and prospects of the incoming academy
• Post transfer integration to achieve the planned benefits.

Academies may want to allow around three months for the process to be undertaken. Initially, we would suggest that you conduct a desk based approach looking at information about the academy and/or MAT which is readily available. This information includes:

• Educational performance
• Ofsted reports
• Financial information available on Companies House
• Admissions information
• Capacity, pupil numbers, pupil premium
• Scheme of Delegation.

The MAT should consider any pension liabilities, pay rates and new staff members. The Incoming Academy and MAT should carefully consider whether they will be compatible in terms of ethos and culture. If no deal breaking discoveries have been made at Stage 1, and it has been decided to continue with a view to transferring the academy to an existing or new MAT, Stage 2 will be a deeper dive. At this stage you should seek and review information relating to the Incoming Academy and MAT which is unpublished. Some of the key areas that should be evaluated at Stage 2 include:

• HR contracts and policies
• Curriculum design
• Current and future pupil intake expectations
• Management software
• Specialist provision, if any
• Audit information including financial governance and health and safety audits
• Information in respect of safeguarding and complaints
• Current insurance policy or risk protection cover
• A detailed survey of school buildings.

We can assist with due diligence including reviewing existing governance arrangements, statutory pastoral policies and considering the terms of any commercial contracts.

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How to apply to become an academy

Mainstream schools should use the Apply to become an Academy service to begin converting to academy status. This is an online form on the DfE’s website. There is a separate process for special schools and pupil referral units.

Before you start, your Governing Body must consult formally about your school’s plans to convert to an academy with anyone they think will have an interest in your school changing its status. Your stakeholders will likely include, of course, staff, pupils, parents, other local schools and the local authority. You will also need to complete an equality impact assessment. The law does not specify how long the consultation should last. It is important to allow a reasonable opportunity to respond. The process must be completed before the Funding Agreement is signed. We would suggest the consultation runs for least four weeks.

Approval

It will take between two to six weeks for the DfE to assess your application and grant an Academy Order if your school has been successful.

Legal steps

The legal steps involved in the conversion process for each school will include:

• Establishing the Articles of Association for the MAT (and registering at Companies House)
• Completing and returning the academy land questionnaire
• Transferring the property
• Producing a Master Funding Agreement and any draft Supplemental Funding Agreements
• Preparing and approving Commercial Transfer Agreements to transfer staff, assets and contracts.

You should review any commercial contracts each school has with external providers and if you consider that these contracts should continue discuss with the supplier transferring the contracts to the Academy Trust.

You should contact Teachers’ Pensions to transfer the administration of the teachers’ pension scheme for your teaching staff and also get in touch with the local authority to transfer all your non-teaching staffs’ pensions. If you are establishing a new MAT, you will also usually need to appoint a local governing body for each school and approve any Schemes of Delegation.

The DfE has strict timelines for agreement and signatures of the key legal documentation including the Funding Agreements. Our education team will be able to support you to ensure that these are agreed and completed in time for your proposed conversion timeline.

Final preparations

The final steps to be taken for opening each academy are:

• Opening a new bank account and appointing auditors
• Registering each academy with the Information Commissioner’s Office
• You will need to ensure that your trust has appointed a Data Protection Officer
• Arrange insurance either by the risk protection arrangement or a commercial provider
• Carry out DBS checks on staff, local governors and members
• Your trust must have a complaints procedure in place that complies with the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014
• Review all statutory pastoral policies including admissions, behaviour, exclusions, educational visits, safeguarding and SEND
• Contact the Get Information About Schools service so that you can be issued with a new unique reference number for your academy
• Notify Exam Boards about the change to academy status.

Our education team will not only support you through the conversion process but we would be delighted to continue to work in partnership with you to provide ongoing legal support post-conversion.