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MEET THE TEAMWhether you are converting as stand alone academies or you are converting together in an academy group, we can provide guidance to your school on the legal steps involved in the conversion process. This will cover the following areas:
You do not have to be committed to the conversion process to speak to us! A member of our academy conversion team will be happy to attend your school, without charge, and meet the Head Teacher, Business Manager, Finance Officer and/or Governor(s) to discuss the various steps involved and answer any questions you may have, to allow you to make a more informed decision on how to proceed.
If you are considering converting to academy status as part of a group or if you are an existing academy planning on expanding, we can advise you on the options available, including establishing a Multi Academy Trust, an Umbrella Trust or a Collaborative Partnership.
In a Multi Academy Trust a single academy trust will be established for all the schools in your group. This provides the strongest form of governance and is the DfE’s preferred model if there are schools that are not performing well. A Multi Academy Trust allows the Board of Directors to employ an Executive Principal and allows for staff to move easily between the schools. Services will often be provided centrally by the Multi Academy Trust. As this model involves a loss of a certain degree of autonomy, it is important that you are confident that all the schools in your group share the same ethos and values.
If you are interested in establishing an Umbrella Trust this will involve setting up an individual academy trust for each school and an overarching Umbrella Trust. This is a useful model for a group of schools that are not situated closely together and/or are in different categories. An Umbrella Trust allows schools to retain their own autonomy but also to formalise collaboration in areas such as finances and school improvement.
In a Collaborative Partnership individual academy trusts are established for each school in the group. It allows for the highest degree of autonomy as there are no shared governance arrangements. Schools may collaborate through a Collaborative Partnership Agreement on a wide range of matters including joint purchasing and sharing training and best practice.
Do you need more information about the process of becoming a sponsor? We have worked with various individuals, businesses, charities and existing academies and we can advise on:
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