Councils are set to be given new powers to apply for maintained schools in their area to become academies - and in some cases will not need governors’ support - under the government’s new Schools Bill.
The Department for Education has said councils may wish to apply these new powers for any or all maintained schools in their area, and expects them to be used from September next year.
If the schools in question are a foundation or voluntary-aided, then councils will need the consent of trustees of the school and the body responsible for appointing foundation governors.
However, it will not need the agreement from the governing body of other maintained community schools before applying for an academy order for them, new DfE documents suggest.
The government has set the target of moving all schools into multi-academy trusts by 2030 and has also said the councils can establish academy trusts themselves.
Now it has set out plans to give councils new powers to be able to apply for academy orders for maintained schools in their area. It has said it expects to begin inviting local authorities to apply from September 2023.
‘Open discussions’ on schools joining MATs
However, the new document explaining the government’s new legislation plans does not suggest that councils applying for academy orders for maintained schools in their area will necessarily see them moved into council-established MATs.
It says: “We would expect (DfE) regional directors, local authorities and schools to have open discussions around the prospect of maintained schools joining a MAT and which MAT they will join as part of the consultation between LAs and their schools.
“The final decision will be made by the regional director (on behalf of the secretary of state) on the basis of what is likely to drive the best outcomes for pupils.”
The document published today by the DfE has also said that before making an application for an academy order, local authorities will need to “engage extensively with local partners to ensure that their plans for maintained schools to join strong trusts meet local needs”.
The legislation also requires councils to “consult the governing bodies and foundations of any schools included in the local authority’s plan, and obtain the consent of the trustees of a foundation or voluntary schools and persons by whom foundation governors are appointed prior to making an application.”
The DfE document says that if councils are not able to get agreement from other maintained schools, it will be up to councils to decide whether to still apply for an academy order for them.
It says: “There may be circumstances where agreement cannot be reached with individual schools. Whether the local authority includes such schools within its plans in those circumstances will depend upon whether the local authority is prepared to continue to maintain individual schools.”
