What is the school’s current category?

1. 1: Determining school categories, and process for Community Schools What is the school’s current category? Should be clear from the initial enquiry. But additional sources of information include: School, School Website, Edubase, LA, Diocese, and Report on Title Church schools will tend to be either… Community Foundation Voluntary-Aided Voluntary Controlled Go to slide 2 Go to slide 4 Go to slide 5 The school will normally occupy public land, held by the LA* The land will normally be leased to the Academy Trust on a 125 year lease for a peppercorn rent. However, where the LA themselves only hold the land on a leasehold basis, the sub-lease to the Academy Trust will be consistent with the terms of the LA’s lease on the land. The GB/AT need to confirm that they have completed and signed a lease with specific date for transfer (a model is on the website). In some cases a draft lease which has been confirmed with the LA may suffice even if it has not yet been executed by the LA/AT or If the LA and GB have been unable to agree the terms of the lease by the time of signing (and sending to the DfE) of the Funding Agreement A Licence to Occupy (also know as a Tenancy at Will) can be used as a short-term temporary measure to allow the Academy to open on its preferred date, prior to the lease being agreed *If on any rare occasion the question of private land arises, the Report on Title should make clear the situation. Treatment of the land will be in accordance with the treatment of private land for foundation/voluntary schools on slides 3-5

2. 2: Foundation Schools • Prime Question: Does the school have a foundation? • Consider: • Does the Report on Title suggest there is a foundation, or say land is held by a third party? • Does the school’s website mention any foundations or benefactors, or land originally being provided by someone • Does the name of school suggest a link to the churches or to a charitable organisation/other third party (livery company, etc) who might be a foundation and might have provided land Information clearly suggests there is a foundation Not immediately clear Was the school formerly a grant-maintained school before it became a foundation school? No, opened as new foundation school Yes No, but it was Something else Foundation School without a foundation If it is a new school established since 2006, was the school established as a new foundation school or a new foundation school with a foundation (a Trust School)? What was the school before it was GM? What was the school before it was a foundation school? Check with the school and LA whether the school was established with a foundation when it became a foundation school or has since acquired a foundation Voluntary Aided Voluntary Controlled Community/County School Foundation School with a foundation / (a “Trust” School) Yes No The school doesn’t have a foundation The school has a foundation. Go to slide 3 Land is public land owned by the Governing Body. Note: The land automatically transferred to the GB when the school became a foundation school, regardless of whether the LA formally completed the paperwork. Failure to complete the forms will not delay conversion. If the GB wish, the Secretary of State can direct that their freehold in the land can be transferred directly to the AT. Alternatively, if the GB wish, the freehold of the land can be returned to the LA and leased to the AT as if the school were a community school. Freehold: is transferred directly from GB to AT. Secretary of State issues a direction to the GB to transfer the land. It must be done via a direction, private agreements cannot be entered into. Leasehold: GB interest in the land is transferred to the LA, who then lease to the AT. The Secretary of State issues a direction for the GB to transfer interest to the LA. The GB/AT need to confirm that they have completed and signed a lease with specific date for transfer (a model is on the website). In some cases a draft lease which has been confirmed with the LA may suffice even if it has not yet been executed by the LA/AT AT/GB lawyers should effect the transfer before conversion date. If not, interest will transfer automatically to whomever the SOS directed it should go to before conversion (or if no direction was made, to the LA). or A Licence to Occupy (also know as a Tenancy at Will) can be used as a short-term temporary measure to allow the Academy to open on its preferred date, prior to the lease being agreed If the LA and GB have been unable to agree the terms of the lease by the time of signing (and sending to the DfE) of the Funding Agreement If not agreed

3. 3: Foundation Schools with Foundations Prime Question: Was the foundation school at any stage previously a voluntary aided or voluntary controlled school? No Yes The foundation will generally hold public land. In many cases, the arrangements will be broadly the same as for schools without a foundation (as detailed on the previous slide) with the exception that land will either be directed to be transferred from the foundation to the AT (rather than from the GB to the AT), or will need to be directed to be transferred back to the LA (and then leased to the AT). Report on Title includes public land held by the GB or LA in addition to the foundation’s land, or public land held by the foundation Report on Title shows some wholly private land held by the foundation or GB, or land which was private but may have been publicly enhanced Public land held by the foundation Public land held by the GB will be subject to the arrangements on the previous slide Public land held by the LA. The AT will need to come to an arrangement for them to lease the land, as shown in slide 1 Key Question: Has the land been publicly enhanced? In some cases what was originally private land will have been enhanced at public expense and may therefore count as public land under the Education Acts. The definition of what is and is not public land can be complex, but is defined in para 12(3) of Schedule 1 to the Academies Act 2010. However, in the case of an older foundation that is to continue, it may be possible for it to retain the freehold interest in public land once the school converts, and then make the land available to the Academy Trust. In this case, the Secretary of State would enter into a supplemental agreement with the foundation that they would not seek to dispose of the land for a period of2 years after the school converts to Academy Status. Land HAS been enhanced Or, If there is a mixture of private and public land, foundations may like to consider a single arrangement. Land HAS NOT been enhanced, and is wholly private land It will be for the foundation and AT to reach their own agreement about continued use of the land. This can be done via a formal lease or informal arrangement, as long as the Academy has sufficient security of occupancy on the site.

4. 4: Voluntary Aided Schools Voluntary Aided school Public land held by the foundation. The arrangements will be broadly the same as for schools without a foundation with the exception that land will either need to be directed to be transferred from the foundation to the AT (rather than from the GB to the AT), or will. be directed to be transferred back to the LA (and then leased to the AT), Report on Title includes public land held by the GB or LA in addition to the foundation’s land, or public land held by the foundation Report on Title shows wholly private land held by the foundation, or land which was private but may have been publicly enhanced Public land held by the GB will be subject to the arrangements on the previous slide Public land held by the LA (including school playing fields). The AT will need to come to an arrangement for them to lease the land, as shown in slide 1 Or Key Question: Has the land been publicly enhanced? In some cases what was originally private land will have been enhanced at public expense and may therefore count as public land under the Education Acts. The definition of what is and is not public land can be complex, but generally, the powers under the Acts which would allow grants to VA schools to be designated as public money enhancement has rarely, if ever, been used. The intention was only for it to be used for major investments, and in discussions with the churches, it was agreed that DFC never, and LCVAP investment only if deemed substantial, would be so designated. Payments made under TCF schemes are similarly very unlikely to have had conditions attached. The Secretary of State’s policy is that schools should convert very much “as is” with as little disturbance to existing arrangements as possible. If existing foundations holding land would prefer to continue to hold the land, both public and private, we would in principle support this, so that the necessity for separate treatment of public and private land arises only when the school closes, or the land is otherwise disposed of. In such cases, the Secretary of State would enter into a supplemental agreement with the foundation that they would not seek to dispose of the land for a period of 2 years after the school converts to Academy Status Land HAS been enhanced Or as an alternative Land HAS NOT been enhanced, and is wholly private land Or as an alternative if Public land is also held It will be for the foundation and AT to reach their own agreement as continued use of the land. This can be done via a formal lease or informal arrangement, as long as the Academy has sufficient security of occupancy on the site. Foundation continues to hold both public and private land

5. 5: Voluntary Controlled Schools Voluntary Controlled school Public land held by the foundation. The arrangements will be broadly the same as for schools without a foundation, with the exception that land will either need to be directed to be transferred from the foundation to the AT (rather than from the GB to the AT), or directed to be transferred back to the LA (and then leased to the AT) Report on Title will usually include public land held by the GB or LA in addition to the foundation’s land, or public land held by the foundation Report on Title shows wholly private land held by the foundation, or land which was private but may have been publicly enhanced Public land held by the GB will be subject to the arrangements on the previous slide Public land held by the LA (including school playing fields). The AT will need to come to an arrangement for them to lease the land, as shown in slide 1 Or Key Question: Has the land been publicly enhanced? In some cases what was originally private land will have been enhanced at public expense and may therefore count as public land under the Education Acts. The definition of what is and is not public land can be complex, but is defined in para 12(3) of Schedule 1 to the Academies Act 2010. The Secretary of State’s policy is that schools should convert very much “as is” with as little disturbance to existing arrangements as possible. If existing foundations holding land would prefer to continue to hold the land, both public and private, we would in principle support this, so that the necessity for separate treatment of public and private land arises only when the school closes, or the land is otherwise disposed of. In such cases, the Secretary of State would enter into a supplemental agreement with the foundation that they would not seek to dispose of the land for a period of 2 years after the school converts to Academy Status Land HAS been enhanced Or as an alternative Land HAS NOT been enhanced, and is wholly private land Or as an alternative if Public land is also held It will be for the foundation and AT to reach their own agreement as continued use of the land. This can be done via a formal lease or informal arrangement, as long as the Academy has sufficient security of occupancy on the site. Foundation continues to hold both public and private land