When considering conversion to academy status it is important to choose a structure that allows your school a suitable level of autonomy combined with the provision and structure that best supports the educational needs of your school.
Stand-Alone Academy Trusts
Stand-alone academies are currently the most popular academy structure. This structure allows your school to be governed by its own established academy trust, benefitting from independence from local authority control, and with the freedom to decide on staff policy, the curriculum and length of the school day and terms.
Multi-Academy Trust
A multi-academy trust is a single entity established to undertake a strategic collaboration to improve and maintain high educational standards across a number of schools. A group of schools form a single multi-academy trust which has overarching responsibility for their governance. The multi-academy trust is accountable for the performance of each of the schools in the group, although each can still have their own governing body which operates subject to delegation of power from the multi-academy trust.
Umbrella Trust
An umbrella trust is mainly used by schools that share a common goal or philosophy but do not wish to share direct management. In an umbrella trust each school converts as a separate academy trust with its own governors and funding agreement with the Secretary of State for Education.
Collaborative Partnership
Schools forming a collaborative partnership are not required to adopt rigorous formal partnership agreements but, instead, the head teachers of converting academies agree to work together in areas where they see mutual benefits.
The next step
If you would like to discuss information about the academy school structures, please contact one of our academy schools specialists at your nearest location, or complete the contact form.