Strategic Planning

A matter of trust

Some independent schools are considering sponsorship of academies; Charity Commission guidance on public benefit supports this. However, trust schools represent a more interesting proposition, writes Chris Billington

“I want every secondary school to be a specialist school, a trust school or an academy”, Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, December 2007.

The first academies opened in September 2002 and there are plans for 230 academies by 2010. However, sponsors have been required to establish a £2 million endowment fund. From July this year, the funding commitment has been relaxed, although not completely removed, for those that can demonstrate a successful track record in running schools.

Academies are state-maintained independent schools established as a charitable company limited by guarantee.
However, they have come in for criticism, particularly in the separation from their local authority and over the way
in which they engage or fail to engage with their local communities.

Another way
Contrast the position of trust schools as state-funded foundation schools supported by a charitable trust. “Trust school” is something of a misnomer, since the school’s governing body is established in the usual way and the trust is required to adopt the form of a charitable company limited by guarantee. The first trust schools opened in September 2007, with now more than 300 in the pipeline. Trust schools retain their relationship with and funding from their local authority, although they can set their own admissions criteria. The work of running the school remains with the governing body. The trust sits separately and has two principal statutory functions:
• to hold land, as custodian, on behalf of any school for which the trust acts as the foundation; and
• to promote community cohesion.

Beyond this, the trust has freedom, like any independent charity, to promote such charitable purposes as are set out
in its governing documents. There is no requirement for trust schools to be supported by any endowment fund. There are a number of factors for schools considering trust school status. Some are concerned that state funding is being prioritised for trusts and academies. Early reports from schools that have already made the transition focus on the formalisation of existing partnerships and trust schools developing closer and greater collaboration. However,
some schools are seeing the wider opportunities for a charity working with schools, including access to grants and other funding that is not available to the maintained sector.

While many of those involved in running a maintained school can do just that, run a school, few have the necessary skills, expertise or time to properly understand or manage anything other than a small part of the potential that an educational charity can achieve. There is a huge opportunity for independent schools to develop closer relationships with the state sector, including sharing their practical management skills in all areas relevant to a sustainable charitable organisation, including Charity Commission compliance and fundraising.

It is possible for an independent school to become a trust school, more importantly to partner a trust school and, perhaps more interestingly still, to become the foundation (or trust) for other schools (maintained or currently independent) that wish to adopt trust school status.

Small change
For those independent schools that use the charitable company limited by guarantee form, it would take only a small modification to adopt the required particulars to qualify as the foundation for maintained schools seeking to adopt trust school status.

Changes are generally easy to make without significant costs. No governance changes should be required to enable closer relationships with state schools. And work that promotes education can only increase a school’s delivery of
demonstrable public benefit.

Chris Billington is a partner in the Charity and Social Economy team at Wrigleys Solicitors LLP. Chris has worked with the Pathfinder Trust Schools and acts for a number of independent schools and educational charities. He can be
contacted at chris.billington@wrigleys.co.uk

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