Schools wanting to become an academy will need to follow the steps outlined in the guidance document. You can access the guidance for schools becoming academies from this page. (The steps are summarised below).

Outstanding schools becoming academies - converison process

  1. Registration
    Firstly fill out an online registration form. The Department will contact you directly with further guidance and documentation. The person who contacts you will be your named support throughout the process. All schools must register using the online form before they can start stage 2. The governing body starts the consultation required by the Academies Act 2010 with interested parties about becoming an academy. (The consultation can start later but must be completed before the funding agreement can be signed).
  2. Application to convert/eligibility checks
    Submit a short application to convert form to your named DfE contact including the confirmation of a governing body resolution, the agreement of your foundation (if applicable) and confirmation of your outstanding rating from Ofsted. You will also discuss with your named contact your in-principle agreement to support another school to help raise standards. The Secretary of State will confirm whether he is content for your school to proceed to the next stage and, if he is, he will make an Academy Order. The current employer of the school staff starts the formal TUPE process.
  3. Obtaining funding agreement
    The Department will support the governing body and headteacher to ensure that all legal documents are completed relating to governance, land transfer and company registration. The Governing Body must complete the consultation required by the legislation with interested parties about becoming an academy before they and the Secretary of State sign the funding agreement. The funding agreement will stipulate the date when the academy will open and the local authority will cease to maintain the school from that date. The current employer of the school staff will continue (and ideally complete) a consultation on the transfer of staff under TUPE.
  4. Pre-opening
    The governing body will need to finalise matters in preparation for the academy Opening. This will include setting up new contractual arrangements as required and completing registrations

For the first wave of applications, the key test for approving an academy conversion will be that the school is currently rated outstanding by Ofsted. The Secretary of State expects he will approve all applications from outstanding schools unless they have a substantial financial deficit or other exceptional circumstances apply.

Length of time to convert to an academy

We expect the four steps to take three months (it may take longer if there are complicated issues). It is not necessary to follow these steps in sequence - depending on how quickly schools wish to convert to academies, they may need to undertake some steps in parallel to ensure that the necessary work is complete before opening. We hope that many schools will be able to reopen as academies by September this year.

Next steps

If you are an Ofsted-rated outstanding school you can start the process to convert to an academy at any time. If your school is interested in converting to an academy, your immediate next steps to begin this process should be to:

  • Complete the online registration form.
  • Convene a meeting of the governing body to agree the intention to convert.
  • Notify your LA of your intention to become an academy.

You can also:

  • Ask the LA to gather land ownership and land registration documentation and information.
  • Begin compiling lists of contracts, service level agreements and licences held that will need to be transferred.
  • Consider how you might wish to inform staff, pupils and parents of the intended conversion.