If a school that is applying contains a key part of a local SEN provision, will it be expected to continue to provide that service if it becomes an academy?

It is the Department’s expectation that existing educational provision in the school will transfer to the academy. The local authority (LA) will need to agree the transfer of land and assets (if applicable, for example in the case of separate SEN Units) with the school and to carry out TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) negotiations. The LA will therefore be part of the conversion process and will have the ability to influence the outcome of that process.

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 Can a child with a statement nominate an academy as their school of choice?

Yes. Schools that are performing well and are converting to become academies will be able to retain the admissions criteria they currently use. These arrangements and related processes should at all times comply with the Schools Admissions Code.

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 How are exclusions dealt with after a school becomes an academy?

Academies are required to follow the law and guidance on exclusions as if they were maintained schools. This includes reporting their exclusions to the local authority(LA). However the Governing Body Discipline Committee is not expected to invite a LA officer to a meeting to consider exclusion, although a LA officer may attend at the request of a parent. Also the academy is responsible for arranging its own independent appeal panel. 

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 Can academies refuse to take large numbers of permanently excluded pupils from elsewhere?

No. Academies are required to participate in their local fair access protocol, on a similar basis as maintained schools,in order to ensure that unplaced children (including those who have been excluded) are offered a place at a suitable school as quickly as possible.

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 What happens to the funding for a pupil who is excluded?

There is provision for money to follow the pupil in the same financial year.

There is a contractual requirement for academies to pay money to the local authority (LA) when they permanently exclude a pupil. The funding agreement says that the academy shall enter into an agreement with the LA, if invited to do so, where money will follow for pupils who are excluded by the academy and for admitting a pupils who have been permanently excluded from another school. This means that the academy should enter into an agreement with the LA if invited to do so.

 

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