Departmental advice http://www.education.gov.uk/f00209212/academy-free-school-presumption/presumption-s6a-eia-2006 2013-05-17T14:49:22 Academy/Free School presumption (under section 6a of EIA 2006) Academy/Free School presumption (s6a of EIA 2006) An overview of the processes involved in creating a new academy or Free School. <![CDATA[ 5. Flow chart A at Annex A of this document sets out the revised process for establishing new school provision under the academy/Free School presumption (section 6A) and the new competition process (section 7). 6. Existing statutory requirements mean that local authorities, in their role as commissioners, must plan and secure sufficient schools for their area. Where a local authority identifies the need to establish a new school, new section 6A of EIA 2006 places the authority under a duty to seek proposals to establish an academy/Free School and to specify a date by which proposals must be submitted. 7. It will be for local authorities to decide how best to do this, how to consult on the proposed new school and with whom (e.g. local community, Diocese and any others affected by the proposals). They should be clear from their school place planning about the type (e.g. mainstream, special educational needs, alternative provision), age range, gender and capacity of the academy/Free School they wish to see established. 8. The local authority should take steps to ensure that groups or organisations that might be interested in establishing the new school are aware of the opportunity. 9. The local authority should notify the Department at the outset of its intention to seek proposals for a new academy/Free School and confirm the site it will make available and that it will provide all the capital funding needed to establish the school (as they were required to do for academies established through the previous school competition process). The Department will <a href="http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/leadership/schoolorganisation">publish on its website</a> details of those local authorities that are seeking to establish new schools, including links to their websites. The Department will also inform the Independent Academies Association and New Schools Network, to alert potential proposers/sponsors to the new school’s requirements. 10. Once the specified date for academy/Free School proposals has passed, the local authority should send the Secretary of State a notification setting out: <ul> <li> the steps the authority has taken to seek proposals for an academy/Free School;</li> <li> copies of all proposals submitted and the authority’s assessment of the proposals;</li> <li> confirmation that the authority will provide the required site and all the capital funding needed to establish the new school.</li> </ul> 11. The local authority is responsible for meeting project development costs. For lead-in and setup costs, the Department will discuss with the local authority on a case by case basis to identify and agree the most appropriate mechanism to meet these. Until longer term funding arrangements are agreed, the expectation is that local authorities will contribute to these costs. A consultation document on funding reform was published on 26 March 2012. 12. The local authority should provide the Department with an assessment of the proposals it has received, based on the following criteria: <ul> <li> the quality of the places being added into the system, based on the proposer’s vision and educational plan;</li> <li> the capability and capacity of the proposer to deliver their proposal to time and on budget, based on their expertise and experience;</li> <li> value for money, confirming that the proposer considers that the costs of establishing the new academy/Free School can be met within the estimate of capital costs outlined by the local authority and, where they cannot be met within that estimate, an explanation of the reasons for the additional costs and how any shortfall will be met.</li> </ul> 13. The local authority may state its preference, which the Secretary of State will take into consideration when deciding whether or not to enter into a Funding Agreement with any of the proposers. 14. The notification should be submitted to the Department for Education: <a href="mailto:school.organisationproposals@education.gsi.gov.uk">school.organisationproposals@education.gsi.gov.uk</a>. 15. Where a suitable proposer is identified, it will be for the proposer to work to establish the new academy/Free School with support from the local authority and the Department, as required. The local authority will continue to have an interest because of its duties to secure sufficient suitable schools. ]]> false Bursar Governor Headteacher Local authority Education and training professionals Department for Education English