Becoming a trust school
The process to become a trust school is straightforward and
ensures both parents and the local community are fully consulted.
The basic process is as follows:
- The school's governing body decides it would like to become a
trust school and who it would like to work with
- The governing body draws up proposals and consults with parents
and other stakeholders
- On agreement with stakeholders formal proposals are
published
- After consultation the governing body decide whether to set up
a trust
- Once the trust is established, land is transferred to the trust
and new governors are appointed
If a local authority thinks that parents have not been listened
to, or that the trust will be unable to raise educational
standards, it can refer the school’s proposals to the schools
adjudicator.
The process
Example timescales
This table gives an indication of how long the formal process
may take. The process can start at any time during the school
year. Timescales will depend on how much detail has already
been agreed by the school and its partners before beginning the
formal process and on how frequently the governing body meets.
| Step |
In a term (15-16 weeks) |
Over a year |
| 1. Schools and partners decide to work together |
Already agreed |
Autumn term |
| 2. Consult parents and local stakeholders |
6 weeks |
Spring term |
| 3. Publish statutory proposals |
1 day |
After Easter |
| 4. Invite representations |
4 weeks |
After Easter |
| 5. Consider representations and decide whether to acquire a
trust |
2 weeks |
Summer term governors' meeting |
| 6. Implementation |
2 weeks |
September |
Trust schools toolkit
The DCSF has developed a toolkit which gives further information
and guidance to take schools through the process of becoming a
trust school.