Academy Conversions
Academy and MAT support
What makes a good academy conversion? When on the day after the conversion, none of the parents, pupils or staff notice any immediate difference!
Every conversion is different, every rebrokerage a challenge, and every trust is unique. Our approach is to make sure that from the outset, you are kept informed, the costs are clear, and that your project is well managed.
Every stakeholder in the process must have confidence in their advisors. You want to be assured that your advisors not only understand the legal process, but also the impact on key staff’s workloads. You need support from a team that does not passively sit by and wait for things to happen. Your team needs to keep everything moving forwards.
Trust support
Our support for MATs goes beyond the initial set up and conversion process. Many of our clients have grown to become larger MATs. Being part of that journey has been a real privilege. MATs often need to change or update their original legal documents, Articles and Funding Agreements are the most common. We provide a prompt and efficient service to enable you to do that.
As governance changes, reviews of Schemes of Delegation are common. We can support you with the expansion of your central team and key services. We have acted on a number of free school applications, builds and openings.
PHP provide support for trusts from a legal but also crucially, pragmatic, perspective.
Joining an existing trust
Maintained schools and trusts who are exploring joining, or who have decided to join, an exiting trust need to follow a process of due diligence and to consider if there is a good fit between the two organisations. That can feel daunting.
Having PHP advice to support the process, to work with you on the key issues, to point out any potential pitfalls and examine the likely benefits, reduces stress and pressure on your key staff and governors.
Academy re-brokerages and trust transfers is an area of particular expertise to ensure that the legal tasks are all correctly undertaken and the practical elements are all covered.
So, why use PHP?
Our involvement in around 1200 projects with more than 25 years of experience gives you the certainty that you are in safe hands.
Our experience of supporting single academy trust conversions, Catholic and Anglican MAT conversions, creating and building MATs and helping manage transfers between MATs means that we can talk you through your project, help with the planning and manage the outcome. Whatever unexpected complications arise along the way, you need to know we will be with you to the end.
Our clients keep coming back to us because the service we provide is exceptional.
It doesn’t stop there, the conversion is only one part of the process. Working with PHP gives you the confidence and knowledge that whatever comes up next, our team can support your team.
The attraction of genuine fixed fee pricing – no quibbles and no hikes is all part of the PHP service.
Conversions and Trusts
Before a school even makes the decision to convert, we can be there. Advice and support for governors, heads and the school office staff is key to the smooth delivery of the final project.
Our support for groups of schools who wish to create MATs is based on experience of putting together large and small MATs, working with the individual stakeholders, looking at the options and working out what is best for your emerging MAT.
Our work with schools and trusts continues, from the initial creation and forming a trust through to growth and development. Many leaders value the benefit of having direct and pragmatic advice on hand.
Land and Lease Agreements
Getting the land arrangements right can be the biggest headache in the conversion process. New agreements, disposals of land, making changes to existing academy schools and structures, as well as providing advice about new developments and potential pitfalls are some of the issues that may arise along the way.
Whilst every conversion has novel variations, there is rarely a situation that we haven’t already dealt with before. Conversions give trusts an opportunity to put right historical irregularities.
Contracts
A review of contracts, development of new SLAs and working agreements that really reflect the needs of the trust and schools enables trusts to get the right and best deals for their schools. Our team can make sure that new contracts and arrangements are tailored to your needs and that services are right for your trust.
Academy governance
Working closely with Trustees and Governance Professionals to ensure that schemes of delegation are effective, purposeful and deliver the strategic overview is a service we provide. Our long standing support of governance professionals and own personal experience of serving on governing boards give us not only insight but a practical understanding of how much trust governance matters.
Re brokerage arrangements and amendments to funding agreements.
Providing advice on the project planning right through to completion is invaluable to many of the Trusts with issues such as :-
- academy schools changing Trusts,
- changes to net capacity,
- extending or reducing school age ranges,
- removing sixth form provision
- removing or adding nursery provision
Our previous experience, good knowledge of the process and excellent rapport with DfE project leads provides you with the confidence that these will be handled expeditiously and effectively.
Variation of Funding Agreements
Changes to the DfE model documents, requests to increase or decrease capacity, age range changes and updates to the model documents are often required. You will be provided with the necessary documents, correctly drafted to support the change to the Funding Agreement. We can also support preparing business cases and consultations if necessary.
Given our many years’ experience of working with the DfE project leads, liaising with Regional Leads, and understanding the wider academies’ landscape enables swift, prompt and effective advice to be provided.
Consultancy Support
In many cases, our general approach to the conversion process removes the need for specific consultancy support. Our sector knowledge combined with experience of leading school and trusts through the conversion process is sufficient. However, if a conversion has more complex factors, or needs a more supported approach, we can provide that too.
Having access to the specialist legal advisors, and individuals who have been involved in running and supporting academy schools and Trusts for a number of years provides not only a different perspective, but an expert overview to lead Trusts to the next stage of their development.