Introduction Why should you Independent become a Free School? converters: What you should do before the Preparing to become application? The application a Free School stage Preparing for re- (Mainstream) opening Company Registration No. 6953650 – Registered Charity No: 1132122 Introduction Over the last 3 years the Free Schools policy has been used by the government to bring a range of high quality independent schools into the state sector. So far, the DfE have approved 15 applications from independent schools seeking to convert to Free School status. Joining the state sector can bring a range of benefits to existing independent schools but there is no easy passage to Free School status. The DfE have received dozens of applications from independent schools looking to convert their status but only a small minority of these have been approved. Some those who have been approved have found integrating smoothly into the state sector very challenging. It is therefore important that independent schools seeking to convert to Free School status are aware of the specific challenges facing them and begin to prepare for them at an early stage. This note aims to help you decide whether your independent school is right for conversion. It will also help you to prepare your application so that you include all the information the DfE are looking for and highlight some of the key issues successful converters have faced in their first couple of years of opening. This should give you an idea of what you should prepare yourself for in order to be an outstanding Free School. Why should you become a Free School? You will need to think carefully whether converting to Free School status is the right move for you. It is a challenging process, even for a school that is already open. You will need to consider how becoming a Free School may change your student population, how you provide for them, the way they are assessed and how you organise their learning in order to reflect the standards all state schools are expected to meet. You will need to be self-aware enough to acknowledge what changes are necessary to your existing provision and be willing to make them. What the DfE are looking for The DfE want to see evidence of need for any Free School – this may be to tackle a shortage of places, to improve low educational standards locally and/or to offer parents a new choice. All Free Schools must provide evidence that local parents want that particular school in their area. The DfE want to see high quality proposals which provide good value for money and which clearly add to the existing state provision in an area. As an independent school wishing to convert to Free School status you will have to show that you can provide good value for money and that you will be successful in the state sector. In order to do so, you should explore the following factors. These are not totally prescriptive, some will be more important than others, and the DfE will consider your application in the round, but if none of the criteria apply to you, you should seriously consider whether joining the state sector is right for you. 2 As an independent school you should be able to demonstrate that you have: been rated good or outstanding (or the equivalent) in recent Ofsted or other regulatory inspections; delivered consistently good results, for example, 5A*-C including English and Mathematics GCSE results that are at least equal to the local authority average in all of the last 3 years (if secondary provision); and have a good financial track record and should have a low, if any, level of debt. As a Free School your application should demonstrate how you will add value to the state sector, in particular by: not requiring a large capital investment (the department will expect you to convert with a viable site, requiring little to no investment); increasing access to high quality education for pupils from poorer backgrounds, for example by committing to use the pupil premium as part of your over-subscription criteria adding school places in an area of basic need – either by filling empty spaces in your school or creating new ones You should not seek to convert if: Your current provision is not good or outstanding; Your school has substantial debt; Conversion will require a large capital injection; You are struggling financially and see Free School status as a financial lifeline; or You have no plans to broaden your intake and/or increase the number of places you provide What you should do before the application There are a number of aspects to consider before you go ahead with your application. Establish need and demand The DfE require all Free Schools to show that they are being set up in areas where there is evidence of need for them. As an existing independent school, you can show this need by providing evidence: (a) of basic need, ie. a shortage of school places in the relevant phase in the area in which you plan to set up your school; and / or (b) that the current level of education in the area is underperforming. Another aspect of responding to need is dealing with deprivation. The DfE expects independent schools in areas of deprivation that are looking to convert to Free School status to demonstrate that they are offering the local community greater access to good quality state education. As an independent converter you will need to show that you are in a position to respond to the 3 needs of the community. You should look beyond your current pupil population and seek to reach out to parts of the local community you have not been able to serve before. You will need to show that, by converting to a Free School, you will be helping a more diverse cross- section of your local community so you will need to carefully analyse your potential pupil cohort and establish a plan to reach out to the community. You can analyse your local demographic by looking at other local schools, finding data on the ONS website (here) or you can buy into services such as geoplan.com which can provide you with detailed accurate data on the social/economic status of your catchment area. As well as evidence of need, the DfE ask all Free School applicants to show that there is evidence of demand from local parents/ young people for what they are offering. As an independent school, this means showing that there is not just demand for you to join the state sector from those who currently access it, but also from those who do not currently attend it. You should gather enough evidence of this demand to show that your school would be full in the first two years it opened as a Free School. The DfE will not approve schools which show insufficient demand. You can find more information on how to gather evidence of demand here. Responding to the need: consider what you would do differently to maintain a good or outstanding educational standard Once you have established that there is a need and a demand for your school to open up to the wider community, you should consider how you will respond to this while preserving your ethos. You should remember that, once converted, you will need to comply with the School Admissions Code. For example, this means you will not be able to select any pupils on academic ability, unless they are entering a 16-19 element of your school. You can find more detail on the Admissions Code and how to draw up a Free School admission policy amongst the DfE’s additional documents on pre- opening here. In becoming a Free School your pupil numbers should increase, even if only up to your current PAN. Moreover, the background of the young people attending your school is likely to change and you may well be catering for a wider range of abilities and special educational needs and for pupils from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds. This is especially relevant given that the DfE now require all independent schools converting to Free School status to prioritise pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds in their admissions policy. As a high quality independent school, you are likely to want to preserve much of the curriculum and ethos which has made you successful. However, if your pupil cohort is likely to change then your approach may need to as well. You may need for instance to modify your curriculum in order to make additional provision for pupils with special educational needs, or English as an additional language. You may need to organise your classes differently or make additional pastoral provisions. As a Free School you do not have to follow the National Curriculum and are free to adopt or retain whatever style of curriculum you favour, from a traditional academic approach to other more 4 specialist curricula (you can find more details on various available curricula in our note here). Nevertheless, you should think of the needs of all pupils, and consider how your curriculum and its delivery will improve pupil outcomes on a range of measures. You should also bear in mind that you will need to demonstrate that you are closing the attainment gap between advantaged and disadvantaged pupils. You should be revising your key performance indicators (KPIs) in line with your new goals. You need to remember the following: For primary schools, a broad and balanced curriculum should include the core subjects of English, mathematics and science and will need to support pupil progression onto secondary education; For secondary schools, a broad and balanced curriculum should include, but not be limited to, the core subjects of English, mathematics and science; 16-19 Free Schools do not have to offer a broad and balanced curriculum but applications should set out what subjects will be covered, the range of qualifications offered and how these will meet the needs and interests of all students; and Special and AP schools do not have to offer a broad and balanced curriculum.