Search Mobile

collapse

already registered?

Please sign in with your existing account details.

Email address

Password

need to register?

Register to access exclusive content, sign up to receive our updates and personalise your experience on brownejacobson.com.

Privacy statement - Terms and conditions

Forgotten your password?

collapseSign

Browne Jacobson home

Home

Insights

Blogs

Academies consultation concerns

academies consultation concerns

17 July 2013

At a school in Surrey, parents are being asked to choose uniforms for the new academy before a decision to convert to academy status has been taken. This has left stakeholders questioning whether the 'decision' is actually already a 'done deal'.

The Academies Act 2010 is rather deficient in terms of guidance on consultation for schools considering conversion. The Government has made it clear that they expect consultation to take place and that all consultation should be full and meaningful. Schools should follow general public law principles on consultation when considering academy status.

One of these principles is that the outcome of consultation should not be pre-determined. It is acceptable for schools to set out the preference of a governing body or sponsor, but this type of information must be balanced and clearly labelled as opinion. Yet particularly in the sponsored academy context where the sponsor is carrying out the consultation there can be a tension in the process between genuine consultation and the requirements for that school to become an academy.

related opinions

Multi Skilled Visit: what is the impact of it being a right under the new Electronic Communications Code?

A Multi Skilled Visit (MSV) is when a survey is carried out on behalf of operators for the purpose of seeing whether a new site is suitable for the installation and operation of electronic communications equipment.

View blog

UK universities receive fire and safety complaints

Statistics released by Eaton indicate that 1 in 4 Universities have received complaints about fire safety issues or building evacuation procedures from students, staff or members of the public in the last 5 years.

View blog

Admission policies may confuse disadvantaged families

In the run up to the deadline for completing the application form for secondary admissions for September 2020 entry, the Good Schools Guide has reported that some admission policies for state funded schools may confuse parents who are less affluent, work at weekends or have English as an additional language.

View blog