Removal of school funding

The Department for Education has made a surprising announcement to the sector that the academy conversion grant, a government grant providing £25,000 to voluntarily converting schools covering costs such as HR or TUPE advice, legal advice, software licence transfers, re-branding costs, and expenses incurred in setting up of the academy trust, will no longer be available to schools from 1 January 2025.

Schools hoping to receive the academy conversion grant must make their application by 20 December 2024.

For the time being at least, a replacement scheme has not been announced and there is no indication that alternative funding will be made available to schools. Schools will therefore need to consider alternative avenues to save costs broadly, as well as in respect of conversion.

To support schools with their conversion to academy status, HCR Law are pleased to include as part of our conversion package a free review of 3 statutory policies to ensure that they remain appropriate and align with the Department for Education’s expectations. We will also provide access to our School Line retainer free for 1 month.

To support all schools to manage costs whilst there is uncertainty as to funding available, HCR Law are also pleased to provide a special offer on key policy reviews. We will conduct a review of 5 key school policies, including the parental complaints policy, SEND policy, and children protection and safeguarding policy, for a fee of £2,500 plus VAT.

In addition, many schools find retainer services to be a cost-efficient means of receiving prompt legal advice on day to day matters, for a fixed monthly fee. HCR Law’s School Line retainer covers day to day queries relating to pastoral issues such as, admissions, exclusions, parental complaints, and governance, as well as commercial matters, and property queries.

Please get in touch if you would like further information.