Hart Shaw has a wealth of experience in dealing with the education and charities sectors and currently acts for a number of schools and charities providing audit, accounting, payroll and advisory services.
We can provide guidance and advice to schools who are still considering going through the conversion process and schools that have already converted.
Under the Academies ACT 2010, eligibility to apply to become an academy was opened up to all schools which can provide evidence that they are ‘performing well’.
Each school that is granted academy status must appoint external independent auditors and appoint a Responsible Officer to monitor, check and report to governors on the internal financial management processes and controls.
An academy receives funding directly from the Young Persons Learning Agency (YPLA), an agency of the Department for Education (DFE), rather than from the local authorities.
Academies are subject to a funding agreement which lays out a number of requirements in respect of the application of funds, governance and reporting requirements.
The school will have greater flexibility over the way pay and conditions are set out to staff, more control over the delivery of the curriculum and the length of terms and school days.
The academy receives the same level of ‘per-pupil’ funding as they do before conversion; however they have greater autonomy on how this money is spent. This could mean a successful conversion will leave a school with more resources to allocate directly to the classroom and to teaching.
Academies are able to procure from external suppliers a wide range of services, including professional services, which were previously provided by the local authority.
Hart Shaw can help guide you through the academy conversion process. Through our knowledge and experience, we can help Academies with:
