The Academy Conversion Process: A Step by Step Guide for Schools

Converting to academy status is one of the biggest decisions a governing body makes, and one of the least familiar. Most chairs and headteachers will do it once, if at all. There is no institutional memory to draw on, and the guidance is spread across legal briefings, government pages and the advice of whoever happens to be in the room.

It is understandable that leaders find the process daunting. The good news is that it is a well trodden path, thousands of schools have completed it, and the sequence is more predictable than it first appears.

This guide walks through the process from the first governing body conversation to opening day. It is written for headteachers, chairs and trustees who want to understand what is actually involved before committing to anything.

Before You Apply: Getting the Decision Right

The most important work happens before any form is submitted.

Your governing body needs to be clear on why conversion is being considered. Improvement support, financial sustainability, staff development, shared services, a strong local partnership and protection from an uncertain future are all common reasons. So is the simple fact that a school feels increasingly isolated as neighbouring schools convert.

At this stage you should be exploring three questions.

• Should we convert at all? Our guide to the advantages and disadvantages of academy status sets out both sides honestly.
• If we do, should we join an existing trust or form our own? Our guide to joining a MAT or forming your own trust covers this.
• If we join, which trust? Our guide to choosing the right multi academy trust sets out what to look for.

Many leaders tell us they wish they had spent longer here. Once an academy order is granted, the process develops momentum, and unpicking a decision about which trust to join becomes considerably harder.

Let staff, parents and pupils know that conversion is being considered. This is not the statutory consultation, which comes later, but early openness prevents a great deal of difficulty.

Step One: Apply for an Academy Order

Once your governing body has resolved to proceed, you apply to the Department for Education.

Mainstream primary and secondary schools apply through the department's online service. Special schools use a separate paper application form. Pupil referral units apply to convert into alternative provision academies, and there is a specific form for that. Stand alone nursery schools cannot currently convert. Our guide to special school and PRU conversion covers what is different for those settings.

The application asks about your school, your reasons for converting, the trust you intend to join or form, and the people who will make up your governance structure. You will be given a named project lead at the department who is your main point of contact throughout.

Applications go to a regional director, supported by an advisory board, for a decision. Assessment typically takes a few weeks. If approved, you receive an academy order.

Step Two: Funding the Conversion

This stage used to be straightforward. Converting schools claimed a support grant of up to £25,000 towards their costs, principally legal fees.

That grant ended on 1 January 2025, and no replacement has been announced. Schools converting voluntarily now meet the costs themselves, from reserves, from a contribution by the trust they are joining, or from a combination of the two.

This matters more than it might appear, because a great deal of published guidance still describes the grant in the present tense. If your budget assumes it, revisit that now. Our guide to academy conversion costs sets out what conversion actually costs without it and where the money can come from.

Arrangements for schools converting under a directive academy order, where a sponsor is appointed, operate separately from the voluntary conversion grant. If that applies to you, confirm the current position with your regions group contact.

Step Three: Statutory Consultation

The Academies Act 2010 requires the governing body to consult those it thinks appropriate on whether the school should convert. In practice this means staff, parents, pupils, trade unions, the local authority and the wider community.

Two things are worth knowing.

The law does not specify a length. Most schools run four to eight weeks, and you should be able to show that people had a genuine opportunity to respond.

The consultation must be complete before the funding agreement is signed. You can start it early, and many schools do, so that it does not become the thing holding up conversion.

The consultation is on whether the school should convert. It is not a vote, and the governing body is not bound by the outcome. But a consultation that is treated as a formality is visible to everyone, and it damages trust at precisely the moment you need it. Our guide to running an academy conversion consultation covers how to do it properly.

Step Four: Set Up or Join the Academy Trust

If you are forming a new trust, this is where it is incorporated as a charitable company limited by guarantee, with articles of association, members and trustees.

Getting the governance structure right at this point matters enormously, because changing it later is difficult. Our guide to MAT governance explains the difference between members, trustees and local governing bodies, and why the distinction matters.

If you are joining an existing trust, the trust will run due diligence on your school and you should be running due diligence on the trust. Our guide to due diligence for conversion and MAT growth sets out what each side should be examining.

At this stage you also appoint a solicitor if you have not already, and start the process of opening a bank account, which takes longer than most schools expect.

Step Five: The Legal Work

Four documents do most of the heavy lifting.

The funding agreement. The contract between the academy trust and the Secretary of State that governs how the academy is funded and run. Once signed, the opening date is fixed.

The commercial transfer agreement. Negotiated with the local authority, covering the transfer of contracts, assets, staff and the apportioning of pre conversion liabilities. This is often the most time consuming negotiation.

The land arrangements. Usually a 125 year lease from the local authority, sometimes a freehold transfer, and for church schools a supplemental agreement with the diocese. A land questionnaire has to be completed. Land is the single most common cause of delay.

The TUPE process. Staff transfer to the academy trust on their existing terms and conditions. There are legal obligations to inform and, where measures are proposed, to consult. Employee liability information must be provided in good time. Our guide to TUPE and academy conversion covers this in detail.

Step Six: Preparing to Open

The practical work runs alongside the legal work and is easy to underestimate.

• Payroll and pensions, including local government pension scheme arrangements.
• Finance systems and a chart of accounts aligned to academy reporting.
• Insurance, either commercial or the risk protection arrangement.
• Contracts novated or renegotiated.
• Registration with the necessary bodies and services.
• Policies reviewed against academy requirements and the Academy Trust Handbook.
• Website updated to meet the information requirements that apply to academies.
• Data protection arrangements updated to reflect the new legal entity.

Academies typically open on the first day of a month.

How Long Does It All Take?

The department expects conversion to take a few months. In practice, four to six months from academy order to opening is a realistic planning assumption for a straightforward conversion.

It takes longer where there are private finance initiative contracts, complicated land arrangements, church school involvement, or an unresolved dispute with the local authority. Our guide to the academy conversion timeline sets out what drives the difference.

From Our Experience

We often see schools underestimate the project management load rather than the legal complexity.

The legal work is done by solicitors. The consultation is done once. What accumulates, week after week, is the coordination. Chasing the local authority for information. Reconciling the asset register. Answering the same question from three different parties. Preparing papers for the governing body. Following up on the bank account.

Almost all of that lands on a headteacher and a school business manager who are also running a school. Many leaders tell us that the conversion term was the hardest of their career, not because any single task was difficult, but because it never stopped.

Schools that come through well usually do one of two things. They appoint an external project manager, or they explicitly protect capacity internally, often by buying out some of the business manager's time. What rarely works is assuming it can be absorbed.

We also see, repeatedly, that land is the thing that delays conversions. Start it early. Ask your solicitor about it in the first meeting, not the fourth.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a school be forced to become an academy?

Schools eligible for intervention, typically following an inadequate inspection judgement, can be subject to a directive academy order. Most conversions are voluntary, initiated by the governing body.

Who makes the final decision to convert?

The governing body resolves to apply. The regional director, advised by an advisory board, decides whether to grant an academy order. Parents are consulted but the decision does not rest with them.

Do staff transfer on the same terms?

Yes. Staff transfer under TUPE on their existing terms and conditions. Changes after transfer are subject to legal constraints.

What happens to pupils with EHCPs?

The local authority retains responsibility for education, health and care plans. Academies must follow the SEND Code of Practice as maintained schools do.

Does the school have to change its name or uniform?

No. These are decisions for the trust and school, and most conversions change neither.

Can we leave a trust once we have joined?

It is possible but not straightforward, and it requires agreement from the department. This is a strong argument for taking the choice of trust seriously at the outset.

A Common Misconception

The misconception we meet most often is that conversion is primarily a legal process.

The legal work is real, and it needs proper advice. But the schools that struggle are rarely the ones with complicated leases. They are the ones that did not agree internally on why they were converting, or that chose a trust on the basis of a good lunch and a warm conversation rather than genuine due diligence.

Conversion is a governance decision with legal consequences, not a legal transaction with governance implications. Getting the first part right makes the second part manageable.

Questions for Leaders

• Can we articulate, in one sentence, why conversion is right for our children?
• Have we genuinely explored the alternative of not converting?
• What due diligence have we done on the trust, as opposed to the trust doing on us?
• Who is holding the project plan, and do they have the time?
• Have we raised land arrangements yet?
• What will we tell staff, and when?

Our Perspective

Conversion is a means, not an end. The question that matters is not whether your school becomes an academy but whether children get a better education as a result.

The strongest conversions we see are the ones where a governing body could explain, clearly and honestly, what would be better for pupils afterwards and how they would know. The weakest are the ones driven by anxiety about what might happen if they do nothing.

If you can answer the first question well, the process itself is manageable. If you cannot, no amount of good project management will fix it.

How Can Jarvis Education Help?

Jarvis Education supports schools and trusts through academy conversion and MAT growth, from the first governing body discussion to post conversion consolidation.

We provide project management so that conversion does not land entirely on your headteacher and business manager, independent due diligence in both directions, governance design and review, and honest advice about whether conversion is the right answer at all.

Our consultants have led schools and trusts, inspected schools, and supported MATs through growth, merger and rebrokering, including interim trustee roles.

Explore our academy conversion and MAT growth support, or get in touch for a straightforward conversation about where you are.