Choosing Foundation schools (vs academies and community schools)

[BurnTheBlackSuit]

Information online is as clear as mud on this, so I'm asking on Mumsnet as it is more honest on here!

What exactly is a foundation school? Information I have found implies it is run by the governing body rather than the council. But isn't that essentially an academy?

Also, I know it's not currently government policy to make all schools convert to academies, and I am against conversion in principle. However, the large majority of secondary schools have converted. Should I worry about choosing a secondary school that hasn't converted? Is it a bad sign?

And what about the couple of foundation secondary schools?

A Foundation school is a school that is still state maintained, so their funding still comes through the LEA, but the Governing Body (rather than the LEA) are the employers of the staff and set the admissions arrangements. They must still teach the national curriculum, and follow the admissions code, and the LEA retain their intervention powers. So they have more flexibility, but not total control.

An academy gets their money direct from Govt, not through the LEA, and does not have to follow the National Curriculum and can set their own terms. So they have significantly more power over how the money is spent, and how they teach. They do still however have to follow the Admissions Code.

A non-converted Secondary isn't necessarily an issue - a local outstanding school has only just this month announced it's conversion. You would need to look at the overall results and position of the school, and it's reasoning for not joining a MAT.

Thank you.

Do you know why some schools became Foundation schools? What would be the reasoning behind it?

Could the fact a school has converted to an academy be an issue?

Schools became Foundation schools because it was felt they would have more control, make more decisions locally, and help speed up decision making. Obviously, the success of this will have largely depended on the strength of the governing body and the quality of its relationships with the school leadership team.

Conversion to an Academy - there is no reason why this should specifically be an issue, but it does mean that schools have far more control over how they operate so if there are specific things that are important to you, it's important to check they are in place for every school you are interested in. In reality, most secondary schools in England are now academies.