How to apply to open a special free school

Question 1

Introduction

Accepted Answer

Every child in this country, whatever their background, should have the opportunity to get a world-class education. As set out in the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and alternative provision (AP) improvement plan, our ambition for children with SEND is that they are able to:

do their best in school
reach their potential
find employment and lead happy and fulfilled lives

Special free schools make an important contribution to achieving this.

Question 2

Who can apply

Accepted Answer

In this application wave, we are only accepting applications to open new special free schools in the following areas:

Proposer groups can apply to open schools in more than one local authority in this application wave.

This guidance applies to the central application process only. Information on the trusts appointed to run free schools for those local authorities who have applied via the Safety Valve programme is available.

We are particularly looking for applications that show:

the proposed school will deliver to the specification within the top-up funding specified
a clear understanding of the needs of the cohort and the ability and commitment to meet those needs
a clear vision for how the proposed school will improve outcomes and enhance the life chances of children within the local community
a commitment to forming and working with the local authority and in local partnerships
the evidence base used
the proposed school will deliver a high standard of education
a strong understanding of the teacher recruitment and retention issues that the school might face, taking into account any local, regional or national factors relevant to your context, with clear mitigations
the proposed school will set ambitious and realistic expectations for children and support them towards effective preparation for adulthood
offer good value for money

We will only approve one application per school.

In line with the overall approach of the free schools programme, emphasis will be placed on ensuring the ongoing resilience of new schools that are approved. Special and alternative provision (AP) free schools are typically smaller than mainstream schools, increasing the importance of demonstrating this resilience both financially and operationally.

Multi-academy trusts (MATs) are able to operate at increased scale, supporting the resilience of schools within the trust. Applications that result in a school which is part of a MAT (whether a specialist or a ‘mixed’ MAT) are more likely to be successful in a special or AP free school competition, because they will be able to better demonstrate that they meet the assessment criteria.

Applications for high-quality free schools to open initially as a single academy trust will be considered. However, if a new free school opens as a single academy trust, we would expect the trust to show clear plans about how they will grow and become a MAT over time to ensure its resilience.

If you are a new proposer and need to establish an academy trust, then you must establish one before submitting your application, using the model articles of association relevant to special academies. More information about setting up an academy trust is available. Additional guidance is available from Create: Schools.

We are not seeking applications from existing independent schools looking to become a state-funded special school through this application wave. However, strong independent schools wishing to join the state sector may apply to become free schools on the condition that the new places created are all in addition to the number of existing places they plan to convert.

Question 3

Application process

Accepted Answer

Before applying, read this guidance and your chosen local authority’s school specification.

The local authority specification outlines the key facts of the school, which will include information about the:

type of school (including the type(s) of SEND)
number of places, commissioning arrangements and top-up funding
age range of the school
proposed location (where available)

You should use the information in the school specification to determine whether to apply to open and run the school. If you would like to apply, then you should use this information as a basis for your application.

Links to all local authority specifications are available.

Key dates

Date	Action
13 May	Expression of interest period opens.
31 May	Expression of interest period closes at 23:59.
10 June	Application window opens. Applications should be sent via email to FS.Applications@education.gov.uk. We accept completed applications at any point throughout the application window.
19 July	Application window closes at 23:59.

Following the closure of the application window, we will assess applications and interview the strongest applicants. We will contact applicants who are invited to interview and give a minimum of 2 weeks’ notice.

Interviews will likely take place in the Autumn.

Register your interest

To register your interest, you should complete the expression of interest form. If you are registering your interest to open more than one school, you must complete a pre-application form for each school. Where some information is the same, include this in both applications.

Completed expression of interest forms must be sent via email to FS.Applications@education.gov.uk, before 23:59 on 31 May.

The expression of interest form asks for information on:

your name and contact details
your organisation or group
which local authority you are applying to to open a special free school

The form gives you the opportunity to register any comments on the school specification during the expression of interest period. You should focus on any significant issues that you believe may stop the school being viable. The school specification will subsequently be finalised and published. All applications should then comply with the published specification.

We will email application forms to you once you have completed the expression of interest form.

Preparing your application

Before applying to open a special free school, you should contact the relevant local authority. They can provide more information about:

the local context in the area
the needs of the pupils
who to engage with when developing your plans

Proposer groups will have the opportunity to attend engagement events held by the relevant local authority. These events will provide further information and an opportunity to ask any questions.

We also recommend that you consider speaking to:

Create: Schools, who can provide advice on developing your application and put you in contact with other groups that have been successful in previous waves

Completing your application

You must use the application forms provided. We will not consider your application if you do not.

You must not amend the format of the application forms as this will disrupt our ability to upload completed applications to our database.

Check the word limit on each section of the application form. We may stop assessing your application if you exceed the word count.

In some cases, we may ask you for more information about your application ahead of an interview.

If you are applying to open more than one school, you must complete a separate application form for each school. Where some information is the same, for example, your proposed governance arrangements, include this in both applications.

Identifying a site for the school

In this wave, the responsibility for finding a site lies with the local authority. Local authorities set out their preferred locations as part of their applications. They are now working with DfE and LocatED to identify and secure suitable sites. Further information on locations and proposed sites are in the school specifications.

If you have an identified site, you can tell us about it in section B of the application form. We will only look into this site if it becomes apparent that the site we are already progressing is unsuitable.

Where the permanent site for the school has been secured with planning permission in place (or an acceptable low level of planning risk), we may consider opening in temporary accommodation. The temporary solution must adequately meet the needs of the pupil cohort, without compromising curriculum delivery. The proposal must be supported by DfE, your local authority and trust.

Submitting your application

Submit your completed application forms by 23:59 on 19 July 2024 via email to FS.Applications@education.gov.uk.

We will confirm receipt within 5 working days of the application deadline.

Application forms must be sent as Word and Excel files, not as PDFs. You can submit annexes as PDFs.

Title your application, electronic files, and emails as: Special free school application_[LOCAL AUTHORITY]_[INSERT NAME OF YOUR GROUP]

Your email should not exceed 9 megabytes (MB) in size. Anything larger will not be delivered. If the application is larger than 9MB, split the documents and send 2 or more emails, clearly indicating that the emails are connected (for example, email 1 of 3).

In some cases, we may ask you for more information about your application ahead of an interview.

We may publish a list of the applications we receive. Before submitting, read the information about how we will use your personal data.

Assessment of your application

We will assess applications against the assessment criteria and the relevant local authority school specification.

If we assess your application as one of the strongest, we will invite your group to interview. Interviews will be led by DfE with a representative from the relevant local authority.

Interviews are an opportunity to provide further detail on your application, and test for any areas of weakness. We will tailor interviews based on the local context in which the school will operate and your understanding of the state school system.

We will only approve one application per school. If the specification does not attract applications that meet both the local authority school specification and the application criteria, then we will not approve any applications. The Secretary of State for Education may also make the decision to re-run the competition.

The Secretary of State for Education decides which applications to approve. The decisions are final and there is no appeals process. We will not share the scoring of applications with applicants or externally. You will receive feedback if your application is not successful.

Approval of your application does not mean approval of every detail, such as the budget. The Secretary of State for Education may also decide to reprioritise funding for the benefit of the free schools programme as a whole, which means we may cancel your project.

If your application is successful

If your application is successful, we will invite you to move to the pre-opening phase where you will turn your application into a school ready for opening.

In our experience, projects typically take 3 to 4 years to open. Attempting to open in a shorter timescale is extremely challenging. We will usually only agree a provisional opening date once a site has been confirmed and we have assessed how long it will take to deliver.

Trusts that move into the pre-opening phase will receive a project development grant to cover essential non-capital costs up to the point at which the school opens. You must not use this grant retrospectively to cover any costs incurred in preparing the free school application and getting the school approved into pre-opening. The amount for the grant will vary depending on the number of schools the trust is opening in an academic year.

The school may be delayed or even cancelled in pre-opening for a range of reasons, including:

the capital project fails to make sufficient progress, including if we are unable to secure a suitable site
the costs of the project no longer represent good value for money
we assess that there is no longer a sufficient need to justify the school
we have concerns about the standard of education that would be provided

You can find out more about the pre-opening phase and project development grant in the free school pre-opening guide.

Funding agreement and opening the school

The final decision to open any free school requires the Secretary of State for Education to enter into a legal contract with the academy trust. This is the funding agreement.

A funding agreement will only be signed if the Secretary of State for Education is satisfied that the school will deliver a good standard of education, with a viable and sustainable number of pupils from its first day of operation.

Question 4

Assessment criteria

Accepted Answer

For this application process, all applicants should complete the provided application form.

Section A – tell us who you are

All applicants must complete this section in full.

In this section, we ask you for basic information about your applicant group and your academy trust.

Section B – outline of the school

All applicants must complete this section in full.

In this section, we ask for some details about the proposed school, including confirming you are applying in line with the relevant local authority specification.

The type of school is a special free school. By law, special schools may only admit children and young people who have or are being assessed for education, health and care (EHC) plans.

Special free schools can have a religious ethos. You should include a brief explanation (if applicable) of any specialism, particular ethos, distinctive pedagogy, or educational philosophy.

Special free schools cannot currently be designated as having a religious character. Annex B contains more details of the consultation on faith designation reforms.

Placements in special schools are determined through the application of the criteria in s39(4) of the Children and Families Act 2014. This states that the school must be suitable for the age, ability, aptitude or special educational needs of the child or young person. Religion is not statutory criteria and therefore placements cannot be restricted in this way.

Section C – vision

All applicants should complete this section in full. You must summarise the following information, clearly linking to relevant sections in your application to evidence that your vision can be converted into reality. You must demonstrate you have a clear vision for:

your trust’s aims, with an emphasis on your planned expansion strategy (including how many schools you plan to have in total, your planned geographical spread and timescales) - you should include a summary of any discussions you have had with the relevant regional director and link to evidence of the financial resilience of your plans
how your proposed school will improve outcomes and enhance the life chances of children within the local community, whilst meeting their needs
how you will work together with the local authority as a strategic partner and other local, educational, or SEND partners to share expertise

Your response to this section should be no more 1500 words.

Section D – education plan

All applicants must complete this section in full.

In this section, you need to set out the plan to deliver your educational vision. We are looking for an ambitious and deliverable education plan, which is consistent with your vision and pupil intake.

When preparing your education plan, you must consider the information on the requirements of free schools and proposer groups.

Where the school includes secondary or post-16 provision, preparation for adult life should feature throughout section D. Schools should seek partnerships with employment services, businesses, housing agencies, disability organisations and arts and sports groups, to help children understand what is available to them as they get older, and what it is possible for them to achieve.

D1 – curriculum plan

Within section D1, all applicants will be assessed on the quality of their plans and the extent to which they meet the relevant school specification. We look for an ambitious, affordable, and deliverable curriculum plan, which is consistent with the vision, pupil intake and the financial plan.

You should provide a rationale for your proposed approach, which should be supported by published data and research.

In this section, you should provide:

a list of subjects to be offered with the number of hours spent per week on each, by completing table D1i (do not provide sample timetables)
information on the curriculum, which should be consistent with the vision, and, if you are planning to teach something other than the national curriculum, set out what you propose instead, your rationale, and how it provides the knowledge and skills that children need
evidence that your curriculum will be deliverable and, if applicable, how and to what extent you intend to use resources from your existing school or other organisations to contribute to the delivery of the curriculum or improve teaching capability
evidence of a broad and balanced curriculum that includes English, mathematics and science – we also look at how you prepare children for the next stage in their lives
information on qualifications you will offer, and the rationale for these qualifications
evidence of an ambitious curriculum approach, which takes into account the expected pupil intake and is accessible to their needs
an outline of your approach to teaching and learning and how this will ensure the curriculum is delivered in a robust and effective manner, meeting the needs of the expected intake
evidence that you will ensure safeguarding, good behaviour, and good attendance and that any health needs will be met

If you already have at least one open state-funded or independent special school of the same phase and catering for the same type of need that you are proposing, your application should include:

details of the pupil intake at your existing school and any differences with the expected intake at the new school including:
- looked after children
- pupils requiring literacy and numeracy intervention, including those with English as an additional language (EAL) who are at the early stages of learning English
- pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, including those that attract the pupil premium
data from your existing special school(s) that demonstrates that you are delivering your planned approach, including the curriculum and qualifications that you offer, unless you plan to make changes
an evidence-based rationale for any changes to the approach you will take in your new school, including to the curriculum, approach to teaching and learning, extra-curricular offer or behaviour management - if you do not plan to make any changes, you should set out your rationale for how this will be sufficient to meet the needs for your new school cohort
how any changes you propose to make will be deliverable - if relevant, you should show how you intend to use resources from an existing school, college or university to contribute to the delivery of the curriculum, improve teaching capability or help students secure high-quality university places

If you have multiple strong schools of the same phase and type as the new school you are proposing, you can compare the intake of the new school with one of your existing schools or the whole cohort of your trust.

We will assess the quality of your plans based on a combination of your track record and the evidence you provide against the criteria.

Your response to this section should be no more than 2500 words, excluding tables.

D2 – plans to measure pupil performance effectively and set challenging expectations

In this section, you should summarise:

the types of need for the expected cohort and how you will establish a baseline of students’ current level of attainment (including external validation of this)
your explicit, ambitious and realistic expectations for pupil performance, behaviour and attendance, explaining why they are suitable to measure the delivery of your education vision, and putting in place an assessment system that will allow pupil performance and progress to be measured and improved
the strategies you will put in place to support pupils to be successful whilst attending and after attending the school
how you will review success measures and expectations regularly to improve the school’s performance and the role of the MAT in doing so, where relevant
how you will involve parents and carers and report progress to them
how you will share this information regularly and effectively with the local authority, and how this will ensure:
- appropriate provision is made for each pupil
- successful progression into employment, further education or training

If you already have at least one open state-funded or independent special school of the same phase and type that you are proposing, your application should include any changes to the way in which you will set challenging expectations for pupil performance, behaviour and attendance.

If you do not plan to make any changes, you should set out how your existing approach will meet the needs of your new school cohort.

Your response to this section should be no more than 2500 words

D3 – staffing

In this section, you should summarise your plans for:

an affordable staffing structure, which takes account of your curriculum plan
a strategy for successfully recruiting high-quality staff (if you run existing schools, include whether you intend to use existing staff in the new school and how this will work in practice), your current teacher retention rates, and any additional information you want to be considered with this, including how you will adapt to the local context to ensure successful recruitment and retention.
meeting the recommendations of the teacher workload advisory group and the independent workload review groups
engaging with the workforce to protect their wellbeing and ensuring their workload is manageable
demonstrating you have a flexible working policy in place
managing and developing the workforce, taking into account opportunities for flexible working and continuous professional development
regularly reviewing key financial health and efficiency metrics (including teacher contact ratio, average class size and average teacher cost) to plan staffing and timetabling that will deliver an affordable curriculum
reducing costs (if and when necessary), what actions you would take and the reasons for these actions and how you would prioritise them
continuing to delivery of your education vision if you had to amend your staffing plans and any changes you would have to make to the education plan

You must ensure that your staffing structure:

matches your proposed curriculum
complies with the statutory responsibilities of a special state school, including on child protection
includes an appropriate balance of roles, experience and expertise across the senior leadership team, middle managers, subject leaders, teachers and support staff
meets the requirements to achieve an Ofsted judgement good or outstanding
can be delivered within your expected income

If you do not currently run an open state funded special school of the same phase and type that you are proposing, you must demonstrate that at full capacity your staffing structure is sufficient to deliver the curriculum plan, consistent with the information provided in the financial template.

If you have any existing special schools of the same phase that you are proposing, either state-funded or independent, you must set out if you intend to use any of your existing staff in this school and how this will work in practice.

Your response to this section should be no longer than 1000 words, excluding any organograms or staffing charts you wish to provide.

D4 – integration and community cohesion

All applications must demonstrate how they will promote community cohesion and integration, with a view to ensuring all children and young people are able to participate fully in life in modern Britain.

Your proposal should set out how your school will approach:

safeguarding, ensuring you have appropriate policies to ensure the safety and promote the welfare of children
equipping pupils with the skills, values and knowledge to become active citizens in wider society and play a positive role in shaping cohesive and integrated communities
building opportunities for pupils to interact and build positive relationships with those from different backgrounds, both within the school and wider local community
promoting the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs; and how the school will promote these values as part of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development.
teaching personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE)
adhering to the Prevent Duty

When assessing the information you provide in this part of your application, we will consider the potential impact on integration and community cohesion and the intake of neighbouring schools.

There are a number of ways you may wish to demonstrate your commitment to integration and community cohesion. The strongest applications should include programmes or activities aimed at helping pupils to value differences and challenge prejudice, discrimination, stereotyping and intolerance of others, and to understand the diversity of their communities and wider society.

We will consider the extent to which the additional activities you propose will be effective and appropriate to the local context of the school.

We will not approve any application where we have any concerns about:

a lack of genuine commitment to the inclusion of pupils of all faiths or no faith in the school
creationism being taught as a valid scientific theory or about schools failing to teach evolution adequately as part of their science curriculum
any member of the applicant group holding extremist beliefs, as defined in the Prevent Duty guidance

Your response to this section should be no longer than 1000 words.

Section E – capacity and capability

In this section, you must demonstrate the capacity and capability to deliver a financially viable school that will provide a high-quality and inclusive education within a strong trust.

In the Schools White Paper, we published 5 pillars of quality for MATs. These are:

high quality and inclusive education
school improvement
workforce
finance and operations
governance and leadership

In April 2023, we published detailed descriptions of quality against each pillar. The descriptions represent a clear and ambitious vision for the academies sector and will help to inform trusts’ improvement and capacity building priorities.

When we assess section E, we will reflect on the processes described in the commissioning guidance. It gives information on how we assess the quality of a trust to run specialist and AP schools, looking in particular for strong evidence of expertise in managing such specialist provision.

You need to demonstrate that you have the necessary experience and credentials within your group to deliver the school to opening and have an effective governance structure. If you already run an open school, you will all also need to demonstrate a strong educational track record. If you do not already run an open school, you need to assure us of your ability to provide a high-quality education.

Checks are conducted on all applicants. We will use the personal information you provide to check your suitability to set up a free school.

If you run an existing trust, we will use the information in your application alongside the information held by the department to assess the strength of your trust, taking into account the length of time your trust has been established.

If you will be establishing a new trust, we will assess your capacity and capability to establish a strong trust.

E1 – strong educational track record

We are looking for evidence that you are able to deliver a high standard of education for the pupils attending the new special free school.

In line with the commissioning guidance we will focus on pillar one (high quality and inclusive education - HQIE), which is the core of what we expect schools and trusts to provide for children and young people, and pillar two (school improvement), which captures the capacity the trust has to offer.

We will take into account the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic when assessing your educational track record. You can provide any specific information on the impact of COVID-19 on the educational performance of your schools.

Your response for this section should be no more than 1000 words.

If you currently run or lead state-funded schools

We will use information we hold, and publicly available data about the schools in your trust, to make a judgement on your educational track record. This includes schools that you have recently taken over or opened.

The commissioning guidance confirms that we recognise the challenges of using traditional academic performance metrics to assess the quality of education provision in specialist and AP settings and so will use a wider range of metrics and intelligence to make decisions. You should include information relating to:

Ofsted reports: provide additional information that you believe will help us to better understand these - for example, if you have recently taken on an underperforming school
post-16 destinations: if you collect it, provide destination data over the past 3 years for pupils attending your existing special schools. If you run existing mainstream schools, provide destination data for pupils with SEND – in particular, those with the same or similar types of need
absences: if available, provide data to evidence your attendance policy and expectations for the types of need you cater for in existing special schools, or for pupils with relevant SEND in mainstream provision. You can include any additional information to contextualise authorised and unauthorised absences.

If you already have at least one open state-funded or independent special school of the same phase and type that you are proposing, your application should include any changes to the way in which you will measure pupil performance.

Recognising that the usefulness of traditional academic performance metrics may vary by SEND type, you can also use section E1 to provide any relevant data you collect on pupil performance, benchmarking where possible; or to provide qualitative evidence to contextualise any of the metrics or verifiers outlined in the commissioning guidance and its annexes.

If you do not currently run or lead state funded schools

The particular circumstances of your group will guide how you respond to this section, but you must complete section E1 with any relevant information that will assure us that your trust will be able to deliver a high quality and inclusive education for its pupils, referring to the commissioning guidance as a guide to what drives our judgement on this.

E2 – the necessary experience and credentials to deliver the school to opening

Within this section, we will assess whether you have access to appropriate educational, financial and other expertise to ensure that the school opens successfully.

Your application will be rated more highly if you have:

a core applicant group that includes individuals with appropriate education and finance expertise
individuals with expertise in most of the additional areas (managing state school finances, leadership, project management, marketing, human resources, safeguarding and health and safety) that have a strong track record in their areas of expertise
individuals in your core applicant group who would make strong trustees once the school is open, or who are currently strong trustees or governors at an existing school
a clear understanding of the skills and capacity required to run a successful special school and have secured sufficient and realistic time commitments from each individual

You will be assessed on the quality of your plans to fill the gaps identified and, where applicable, the track record of any individuals you have identified to fill those gaps.

You do not need to tell us how you will establish the school’s local governing body.

We will refer to the growth plans for your trust set out in section C, along with the performance of any schools that individuals are associated with to assess whether you have the required capability and capacity to open a successful new special free school.

In section E2, you must:

complete table E2(a) with information about each individual who is part of your group, including:
- all members and trustees of your academy trust
- members of the executive team
- members of the pre-opening team
- anyone else providing a relevant contribution
demonstrate that you have access to individuals with strong, relevant state education expertise and state school finance expertise with specific and sufficient time commitments
demonstrate that you have access to individuals with specific and sufficient time commitments and relevant experience in as many of the following areas as possible:
- SEND provision
- managing school finances
- leadership
- project management
- marketing
- human resources
- safeguarding and health and safety
use box E2(b) to further describe the skills and experience of your group, and to describe plans to manage the pre-opening project
conduct a skills gap analysis of your pre-opening group (including your existing governors or trustees if you already run one or more schools, as they will be in place during pre-opening) and complete table E2(c) - you will need to set out how you plan to fill those gaps
set out your plans and timeline for recruiting a principal designate and executive head (if you intend to have one) in box E2(c)

Your response to this section should be no longer than 2000 words, not including box E2(c).

E3 – an effective governance structure

When completing this section you should refer to the Academy Trust Handbook and the Governance Handbook, which outlines the features of effective governance that you should consider when formulating your governance arrangements.

You should also refer to the commissioning guidance on how we consider trust strength in relation to its governance and leadership.

If you are currently a MAT, we will look at the effectiveness of your existing governance. Your application should describe:

how the new school will fit within the current structure of your MAT
any specific conflicts of interest and how you intend to manage them
any financial transactions that are likely to take place between any member or trustee (or a connected party or business) and the academy, the nature of the transactions and provide assurance that they will comply with the ‘at cost’ principles set out in the Academies Financial Handbook
how the requirements of the governing board will not result in unnecessary workload for the headteacher and all staff members, and how you will set up effective processes for reporting

If you are not currently operating as a MAT, your application should include:

a scheme of delegation showing your proposed governance structure, including lines of accountability between the members, trustees, any local governing bodies or committees and the school’s senior leadership team – if you want to provide a diagram of your trust’s proposed governance structure, submit it as an annex to the application form
a brief but credible explanation of the roles and responsibilities of the trust’s members, the trustees, the executive team, any proposed committees and the principal
a strategy for avoiding and minimising conflicts of interest and for securing independent challenge to members and trustees
a declaration of any financial transactions that are likely to take place between any member or trustee (or a connected party or business) and the academy, the nature of the transaction(s) and provide assurance that they will comply with the ‘at cost’ principles set out in the Academies Financial Handbook
the requirements of the governing board and how these will not result in an unnecessary and onerous workload for the headteacher or staff members, and how you will set up proportionate, streamlined and effective processes for reporting
if applicable, a clear plan to appoint and train any high-quality individuals needed to fill gaps in the governance structure, particularly those with education, school governance, and finance expertise
if you are a local authority maintained school or a group of maintained schools, how your governance will work once you have established your academy trust

Your response to this section should be no more than 1500 words. This should be shorter for MATs that have recently discussed their governance structure with their regional director.

Section F – financial viability

Special free schools’ continuing financial viability depends on local authorities continuing to place children and young people with EHC plans in those schools, following the statutory processes in the Children and Families Act 2014. It is important that the school offers the type of places set out in the local authority specification, and within the funding available from the relevant local authority.

You must complete the financial template provided with your application pack. The financial template is not tailored to each local authority. This means that you will need to fill in the place numbers, top-up funding rates, and build-up of places over time by copying these details from the key elements of the specification.

If you already run an existing school, we will also use the information we already hold about the financial situation of your schools, including pupil recruitment numbers. You can provide additional information if there is something specific that you believe will help us to understand the financial health of your trust.

Before you begin to develop and complete your plans, you should read:

the overview of free school funding in annex E and in the special free school revenue funding guide
the guidance and tools on efficiency and financial health
schools financial efficiency: top 10 planning checks for governors

You must:

complete the Excel financial template showing income and planned expenditure and the assumptions made about each line in the space provided - explain clearly what your assumptions are based on and evidence that your assumptions are realistic and appropriate
make sure that the information in your plan is consistent with the other parts of your application, for example, the curriculum offer, staffing structure, and pupil numbers in the education plan should accord with the financial plan
show that you have allowed for unforeseen problems and contingencies
not show a cumulative deficit in any year - any in-year deficits must be planned for by accumulating a surplus in previous years
use box F in the application form to add any further commentary on areas you wish to highlight

We will also assess the quality of your financial plan by the extent to which it is reasonable, represents good value for money and is prudent. We will consider:

core operating income and expenditure assumptions (it is vital that these are included in the plan)
benchmarking information for income and expenditure, including for nursery provision where applicable (this information should also be entered in the assumptions and rationale column)
any centrally-provided services and their costs
the proportion of spend allocated to each budget area – particularly to staffing
staff to pupil ratios
the context of the local area, such as the percentage of children eligible for free school meals
whether the funding will be sufficient to deliver the school’s particular education offer, for example, specialist teachers and equipment

The school must not be dependent on borrowing or nursery income to deliver a viable school and break even in any year.

Where third-party funding is provided, you should state clearly what it will fund and the impact on the school and its education model if that funding stopped.

We may request additional information about third-party funding if it forms part of your financial plan. You may provide other evidence of third-party funding, such as letters, as annexes if you think this would support your application.

In some cases, we may ask you to resubmit your financial plans ahead of the interview if we are unclear on any aspect.

Question 5

Checks on applicants

Accepted Answer

The Secretary of State for Education will only allow suitable persons to establish publicly funded free schools.

Proposers must abide by the 7 principles of public life, which set out the standards of behaviour we expect.

We will undertake due diligence checks on proposers as part of the selection process, including social media and internet searches. We may also ask you questions at the interview about the 7 principles of public life. The Secretary of State for Education may reject applications where the previous conduct of individuals associated with the trust does not comply with the 7 principles of public life.

The Secretary of State for Education will reject applications put forward by organisations that advocate violence, extremism, or other illegal activities.

We will also complete credit checks on individuals to ensure the suitability of proposers to set up and run free schools. We will share personal information provided as part of the application process with third parties for the purpose of these checks.

We need a suitability and declarations form for each individual member and trustee of the academy trust regardless of whether they have previously submitted this form. If the head of finance, chair or CEO is not a member or trustee, we also require their completed suitability and declarations forms.

If you are applying for more than one school, but the individuals involved in establishing the schools are the same, you only need to send the forms once, stating which schools they apply to in your form.

You should email scanned copies of signed suitability and declarations forms and a passport-sized photograph attached to each applicant’s form to due.diligence@education.gov.uk and FS.Applications@education.gov.uk. Include your applicant group name and the local authority competition in the subject line of your email.

If you are successful at assessment stage, the chair of trustees must apply for an enhanced DBS certificate via DfE during the pre-opening phase. The Secretary of State for Education will counter sign the DBS certificate.

All other members and trustees must obtain an enhanced DBS certificate. It is the responsibility of the chair of trustees to ensure that all members and trustees have a valid enhanced DBS certificate (issued in the last 2 years).

Question 6

Annex A: technical and legal considerations for proposer groups

Accepted Answer

Setting up an academy trust

Each free school is run by an academy trust formed specifically to establish and run one or more schools. The academy trust is the body that submits the application to open the free school and that the Secretary of State for Education enters into a funding agreement with.

If you are a new proposer and need to establish an academy trust, you must do so before you apply using the model articles of association. Information on how to set up a company is available from Companies House. Additional guidance is available from Create: Schools.

If you currently lead one or more maintained schools, we expect your existing maintained school or schools to convert to academy status. You must form a MAT that will incorporate both the new free school and your existing schools. You do not need to convert to academy status before applying, but we expect your application to set out your plans for how you will do this if your application is successful.

Third parties

You may appoint a third party, through an open and competitive tender process, to support you in developing your application. However, you must not enter into any contracts in the expectation of public funds.

If any individuals or organisations that are not part of your trust have assisted you in writing your application, you should explain how you will secure further support during the pre-opening phase if you are approved.

Public Sector Equality Duty

All free schools are subject to the Public Sector Equality Duty, which forms part of the Equality Act 2010. This duty requires your trustees, both in planning and running a school, to have regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation, advance equality of opportunity and develop good relations between communities.

We will look for evidence that you have considered these responsibilities in your application. You should consult the guidance for schools on the Equality Act.

Question 7

Annex B: requirements for special free schools

Accepted Answer

As free schools are legally academies, they have more freedom and control over some things. However, there are some requirements and obligations that all free schools must follow once open. The pre-opening guidance contains more information.

Special free schools

Special free schools provide education for pupils with SEND. They are designated for specific types of SEND.

For this competition, we are only accepting applications to open special free schools in response to published specifications from local authorities listed in the ‘Who can apply’ section of this guidance.

Once a school is open, approval from the Secretary of State for Education is required if the school wishes to change or extend its designation to cater for children with other types of SEND.

Special schools do not admit pupils on the basis of the School Admissions Code. Generally, they are permitted only to admit pupils with EHC plans, or, on a temporary basis, pupils whose needs are being assessed (as set out in section 34 (5)-(8) of the Children and Families Act 2014). See paragraph 1.29 of the SEND code of practice for more information.

Exceptionally, special schools may ask for permission to admit pupils with special educational needs but without an EHC plan (section 34 (9) of the Children and Families Act). If you wish to seek this permission you will need to provide evidence that the school will be “innovative and increase access to specialist provision for children and young people without EHC plans” (SEND code of practice, paragraph 1.30).

Paragraph 1.26 of the SEND code of practice sets out the general presumption that children with SEND should be educated in mainstream settings. Consider including information about how you would ensure, where appropriate, the reintegration of pupils with SEND but without EHC plans into mainstream schooling as part of your application.

Special free schools must:

Free school applications should demonstrate how they will promote fundamental British values across a range of subjects as part of a broad and balanced curriculum. The application should demonstrate how pupils will develop and demonstrate skills and attitudes that will allow them to participate fully in and contribute positively to life in modern Britain.

We look for evidence that you have considered these responsibilities as part of your application. The guidance on promoting fundamental British values as part of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development provides more information.

Special free schools do not have to:

Safeguarding

Schools and their staff form part of the wider safeguarding system for children. Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is everyone’s responsibility. School staff are particularly important, as they are in a position to identify concerns early and provide help for children to prevent concerns escalating.

It is vitally important that you fully understand your responsibilities for safeguarding the children in your care. See:

When the school opens, we expect it to meet the requirements set out in keeping children safe in education.

Performance and accountability

All state-funded schools, including free schools, are held to account against the same performance measures. You should consider the accountability measures that would apply to the school.

All schools must collect performance data and publish results. Details about what is published in the performance tables can be found in the statements of intent.

All state-funded schools, including 16 to 19 free schools, are inspected under the common inspection framework: education, skills and early years. Pre-16 free schools are inspected under the Ofsted schools handbook and 16 to 19 free schools are inspected under the further education and skills inspection handbook.

Special free schools with a faith ethos

If you want the school to reflect a distinct ethos aligned with a particular religion, you can register that the school has a religious ethos. The ethos could then be reflected within the vision for the school, the values the school represents, and the importance placed on particular beliefs.

We expect you to be able to explain how your faith ethos will (or will not) manifest in and influence the curriculum, school policies and the look and feel of the school. We also expect you to be able to demonstrate that you have made this clear to parents and carers, and pupils.

Applicants cannot apply to open a special free school (special academies) with a faith designation at this time.

On 1 May 2024 DfE launched a consultation on faith designation reforms. This includes proposals to allow the faith designation of special free schools and special academies. Subject to the outcome of the consultation, the proposed changes would allow an approved special free school with a faith ethos to apply for a faith designation in the future, including any approved in this wave.

Question 8

Annex C: overview of free school funding

Accepted Answer

Pre-opening funding

Details on the pre-opening phase and the project development grant are given in the free schools pre-opening guide.

Revenue funding for special schools

Special free schools’ funding has 2 elements:

place funding received directly from the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA)
top-up funding from the commissioning local authority or authorities where funding above the place funding is required^{[footnote 2]}

Special schools can also receive income from specialist services provided to other schools or local authorities under a service level agreement.

Special free schools receive £10,000 per FTE place, per year, for children and young people up to the age of 19 years with EHC plans. Place funding for the first year is determined by the free school’s agreed financial plans and information from the commissioning local authorities.

Special free schools’ continuing financial viability depends on local authorities continuing to place children and young people with EHC plans in those schools through the statutory processes (including parental preference rights) in the Children and Families Act 2014. It is important that the school proposers offer the type of places that local authorities need, at a cost they are prepared to fund.

Local authorities decide how many places a special free school will be funded for in the upcoming year from the school’s second year of opening, in discussion with the school. ESFA will pay the funding directly to the free school, with the equivalent amounts deducted from the local authority’s dedicated schools grant (DSG).

In addition, special free schools receive top-up funding. The specific rate of top-up funding is detailed in each local authority’s specification document. The guidance on high needs funding arrangements contains more information.

Question 9

Annex D: how we use your personal data

Accepted Answer

The Department for Education will become the data controller for personal information collected on the:

pre-application registration form
Word and Excel application forms
suitability and declarations form
any additional information supplied in annexes

We are responsible for ensuring that this information is processed in accordance with the requirements of data protection legislation. Any third parties processing personal information on behalf of the Department for Education will be acting as its data processors.

How we will use your information

Personal data is collected so we can consider the application to set up a free school.

The nature of your personal data we will be using

The categories of your personal data that we will be using for this project are:

names
date of birth
current and previous positions and job titles
companies and organisations
contact details (work postal address, email address and phone number)

We may also process special category data if declared under section 5 of the suitability and declarations form or when undertaking due diligence checks on applications. This may include information relating to:

character declarations, including details of unspent convictions, motoring offences, police cautions, insolvency and bankruptcy
health declarations
any orders made against you in relation to working with vulnerable individuals
addresses for the last 5 years
passport details
driving licence details

Why our use of your personal data is lawful

For the purpose of this project, the relevant conditions we are meeting are:

Article 6 (1)(e) of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)
Article 9 (2)(g) GDPR

Our processing of personal and special category data is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest for the exercise of our functions as a government department.

Publication

We will publish a full list of the applications we receive. This will include the proposed school’s name, local authority, type of school, phase and faith ethos.

If your application to set up a new school is successful, we may also publish the application form. The following information will be redacted from the application and will not be visible to the public:

private addresses
private email addresses
private telephone numbers
commercially sensitive information
specific site locations
CVs

All other information, including the names of individuals and organisations mentioned in the application, may be published.

Notify any individuals or organisations that you have named in your bid that their information will be processed by DfE during the assessment stage.

Who we will make your personal data available to

We sometimes need to make personal data available to other organisations. These might include contracted partners (who we have employed to process your personal data on our behalf) or other organisations (with whom we need to share your personal data for specific purposes).

Where we need to share your personal data with others, we ensure that this data sharing complies with data protection legislation. For this project:

external education advisors and independent panel members will view your personal data as part of the decision-making process
we will share personal data with advisory board members as part of the decision-making process
we will share your personal information with third parties to conduct checks on your suitability to run a free school

How long we will keep your personal data

We will only keep your personal data for as long as we need it for this piece of work. After this it will be securely destroyed. We estimate that we will keep your personal data for no longer than 10 years.

Under data protection legislation, and in compliance with the relevant data processing conditions, we can lawfully keep personal data processed purely for research and statistical purposes indefinitely.

Your data protection rights

Under certain circumstances, you have the right to:

ask us for access to information about you that we hold
have your personal data rectified, if it is inaccurate or incomplete
request the deletion or removal of personal data where there is no compelling reason for its continued processing
restrict our processing of your personal data (such as permitting its storage but no further processing)
object to direct marketing (including profiling) and processing for the purposes of scientific or historical research and statistics
not be subject to decisions based purely on automated processing where it produces a legal or similarly significant effect on you

You have the right to raise any concerns with the Information Commissioner’s Office via their website at https://ico.org.uk/concerns/.

Contact

If you have any questions about how we will use your personal information, contact us and enter ‘special free schools’ as the reference. For the Data Protection Officer (DPO), mark it for the attention of the ‘DPO’.

For this competition, top-up funding rates are specified in the local authority specification. ↩
Details about what we publish in the performance tables is in the statement of intent on school and college performance tables. ↩

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Introduction

Who can apply

Application process

Key dates

Register your interest

Preparing your application

Completing your application

Identifying a site for the school

Submitting your application

Assessment of your application

If your application is successful

Funding agreement and opening the school

Assessment criteria

Section A – tell us who you are

Section B – outline of the school

Section C – vision

Section D – education plan

D1 – curriculum plan

D2 – plans to measure pupil performance effectively and set challenging expectations

D3 – staffing

D4 – integration and community cohesion

Section E – capacity and capability

E1 – strong educational track record

E2 – the necessary experience and credentials to deliver the school to opening

E3 – an effective governance structure

Section F – financial viability

Checks on applicants

Annex A: technical and legal considerations for proposer groups

Setting up an academy trust

Third parties

Public Sector Equality Duty

Annex B: requirements for special free schools

Special free schools

Safeguarding

Performance and accountability

Special free schools with a faith ethos

Annex C: overview of free school funding

Pre-opening funding

Revenue funding for special schools

Annex D: how we use your personal data

How we will use your information

The nature of your personal data we will be using

Why our use of your personal data is lawful

Publication

Who we will make your personal data available to

How long we will keep your personal data

Your data protection rights

Contact

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