Site guidance for applicants July 18

The free school application criteriafor wave 13 asks applicants to list their preferred site options in section H of the form, along with any specific site requirements associated with y

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Site guidance for

applicants

Finding a site and completing section H Summer 2018

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Contents

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Introduction

During the application phase of setting up a free school, it is natural for applicants to be concerned about where their school will eventually be located and the DfE have stated a strong preference that local authority or government owned sites are used because they can often be secured on a peppercorn basis (a nominal but valid rent agreement) Prior to your application being approved, you cannot commit to any site and the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) will have the final say on which site is procured for your school when your project progresses to the pre-opening stage This means that any research you carry out prior to approval will be speculative, but it will still be valuable to your proposal and to the DfE This guidance will help you to identify what you should do in the application stage This guidance is for central route mainstream school applications only For groups applying to local authority presumption competitions and special and alternative provision schools, local authorities will identify and publish information on the chosen school site within the specification of the school as part of the presumption or special and alternative provision competition process Therefore, if you are planning to apply to open a special or alternative

provision school, you do not need to identify a site

When you submit your application, the ESFA may try to ascertain if there are viable premises in your area, both in terms of suitability and value for money It can be very challenging to find suitable sites, particularly in urban areas In a departure from previous guidance, the DfE have stated that they will give preference to projects where they are likely to be able to secure a value-for-money site in a timely manner, with an acceptable level of risk It is therefore important to think seriously about potential sites during the application phase, while remaining open to the fact that you cannot guarantee that any one of them will ultimately be secured The free school application criteriafor wave 13 asks applicants to list their preferred site options in section H of the form, along with any specific site requirements associated with your education model (if appropriate) However, you should not base any aspects of your application on the assumption that a particular site will be secured

If your application is approved to move into the pre-opening phase, the ESFA will work with you to find a suitable site and will ultimately have the final say on the procurement of a site The

Department for Education (DfE) have also established an arms-length public body, LocatED,

specifically, to find sites for new schools

This document provides guidance about what you should look for in a potential site and how to approach finding one It also explains what you can and cannot do at the application stage, and outlines the information you will need to provide in section H of the application form This guidance also explains how you will work with the ESFA to secure premises if your application is approved

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What type of building?

As with any type of school, free schools are shaped by the premises they occupy Your school building will have an important impact on the delivery of your vision and how the school will

operate on a day to day basis It is imperative that you begin exploring local site options during the application stage Free schools can be opened in many different types of buildings One of the aims

of the policy is to deliver better value for money in education by providing innovative solutions to the challenge of finding new school premises Already, free schools have been opened in former hospitals, office buildings, job centres, church halls and other types of buildings The ESFA has also made use of other innovations, such as having primary schools on more than one level and

secondary or post-16 schools on several levels You should therefore bear in mind that a site for your free school may not take the form of what you imagine a school to look like

Finding sites for new schools can be difficult As a result, the government brought in legislation in

2013 under the Growth and Infrastructure Bill to make it easier to find sites for new schools:

 The new permitted development rights make it easier to open schools in properties in the following planning use classes: C1 (hotels), C2 (residential institutions), C2a (secure

residential institutions), B1 (offices) and D2 (assembly and leisure) The planning permission process for new free schools in these buildings will be more straightforward, as the local council will need to consider fewer issues when granting planning permission

 Free schools will be able to move into almost any premises for one year without obtaining planning permission

You can find more information about these changes here

‘New build’ or ‘refurb’

LocatED will choose the site for your school that represents best value for money, and this will be signed off by the ESFA This is likely to be an existing building that has been refurbished to make it suitable for use as a school, but it could be a new building It is less likely that your school will open

in a new building as this tends to be more expensive than refurbishing an existing building The ESFA will generally only grant free schools a new build where it represents best value for money, e.g there is no other viable option in the local area and the advantages of the proposed new build school outweigh the cost of the building You should therefore not assume that you will be able to open your free school in a new building

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Where free schools do occupy newly built premises, these are built under much tighter financial constraints than previous government building programmes, such as ‘Building Schools for the

Future’, and will be built to pre-existing designs already created by the DfE

Funding for sites

The ESFA (usually through LocatED) will fund the acquisition of a site for your school by either renting or buying a site There is no set published maximum for the capital spend the ESFA are willing to put towards a project, and they appreciate that the cost of premises varies widely across the country, but all free school sites are expected to offer good value for money This does not mean that the ESFA are only interested in the cheapest option, but that there will be a careful weighing up of the benefits of your preferred site against the costs They will base this on the

average cost of a similar site in your area, e.g in inner London If there is a strong argument to

show that your preferred site provides good value for money, you should make this case in

Section H of your application

Acquiring a site

There are three main ways that a site can be acquired: a peppercorn lease, freehold purchase, or commercial lease You should bear in mind that buying or leasing commercial sites is not the ESFA’s preferred option because these tend to be expensive The ESFA also generally prefer freehold sites

to leasehold Ideally, you should try to find sites which might already be part of the government estate or which can be secured on a peppercorn lease (a nominal but valid rent agreement) This

represents a low cost and is therefore an attractive option for the ESFA, so it is advisable to liaise

with your local authority as soon as you have a clear vision for your school to see if they know of any suitable sites available locally.

Finding a site: what you need to consider

There are a number of factors the ESFA or LocatED will consider when acquiring a site for your school, so you should also take these into account when looking for premises We suggest that you take time to think through these and draw up basic criteria for what you think would make a site

suitable for your project before you begin your search Some of the issues you need to think about

are listed below

The facilities and suitability of the site

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 Size: Is it large enough for your proposed number of pupils?

 Transport links and access: Are there good public transport links? What are the pick-up,

drop-off, and parking implications? Is it accessible for both vehicles and pedestrians? Can disabled pupils and staff access the building easily?

 Outdoor space: can you access facilities for sport and PE, on or off-site? Will there be space

for break-times, etc.?

 Suitability: Are there any unusual features that may have health and safety implications (e.g

restrictions on natural light, no lift, lack of escape means etc.)?

How far it aligns with your vision for the school

 Location: Is it important that your school is located in a place which allows it to serve a

particular area or community?

 Distinctive features: will you be able to accommodate any special facilities in a cost-efficient

way and within your allocated budget, such as appropriate spaces for specialisms?

 Extended day: is the site suitably secure for pupils if they attend the school outside of

normal school hours?

The availability of the site

It is likely that you will want the site to be available as soon as possible to enable it to be procured and delivered in time for your school to open, however this process can take up to three years You should therefore carefully consider the below

 Is the building currently marked for educational use? If not, will planning consent or change

of use be required? Changes to permitted development rights from 2013 have made it easier for free schools to open in buildings classes for other uses – see the section on ‘What type of building?’ page 2 for more details However, if the land is designated as employment use, it is unlikely you will be able to obtain planning permission

 Who owns the building now and what is its availability? Remember, at application stage

you can obtain basic information about the site by making enquiries, such as its availability

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and who it is owned by, but you must not enter into any negotiations about acquiring it

using public money You should not mention that you are applying to set up a free school, as

the price may be raised if the owner knows that the ESFA may want to purchase the

building

 Does the building have any special constraints? For example, is it listed or in a conservation

area? Will planning permission be difficult to obtain?

 Has the building previously had other uses? Will it be able to cope with the increased

daily use and numbers that come with a school?

The context of the site

 The surrounding environment: will pupils be able to work and learn without undue

disruption from neighbouring businesses or transport? Free schools in urban areas have had

to consider statutory requirements around noise

How you can find premises

Finding premises for your free school can be very challenging, especially in densely populated urban areas, so you should begin preliminary research as soon as you have formed your vision and have a clear idea of the key features of your school (e.g the size) It is important to remain open-minded and not to focus on one particular site as there are often reasons, sometimes unforeseen, why it may not be suitable in the long term Try to keep an open mind and think about the need to find possible site options for the application, rather than a particular home for your free school

What you can do at application stage

Whilst you cannot secure a site for your free school at application stage, you should certainly start exploring potential options for one Finding a site is one of the most difficult tasks in the

pre-opening phase so it is sensible to try to mitigate some of the challenges you will face at application stage In section H of the free school application form you are asked to list any preferred sites for your school, and completing this can make the procurement of a site easier and quicker if your project is approved

Things you can do at application stage include:

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 Draw up a list of criteria that you will use to search for suitable premises There are links at the end of this document to resources which will help you to explore suitable site options;

 Contact your local authority to inform them about your proposal, if you have not done so already, and see if they know of any available sites that would be suitable;

 Establish how you will go about enquiring about the availability of potential sites for

leasehold or acquisition, ensuring that you do not enter into any negotiations about

acquiring it using public funds;

 Consider bringing individuals with experience and expertise in property into your team, since expertise in this area can be very helpful in finding a site and fulfilling your obligations during the pre-opening process

 Register your interest in setting up a free school with the DfE so that they know of your proposal – this will require you to provide high level information about your proposal, including a postcode of where you would like to open the school You must register by 1st

October 2018 in order to gain access to the editable version of the application form

When searching for buildings, you will know your local area best Often community knowledge goes a long way when finding a site for your free school, so ask around your area for information, scope out your area for empty buildings or buildings for sale, and make sure you make the most of your contacts

If your group has access to a site or land, or can make a contribution to the cost of acquiring a site, then you should make this clear in your application Though this can be an advantage in securing a site in the long term, it is not guaranteed that your project will be approved You will still have to meet all the criteria relevant to free school applicants before you are approved to open, and the ESFA will want to be sure that any site offers the best value for money Therefore, you should not acquire property or seek to do so on the assumption that you will be able to use it

If you are exploring commercial site options you could try to find information from local estate agents to see if there are any sites and buildings on the market which may fit your criteria, though

as mentioned earlier you should keep your enquiries to basic details such as the availability of any

sites, along with their asking price and ownership Very importantly, you should not mention that

you are looking for a site for a free school, enter into any negotiations on the property or agree any finder’s fee with them An effective way of searching for available commercial property in your

area is to use websites such as EG Propertylink, rightmove and NovaLoca, which compile the

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premises available through local estate agents As mentioned above, commercial sites can be

expensive and for this reason are not an option usually preferred by the ESFA It is best to contact your local authority to find out if they already own any sites before exploring commercial options

What you cannot do at application stage

It can be very frustrating to not be able to do more in terms of acquiring a site, especially if you are located in an area where the potential options are limited

However, it is crucial that you do not enter into any negotiations about acquiring premises using public funds, or even indicate that you might do so Doing so may encourage commercial owners of the site to push up its price and make it less likely that the ESFA will be able to acquire it in the long term If your application is approved, the ESFA, through LocatED, will take the lead in securing a site,

so you should not pre-empt their approach However, you can make general enquiries as to

whether your preferred site is available for acquisition or leasehold, but again you cannot enter

into any negotiations during the application process or at any other stage

Completing Section H

In section H of the free school application form you are asked to list any preferred sites and include certain information about these as specified in the free school criteria You are also asked to include information on where you want the school to be located, as well as any site requirements that you think you will need to deliver your education model

Location

At the beginning of section H, you are asked to provide the location in which you propose to set up your school You should:

• Be as specific as possible to highlight your preferred location for the free school This could

be the name of the desired area, a part of a city, town or suburb You must provide a full postcode of a central location in your preferred catchment area

• Include how flexible you are to have the school located from your desired location The DfE suggests that you provide an annotated map to display your preferred location and

flexibility

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You can see examples of annotated maps on our website here Please note that these are designed

to assist you in presenting your location preferences, and are not intended as guidance on issues related to designing an admissions policy The map should include a mark of your nodal point (if one

is proposed) or the centre of your proposed catchment area or perfect location point Nodal points allow a school to fine-tune its admission criteria (especially in high population densities) to serve a specific community by defining geographic point(s) from which distance is be measured when used

as an oversubscription criterion

When creating your annotated maps, you should seek to add an indicative boundary line for each the following:

• The location of expected pupil populations

• The ideal area in which the school could be situated

• The absolute limit of an acceptable location for your school site

The map must be sent to FS.applications@education.gov.uk, when you submit your free school application form, with the name of your proposed school in the subject line Travel and transport are often critical aspects to planning permission and location of schools Therefore, you should provide a concise summary of your school travel policy within this email to the DfE

You can also include any additional commentary on the preferred location of the site, if applicable

In our consultations with LocatED, they have made clear that in addition to the section H Excel application form it is particularly helpful to include the following information:

• A map of the catchment area the school will serve (as outlined above);

• A site plan;

• Photos of preferred sites;

• Information on legal ownership, planning status and technical assessment

Site requirements

As part of section H you are asked to provide information about how any specialism or education model might impact the site requirements of your school When completing this section, it is

important to be aware that the DfE will make a value for money assessment of your preferred site and where possible you should aim for the lowest capital costs and be as flexible as possible

 Consider the salient features of your curriculum and how you would deliver them in

practice For example, you may require the facilities to deliver boarding provision for some