Mainstream Free school application guidance - December 15

Any provision in a free school for over-19s will not be funded by the DfE as free schools however mainstream free schools are able to offer nursery provision, though the revenue funding

Contents

If you would like to refer to a particular section in the handbook you can Ctrl + Click on the title in this contents page to be taken to it

i What are mainstream free schools? 3

ii How do I set up a mainstream free school? 6

iii How can New Schools Network (NSN) help? 7

Application guidance 9

Before you start: 9

How to use this guidance 10

A Applicant details 11

B Outline of the school 13

C Education vision 15

D Education plan 21

D1: The curriculum plan 22

D2: Measuring pupil performance effectively and setting challenging targets 32

D3: Staffing structure 40

D4: Inclusivity 45

E: Evidence of need and engagement with the community 49

E1 Evidence of need 50

E2: Successful engagement with parents and the local community 55

F1: Capacity and capability to deliver the school to opening 59

F2 Accountability and decision making 69

F3 Indepdendent schools have a good educational track reocrd 77

F4: Independent schools have a good financial track record 79

F5: Indepednent schools have an appropriate site 82

G: Budget planning and affordability 82

H Premises 85

Introduction

This detailed handbook should be used in conjunction with the Department for Education’s Free school application guide, criteria and application form for mainstream and 16-19 free schools The DfE’s “Criteria for assessment” outline the criteria that will be used to assess the sections of the application form Our handbook aims to help you fulfil these criteria to the best of your ability

NSN’s role

NSN supports groups with their application but we are not part of the Department for Education and we do not have any role in the assessment of free school applications Being accepted on to our Development Programme will not affect the way in which the DfE will assess your free school application

i What are Mainstream free schools?

Free schools are new, state-funded schools that are independent of Local Authority control and set up in areas with demonstrable need Mainstream free schools provide full-time education for at least five children over the age of five, and admit pupils on the basis of parental application Once open, free schools have the same legal status as academies and are funded and held accountable in the same ways The first

24 free schools opened in September 2011 There are now over 300 free schools open in England, of which over 200 are mainstream free schools Over 100 more free schools have been approved to open from September 2016 onwards

In England, mainstream free schools must:

 Teach students only of statutory school age, meaning from reception (normally starting age 4) until age 19 Any provision in a free school for over-19s will not be funded by the DfE as free schools however mainstream free schools are able to offer nursery provision, though the revenue funding (known as the free entitlement) for this is provided separately1 with schools having the additional flexibility of being able to charge parents for extra hours taken up (but not as a condition of receiving the free entitlement) to cover their costs in delivering this provision;

 Abide by the School Admissions Code;

 Have more than 5 full-time pupils over the age of 5;

 Take account of the SEN Code of Practice;

 Be run by a charitable trust; and

 Provide a broad and balanced curriculum including core subjects such as maths, English and science, make provision for the teaching of religious education and a daily act of collective worship Free schools do not have to follow the National Curriculum however early years provision including reception classes must follow the Early Years Foundation Stage

In England, 16-19 free schools share many of the features of mainstream free schools but do not have to:

 Follow the School Admissions Code They may set their own admissions criteria, provided these are objective, transparent and fair;

 Offer a broad and balanced curriculum They may offer a specialised curriculum but must offer qualifications which meet the needs and interests of pupils as well as have a curriculum that meets the 16-19 study programme requirements; or

1 Funding for up to 15 hours for 3 and 4 year-olds, and the most disadvantaged 2 year olds, comes directly from the local authority (LA) who are required to fund such provision and groups should make their own arrangements with the LA to coordinate payments

 Follow special educational needs legislation However, they must give regard to equalities legislation, including ensuring equal access to young people with any disability, including learning difficulties that constitute a disability

Free schools receive funding from the government for every child that attends, at a per pupil rate comparable to other state schools In order to establish a free school, every proposer group must have a credible plan to deliver high-quality education and demonstrate parental support for their particular type

of provision

Independent schools becoming free schools

The DfE welcomes strong independent schools to apply to join the state sector If you are interested in doing so you will need to meet all of the independent school criteria as outlined in the ‘How to Apply’ guidance It will be important that, through the application, you demonstrate:

 How your school will enhance choice and increase the number and quality of places locally

 The progress you will have already have made to develop and adapt your education, governance, leadership and management systems so that they are ready for the rigours of the state sector and the Ofsted inspection under the common inspection framework (CIF) It is expected that your application will demonstrate a greater level of preparedness in these areas given that your independent school has already established capacity and capability

 Clear strategic plans for how your education and leadership arrangements will transition to the state sector ready for opening successfully

 How you will widen access to your provision, particularly with regards to admitting and attracting pupils eligible for the pupil and service premiums that are proportionate to such children resident

in the local authority, including by prioritising children eligible for these premiums in your admissions arrangements You will also need to cease selecting intake according to academic ability and comply with the School Admissions Code and free schools policy For example if you are a faith school you may only admit a maximum of 50% of pupils by reference to faith, and you may no longer admit pupils from non-European economic areas

 How your school can and will meet the needs of a new and different pupil population You should demonstrate how your behaviour and safety policies reflect and impact that different groups within the school, including pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, looked after children and pupils with English as an additional language

 How effectively you have already prepared your school to succeed in the state sector and achieve

at least `good’ or `outstanding’ in your first Ofsted Inspection In particular, demonstrate how you will monitor and track pupil progress and meet both Ofsted’s pre- and post-16 achievement criteria (as appropriate to your school)

 How leadership in your school has successful systems in place to monitor and develop the effectiveness of teaching and learning delivered by staff, and the CPD arrangements to underpin that

 Clear transition plans for your governance arrangements You are required to complete a self-assessment of current governance arrangements and clearly detail your plans to become a highly effective governing body within the state sector

 How you will manage any expansion you are proposing You should set out the suitability of the related curriculum offer and be clear about the capacity of the school, both in terms of site, staff and resources to make expansion a success

 How, as a free school, your proposal will be financially viable and with sufficient reserves to develop and remain a successful school in the state sector school

Additionally, as part of your free school application you will need to:

 Sign a declaration guaranteeing that you have disclosed all financial liabilities, including tax disputes

 Complete a self-assessment against the Ofsted common inspection framework (CIF) It is recommended that you have these plans externally validated, ideally by a trained Ofsted inspector

 Have no significant issues relating to compliance in your last report

 Provide a link to your most recent inspection report

 Demonstrate that you have a good track record in managing finances

 Submit two years audited accounts (or alternative evidence of financial viability if your school has been open less than two years)

 Provide a site assessment carried out by a surveyor in the last year

The DfE will judge your proposal on the basis of whether it is value for money, and if it will be successful in the state sector You are unlikely to be approved unless you can demonstrate this in your application The DfE will consider the costs and benefits of the proposal based on a number of factors including:

 A ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ (or equivalent) rating in your last inspection

 Your plans to increase capacity and take on more pupils (this can be either through filling existing vacancies or creating new places)

 The level of basic need and deprivation in your area

 The level of debt of your existing school

 The size of capital investment required

 The results at KS2 (level 4+ and level 5+), GCSE (5A*-C including English and Maths) and A-Level, that are at least equal to the local authority and national averages in all of the last three years When considering your plans to apply to convert to a free school, it is important to bear in mind that the DfE have stated they favour applications from independent schools which can expand their pupil intake and that if your school has significant debts or requires large capital investment, it is unlikely to be approved

If your school passes the paper-based assessment, you will receive a visit from one or more DfE representatives prior to your interview This will also inform the questions you are asked at your interview with the DfE Additionally, as an independent converter you will not usually be entitled to the post-opening funding that other free school groups can access

Issues to be aware of

 Currently the free schools policy only applies in England Education policy in Scotland and Wales lies with the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly respectively For this reason, legislation covering English schools does not affect schools in Scotland and Wales;

 All free school proposals must be for schools that are new to the state system; and

 Existing state schools, including voluntary aided and foundation schools, can convert to become Academies rather than free schools If you would like more information on the Academy process, please visit the link below

ii How do I set up a mainstream free school?

To set up a mainstream free school, a group of people must form a non-profit Company Limited by Guarantee

When forming your company limited by guarantee you should adopt the Articles and Memorandum of Association which been developed specifically for free schools and academies by the DfE These are available for a single academy trust (SAT) where you plan to open a single free school or a multi-academy trust (MAT) where you plan to open two or more free schools The model documents can be found here NSN has produced guidance on setting up a company limited by guarantee here

Once you have adopted these standard Articles and Memorandum of Association, the company will become an exempt charity (referred to as the academy trust) It is this Trust which will submit the application to the DfE

If your application is successful, the government will support you with funding and expertise to set up your school over the next year If this can be done successfully, your academy will sign a funding agreement with the DfE Once open, your free school will be run by the academy trust and will have the same legal status

as an academy

How to apply

There is one application form for all applicants wishing to set up a mainstream free school Applicants must fill out different parts of this depending on their track record This is because the DfE already hold

information on existing trusts

We have therefore used the terminology of ‘applicants completing the shorter information’ or ‘applicants completing the longer information’ to indicate the sections where this is the case

Should I complete the shorter or longer application information?

For Wave 11 (March 2016) and beyond the DfE has updated the application process so that where they already hold information where a trust, they are not asking for this information again This will make the application shorter and simpler for some trusts

Sections C and E have to be completed by all proposer groups in full Sections D, F and G have criteria that will require less information for some groups For each of these sections, we have outlined in the table at the start of each section what you need to complete depending on what type of group you are

Throughout this document this is referred to as ‘applicants completing the shorter information’ and

‘applicants completing the longer information’

‘A strong track record’

The DfE have said that when they refer to schools, trusts or individuals with a good track record, they want

to see that:

 You have a ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ judgement from Ofsted;

 Your achievement is above local authority and national averages (looking at KS2/4/5 results

including absolute results and trajectories, and Best 8 value-added scores) and should not be on a downward trajectory since the last Ofsted inspection On the data this is a guideline not a hard-and-fast rule If there is an anomaly in your data that the DfE should know about, or a specific reason why the school does not meet this definition (e.g the school has not been open long

enough for exam results) you are advised to make this clear to them

If you want to complete the shorter application information for sections D and G the school you are

replicating will need to fit this definition

Your application

Important things to remember about the process of applying to set up a free school are:

 The process is achievable and NSN can help to support you through it

 There is no quota or set number of free schools that can be approved in each year

 You may apply more than once to open a free school, if you are initially unsuccessful, although you will be expected to specifically address all of the DfE’s feedback on your previously unsuccessful application

Please bear in mind that applications will not be considered for:

 Schools that are only at nursery level

 An existing school wishing to extend its age range

 Schools that are proposed by people which the DfE consider unsuitable for the task, or if the school endorses violence, illegal activity or an ethos that does not promote fundamental British values of the rule of law, equality and democracy

 Schools that propose to teach creationism, intelligent design, or similar ideas as valid scientific theories

In addition please be aware that:

 Independent schools must also meet all of the requirements set out in the DfE’s ‘How to Apply’ guidance

 Applications for schools to be designated with a particular faith may only select up to 50% of pupils

on the basis of faith if they are oversubscribed

Small schools

The DfE have stated in their How to apply guide that applicants applying for a small school or a school with

a small sixth form will need to make a very strong case to explain why their school will be able to overcome the challenges small schools face, specifically the ability to provide a broad educational offer, become financially secure and offer good value for money

Even if your application is approved the DfE may ask you to consider expanding the proposed size of your school or sixth form to ensure that they get the maximum value from the investment of capital funding and

to improve the educational and financial sustainability of your school

An example of a small school would be a 1FE primary or a 2FE secondary school

iii How can New Schools Network (NSN) help?

We think our support makes a big difference So far, NSN has worked with around 80% of free schools that are either open or have been approved to open All our services are free but we offer 2 different types of support:

 Support for all groups - including events, a one-to-one meeting, email and telephone advice and a variety of resources on our website

 Our Development Programme - a programme of individualised, intensive support and funding This

is also free, but limited to groups that meet our criteria and show strong potential to develop a high quality free school application

 View the resources on the NSN website for a comprehensive list of all the guidance we produce

and useful links to other sources of information: free-school/resources

http://www.newschoolsnetwork.org/set-up-a- What type of free school are you? If you are unsure whether your proposal would be classed as a

mainstream school, please refer to our guidance on different types of free schools: http://www.newschoolsnetwork.org/set-up-a-free-school/get-started/what-are-the-different-types-of-free-school

Application guidance

Before you start:

Putting together a free school application is a lot of work It is crucial that you and your team understand the time and effort that submitting a good application takes so that you are able to plan effectively Most groups combine writing an application with working full time, or with other important responsibilities, so planning ahead is essential Submitting a high quality application is difficult but achievable Remember that NSN can provide you with support in every aspect of putting your application together

If you have not done so by the time you begin your application, we would strongly advise that you contact

us (info@newschoolsnetwork.org or 020 7537 9208)with any questions about the application process that

you cannot find the answer to on our website

How will your application be assessed?

The DfE have stated that they will assess all applications against:

 The criteria set out in the relevant assessment criteria booklet for your proposed type of school;

 Other mainstream, 16 to 19, AP and special free school applications as appropriate

 A range of contextual factors including value for money

More details of how this assessment will be conducted can be found in the DfE’s Free school application guide

How should you complete your application?

You should follow the guidelines concerning font and style laid down by the DfE in their Free school application guide You should ensure that you are using the correct application form for your school and that you are following the instructions given in that form

You will need to submit your application form, including Word and Excel templates, by email and in two hard copies Further details can be found in the DfE’s Free school application guide

Please be aware that you must complete, to a high standard, all criteria relevant to your application type The DfE have stated that if you do not provide the information requested in order to meet their criteria, then your application may not be fully assessed and you may not receive feedback on the other sections It

is therefore vital that you carefully complete the application following the requirements in the applications criteria

What makes a strong application?

Over the last 5 years NSN has reviewed hundreds of applications to open free schools In our experience, all outstanding applications have some features in common These include:

 A clear structure: applications should be clearly structured to follow the order of the DfE’s criteria This

helps you to ensure that you have included all the necessary information to meet those criteria It also makes assessing your application much easier

 A strong vision: your vision should be woven throughout your application Ideally, an assessor should

be able to pick up any individual section of your application and know that it is linked to your vision without being told

 A high level of detail: a strong application will give the reader a sense of what the school will look like

in reality and give confidence that proposals have been well thought-out

 A compelling narrative: Your application is a complex document but you should try to maintain a clear

and consistent tone Please be aware that it is not possible to use appendices other than as instructed

by the DfE All information needed to meet the criteria must therefore be included in the main body of your application

 Well-justified decisions: great applications show that each of the key elements of your proposals have

been thought through and explained Setting up a free school is your chance to create an entirely new school, and every decision you have made in designing it should be justified in your application If you are an existing provider or are planning to convert the status of an existing school, you should still explain why you are retaining the best features of your school, and why you are making any changes

 Positive: your application is your chance to sell your ideas, and your school, to the DfE It should be

detailed, positive, and above all an argument for why you think your proposed school would benefit young people and your community, not simply a critique of existing schools or practices

How to use this guidance

This guidance is designed to help you at all stages of completing your free school application You may well find it useful to read the entire document before you begin writing We hope that you will always find it useful to dip in and out of the appropriate sections as you complete them Please remember that NSN is here to help you, and if you would like to discuss anything raised in this guidance in more detail, you can contact us at any time

The following guidance is laid out in the same structure as the DfE’s application form We strongly recommend that you follow this structure when putting your application together

At the beginning of each sub-section, you will see a table like this:

This table is designed to give you key information to consider before and during your writing of the section

It is designed to be a quick, easy guide to what each section of the application may look like when you have finished writing it The following information is given:

 Assessment criteria: the DfE’s criteria for this section, which you must meet in order to produce a good

application

 Approximate length: this is based on the DfE’s recommended page length for this section Remember, the DfE have specified that the maximum page limit for your application is 100 pages of A4, plus excel spreadsheets and appendices they have specified

 Key links: some of the sections have strong links to others We have suggested other sections you will

need to consider when writing each section In places, you may want to explicitly reference these links

A Applicant details

Possible Appendices If you have an existing school, links to your

inspection report and inspection data

Although this section does not have any assessment criteria, it is important that you complete it so that it is correct to the best of your knowledge

i Basic information

You are required to enter the name of your proposed school, details of the lead applicant and whether you are completing the shorter or longer application information

There is information here on who is able to complete the shorter information

ii Main contact details

For this section, you are required to provide the name, postal address, email address and telephone number for the main contact from your group The main contact does not need to be a member or director

of the company; they just need to be the person who will be best situated to communicate with the DfE about your application

You must ensure that the contact details are correct, because the DfE will use them to inform you about whether you have been invited to interview, and then whether your application has final approval You should therefore ensure that you use contact details which will not change between the submission of your application and the announcement of the successful schools

iii About your group and its application history

The first requirement of this section is that you describe the composition of your group This will not be used as part of the assessment criteria – it just helps the DfE keep track of what kinds of group are applying

to open a free school You should choose the option which is closest to describing your group, or choose

‘something else’ and explain in the box below If your group is already running an Academy, then you are classified as an academy sponsor, even if you only have one existing school

You are then asked whether you have submitted an application for this school previously You will need to specify if this previous application was submitted under a different group or school name If you have previously applied, when did you do so? Please be reassured that your current application will be judged

on its own merit and any previous applications will only be considered in as much as it helps the DfE to be fully informed about your group history

iv Details of the company limited by guarantee

In this section you should give details of the company which you have registered with Companies House For guidance on how to set up your company, please see the NSN guidance here

If you are an existing provider, the company which already exists to run your school should be sufficient and you will probably not need to set up another company However, you will need to confirm that the model memorandum and articles of association you use are compatible with the models provided by the DfE web site If they are not, we would encourage you to establish a new company, since negotiating new arrangements with the DfE can be a lengthy and expensive process

You must provide the names of all the members and directors of the company in the appropriate boxes If known, you should indicate who you intend to be your chair of governors

v Further details about the group

The first question asks whether any members of your group are related in any way (including by marriage) This question covers all members of the group whether they are a formal member or director of your company or simply an adviser to the team This question is included to assess the risk of any conflict of interest

The rest of this section is aimed at providers of existing schools or providers who wish to open further schools, be that single schools wanting to open another school or independent schools wanting to convert

If you are one of the above, you will need to provide details of your most recent inspection including a link

to the inspection report You will also need to provide a link to your performance data for the past 3 years

vi Links to other organisations

You are asked to provide a list of any companies/charities with which your company has formal or informal links (for example, financial or ideological) This would include, for example, if:

 Your company is owned by another organisation or owns them in whole or part;

 Your company uses another organisation’s services, offers them services or shares services with them;

 Any of your members or directors is a trustee, member, associate, employee or shareholder of such organisations;

 Your company has received advice or has been influenced by another education provider or charity

For any company with which you have links, you will need to provide their name and company number If they will be involved in the running of the school, you should mention briefly how they will be involved This should not be a lengthy description – more detail can be given in the ‘educational plan’ section if appropriate Here you will simply clarify the type of relationship the organisation would have with the school, for example ‘this company would provide sports facilities to the school free of charge’

It may seem onerous to list all organisations with whom you have these links, but it is important to the DfE that your group are clear and open about any relationships that you have which could impact upon your free school Listing them here will avoid any confusion at a later stage Groups have been turned down for not disclosing this information

If your group has any links to any religious organisations, including if your school will have a religious ethos, you should disclose these in this section Again, the DfE will want to see that you have been as clear and open about these links as possible

Finally, you will need to disclose whether you have received any help from NSN or any other organisation in putting together your application If you did have support from any other organisations, you should provide a full description of how they supported you, and what role, if any, you envisage them playing in setting up and/or running the school

Summary

For most groups, completing this section is simple Once you have established your company, you should already have most of the information you need However, it is worth taking time to ensure that all of the details in this section are correct – any mistakes here now can make it much more difficult for the DfE to contact you or to proceed with your application

B Outline of the school

This section begins by asking you to outline any particularities of your school which would mean that it does not directly fit into the category of mainstream or 16-19 school You only need to briefly note the main differences, you will be able to go into more detail in the other sections of the application

You then need to describe the main proposed features of your school You will need to give the proposed age range of the school While you are able to run a nursery or post-19 provision alongside the free school, young people outside the 4-19 age bracket cannot be funded as pupils at the free school If you have plans

to run such provision you will not have the option to note it here but you will be able to mention it later in your application

You need to indicate whether your school will have a hybrid element If you are filling in this form it is because your school will be a mainstream school for all or the majority of its pupils However, some schools may be introducing a hybrid element to their school You can choose what mix of types of school you are proposing, for example a Mainstream School with an AP unit within it If you do not fit in to the categories provided you have the chance to describe the nature of your school briefly in the next block The next few questions relate to any possible religious affiliations you wish to adopt for your school Mainstream free schools can have either a religious designation, a faith ethos, or no religious character If your school is to have a religious character, either designated or with a faith ethos, you need to specify which faith

Being designated as a school with a religious character will allow you to admit pupils and/or recruit some teaching staff on the basis of religious belief You do not need to apply for religious designation as part of the application process, but this will be necessary if your application is approved

You should note that if your school will have a religious designation you can only admit up to 50% of your pupils on the basis of faith criteria if oversubscribed If you are admitting pupils on this basis you must clearly explain in other sections of the proposal how other arrangements will be inclusive, e.g how all pupils will be able to access the curriculum and how the organisation of the school day or year will not disadvantage any particular community You will also need to be clear when engaging with parents that you intend to admit pupils to your school in this way

If you do not want to recruit pupils or staff on the basis of faith, you should consider having a faith ethos rather than a religious designation This would allow tenets of your faith to underpin your principles and parts of your curriculum without the need to be endorsed by a religious body You should be aware that if you have a faith ethos you will have to deliver an act of collective worship of a broadly Christian nature in your school, in line with legislation

You will also need to indicate if your school will have particular pedagogy or educational philosophy You can choose from a list of none, Montessori, Steiner or other This is not the place to go into any detail if you consider yourself in the ‘other’ category, you will have the chance to develop your ideas further in other sections so be as concise as possible

Next, you will need to give details of how your school will grow You will need to select the date at which your school will reach capacity There is no limit on how long your school takes to fill, but you should be

conscious on the one hand that a school that builds to capacity quicker represents better value-for-money and on the other that it can be difficult to recruit pupils at non-standard entry-points This decision will therefore be closely related to your marketing, admissions, and financial plans

You will next need to indicate if you are intending to provide residential provision Section B is designed to

be brief, so it is not an appropriate place for all of the detail that you will wish to give about that provision However, you should provide minimal information such as numbers of residential pupils and use this block

to sign post the assessor to those later sections where you have included this further information

For applicants for 16-19 schools, you will need to select the age range of secondary schools in the area that you wish to set up the free school in This information will not feed into the assessment directly but will help the DfE form a better picture of your surrounding area

This section finishes with a number of questions on the management of your school:

 You will need to indicate whether you will be using a management company to help with a large part of the running of your school This relates to the period once your school is open; if you intend to use a management company in the pre-opening stage you can indicate this in the section on capacity and capability – section F;

 You will need to give details of any principal designate you may have in mind, including when you intend them to start working for the school, again you can use section F to give far more detail of your proposed staff This question is here so that you can indicate whether you intend to dispense with an open competition to find your PD;

 You should indicate how many people you intend to sit on your governing body You will not need to have recruited all the governors you need by the time you apply to the DfE, however, the DfE will want some indication that you have an appropriate governing structure in mind in as much as you know how many governors you intend to have You will only need to include numbers here but you can go into more detail in section F

C Education vision

Aim of the section To lay out your overarching vision for your

school and how it informs your education plan, referencing why you want to set up your school

in your chosen area and the core features of the provision

It is imperative that the information you present in section C provides a succinct overview of your proposal, incorporating both the key features of your school, who it will serve and, briefly, why it is needed You will provide much more detail in these areas in sections D and E1 respectively but section C should act as cohesive overview of what you are proposing and why

The sub-criteria for this section divide into two sections, rationale and vision The former will be relatively brief, because a detailed rationale will be presented in section E The majority of the three pages allocated

to section C should therefore be used to present the vision for your school but it is important to summarise your rationale before doing so The guidance below follows this proposed structure

Rationale

The DfE state that all applicants must:

 Describe the rationale for their school, i.e why they want to set up their free school in the area they have identified and the pupils they intend to cater for

Your rationale should make a compelling argument about why your free school is needed in your particular

area It should go beyond explaining why a new state school is needed and make a case for why your free school specifically is needed

In order to link your rationale to your vision, you should consider how you can make a case that your proposed free school is best placed to fill the gap that exists in current provision – in terms of its size, age range, curriculum offer, location and pedagogy

The rationale for your free school should be unique, reflecting the particular circumstances of your area Though there may be a number of reasons why you are seeking to establish your free school, you should bear in mind that the DfE have stated that they will be assessing the quality of the case you make in

demonstrating that your school will:

 Address basic need and demand for nursery places (if applicable) - by helping to fill a shortage of

school places in the area where your school will be situated;

 Offer higher standards than local schools – by raising academic attainment for all pupils, or

specific groups of pupils;

 Add to choice/diversity of provision locally – by offering a genuine alternative to the key features, ethos or pedagogies available in local state schools;

 Respond to parental (or student for 16-19) demand – by providing an educational offer which is in line with their wishes

Please note that the DfE have made it clear that you do not have to address all of the points above It is likely that there may be other reasons you wish to establish your free school, which are specific to your area However, your application will be stronger if you can make a compelling case that your school will

address most of the points above If you cannot present a compelling rationale based on addressing basic

need and/or improving local standards then your application is unlikely to meet the DfE’s criteria

• Will this conversion make your school more attractive to parents and young people?

• Will it enable you to demonstrate the quality of your provision through different or more frequent inspections?

• Will it enable you to admit more students by providing the opportunity to expand your facilities?

Please note that more secure funding and the replacement/refurbishment of premises (if you do not intend to expand your student numbers) will not be considered as a legitimate part of a rationale for conversion

Presenting your rationale

The rationale for establishing your free school will be unique However, when considering how to present

it, there are some features that we find all good rationales share

Firstly, a great rationale will set your proposed school in the context of the local educational environment: how will it respond to the needs of pupils in a way which allows it to raise standards? You should certainly provide headline information about your anticipated pupil cohort, for example the proportion of pupils on Free School Meals and the attainment of these pupils in relation to other pupils, as well as any other data which will support your rationale What you focus on here will depend on the rationale for your school, but could include:

 The shortfall in places in schools locally, if there is one

 Current outcomes for pupils attending existing local schools, if this is an issue;

 Current outcomes for a particular demographic, if your school is being set up with them in mind;

 The approaches, ethos and pedagogy of the other schools in the area

Secondly, your rationale must be based on evidence Without evidence, your arguments will be much weaker This evidence can take the form either of statistics and data, or it can be more qualitative, based

on the experiences of your team, local parents and young people, or experts within relevant fields You must ensure that all of your evidence is:

 Appropriate for the point that you are making: anecdotal evidence about rising numbers of parents

who are unable to gain a place for their child at a good local school does not make the case for your free school, whereas statistics which show this might form part of a powerful rationale;

 Referenced: you should reference any evidence that you are using, and provide links to your sources

where relevant;

 Focused on your local situation: whilst national data can be useful when used for background

information, it does not constitute as strong evidence in favour of your school as that which is specific

to your area

Finally, your rationale should be concise, presenting a high level summary of what you have outlined in Section E1 You will probably outline all of the above types of need in depth in E1 Section C should simply present an overview of the basic need for your school, the standards of relevant local provision of the same type and phase and the demand for your school in the community with an emphasis placed on the most important factors

Vision

The sub-criteria which accompany this sub-section are:

 Include a brief explanation of the key features of your school, including the proposed age range, the expected pupil population and any particular ethos you wish your school to have (e.g any religious or other beliefs); and

 Ensure your vision is consistent with the rest of your application

Having established a compelling rationale for why a free school like the one you are proposing is needed in your area, this sub-section should go into more detail about your vision for the school itself

You should make clear what the key features of your free school will be and why they have been chosen, highlighting what makes it particularly distinctive Your educational vision should underpin your entire application, so it is important that it is as strong as possible This sub-section should provide a basis for the more detailed plans you lay out in the rest of your application, including the way you organise your

curriculum and your pupils, the range of staffing, how you allocate the budget and the premises in which the school will operate

It is also important that you present a vision which is deliverable Other sections of your application will

explain in more depth how your school will function, but it is important to give a clear sense of an

educational offer which can be practically delivered

Forming your vision

Your vision will be unique to your school and underpin everything that goes on in it, potentially for many years to come It is therefore important to spend time developing it, and to ensure that all members of your team understand and agree with it This will save a lot of time and effort when you are writing the application and completing other aspects of the application process, such as gathering evidence of

demand

There are many ways to go about developing your vision For some groups, this will be the easiest section,

as they will already have a concise, clear idea of how they want their school to be For others, this section will be more difficult You may not yet have a clear idea of everything that you need, or you may not be sure exactly of what is relevant for this section The following are some suggestions for things you may wish to think about when you are putting together your vision and ethos:

 Why would parents want their children to attend this school?

 How will the lives of individual children be different once the school has been opened?

 What will a week in the life of the school look like, during and beyond the school day?

 Why would young people want to attend this school?

 Why do you think this particular school is appropriate for your pupils?

 What will the school focus on, academically and outside academic subjects?

 Who do you want to be involved in your school?

You might also find it useful to ask each member of your team to describe your school in a sentence, or a few words Between you, you can then decide which qualities or features are most important to you and are non-negotiable for your school

If your school will have a religious ethos or designation, you must ensure that you include reference to this element when you are deciding on the key features of your vision You should be able to explain why the religious ethos is important to your vision, the key values which it will impart to your school community, and why this ethos will create an appropriate environment for your pupils and staff

NSN has produced more guidance on how to develop a clear vision for your school, which you can find on our website, here We also hold workshops on developing a vision at our roadshow events, which we would encourage you to attend Details of these events can be found here

Presenting your vision

Once you are able to describe your vision for your school clearly and concisely, you should begin writing this section of your application Since this section will underpin the rest of your application, it is important that you make it as clear, concise and compelling as possible

Your vision for the school should be relatively brief – not more than a few pages – to ensure that the key messages do not get lost in too much detail It should also be high-level: something which your pupils, staff, parents and other stakeholders can understand and buy into, not a detailed description of your curriculum

or pedagogy

Rather than writing long paragraphs of prose, you may find it helpful to structure this section around a small number of key, distinctive aspects of your vision that address the needs and issues outlined in your rationale and are really central to the life of your school Avoid using unsubstantiated terms or phrases or long lists of bullet points, since these can dilute the coherence of what you are presenting

One example of how you might summarize your vision is given below:

Our vision is to create an outstanding school that radically improves our pupils’ life chances We

want every pupil to do well enough by the age of 18 to go on to university or pursue the career

of their choice

To achieve this we prioritise six key principles across our schools:

1 High expectations: We set exceptionally high expectations for all our pupils which we

reinforce constantly as they go through school We believe every child can realise their potential

with the right teaching and support

2 Exemplary behaviour: Our school is characterised by a respectful and orderly

environment, where teachers can focus on teaching and pupils on learning Our school aims for

uninterrupted teaching and learning to make exceptional achievement possible We do not

accept excuses and we do not make any either

3 Excellent teaching: Nothing is more important than excellent teaching, underpinned by

high quality professional development We make intelligent and appropriate use of data to

improve teaching and the curriculum and to ensure that no child is left behind We draw on

evidence and experience of the best ways to achieve excellent outcomes for all children

4 More time for learning: Our longer school day provides more time to embed core

subjects and to extend the curriculum through enrichment Our curriculum is planned to provide

pathways from any level at entry to high achievement at exit

5 Depth before breadth: A strong command of English and mathematics is a vital

foundation for the whole curriculum We prioritise depth before breadth, so that all pupils

secure firm foundations in these core subjects as early as possible

In order to bring your vision alive, it is also very useful to use brief examples to clarify how particular aspects of it will be embodied in your school You should also try to indicate where this element of your vision for the school will be expanded on later in the application, so that clear links are made across it If it

isn’t obvious, you should also try to make it clear why you have selected different aspects of your school’s

vision and how this links to your rationale for establishing the school

An example of how you might do this is given below:

Nursery provision

You will be scored more highly if:

 There is a clear unmet demand for nursery places in the local area;

 You consider, where appropriate, offering the local authority funded early education flexibility to meet the needs of working parents ;

 You consider including provision for disadvantaged 2 year olds; and/or

 You have robust plans for how you will manage the sessions and any finances associated with

additional hours that parents can pay for

Existing providers and multiple applicants

If you are applying to establish more than one free school, you have a free school which is open or about to open or you have any open state-funded or independent school* you must also provide:

 A brief overarching vision for your chain, including: the number and types of open schools you already manage and have in pre-opening (including free schools, academies, voluntary aided schools and independent schools); and your planned expansion strategy (including how many schools you hope to have in total, your planned geographical spread and timescales)

* You do not need to provide this information if you are applying to convert a single independent school into a free school

as you continue to work through the application form

“Too many young people in our area leave school without the skills they need to be

successful in the workplace It is crucial for us that all of our pupils are well prepared for

life outside school One way in which we will support them is by ensuring that each

student accesses a relevant, well-monitored work placement in partnership with our local

employers to ensure that pupils are ready to enter the world of work having gained skills

and experiences which are valued in our community

Our innovative plans for providing these work placements are explored further in Section

D2.”

You will probably revise this section several times, adapting it to ensure that it is an accurate reflection of your evolving ideas about your school This is to be expected However, throughout this process you should keep your rationale clearly in mind You should also ensure that you read through your application

frequently to make sure that everything you have written is an accurate reflection of your vision, and that your vision is fully developed in every other section

D Education plan

Section D is likely to be the longest section in your application It should certainly be one of the most detailed Where your section C was a high-level account of your rational, vision and key aims for your school, section D should be a strategic level explanation of your plans for putting your vision into action

It is divided into 4 sub-sections:

 D1 – Curriculum plan: an ambitious and deliverable curriculum plan which is consistent with the

vision and pupil intake

 D2 – Measuring pupil performance: your strategies for measuring pupil performance effectively

and setting challenging targets

 D3 - Staffing: a staffing structure that will deliver the planned curriculum within the expected

income levels

 D4 – Inclusivity: evidence that the needs of all children are fully provided for within the curriculum

We strongly recommend that you follow the structure of the sub-sections when writing your application This will make it much easier for the DfE to navigate and to absorb all of the key information It will also help you to present a structured case for your educational plans, and to ensure that you meet all of the criteria for each sub-section

D1: The curriculum plan

Assessment criterion An ambitious and deliverable curriculum plan

which is consistent with the vision and pupil intake

Shorter/longer applicants Applicants completing the shorter information

You have an existing mainstream school with a strong track record that is of the same age range

as the school you are proposing, and you want to replicate this (similar curriculum, same age range)

Applicants completing the longer information

You do not have an existing mainstream school with a strong track record that is of the same age range as the school you are proposing

Approximate length Applicants completing the shorter information:

2 - 10 pages Applicants completing the longer information:

20 – 30 pages

Applicants completing the longer information, click here

Applicants completing the shorter information

The criteria for section D1 state that:

 If you have (an) open state-funded school(s) with a strong track record, and you want to open another school(s) of the same type and age-range, please tell us:

o Details about the pupil population at the existing school (e.g levels of EAL, FSM, etc.) and how the pupil population at the new school(s) will be different;

o What, if anything, you will need to change about your curriculum in response to those differences (e.g if the new school will be in an area with much higher EAL, will that change your approach to literacy?);

o Anything else that will need to be different about the curriculum at the new school (e.g are there any changes to the subject choices you’ll offer because the labour market near your new school will be different? If you are a faith school with 100% faith admissions, what changes will be needed to accommodate 50%?);

o How you will ensure the new school(s) and your current school(s) are consistent in their approach to teaching and learning, etc.;

o Complete the tables in the application form with:

 A list of subjects to be offered with the number of hours spent per week on each You do not need to provide sample timetables

 The length of the school day, including any enrichment time, making a distinction between compulsory and voluntary activities

(If you have a number of strong schools of the same phase and type as the new school(s) you are

proposing, please pick the one that is most similar in order to tell us about the differences)

 We will assess the quality of your plans based on a combination of your track record and what you write here

Expected pupil cohort

The DfE ask for:

 Details about the pupil population at the existing school (e.g levels of EAL, FSM, etc) and how the pupil population at the new school(s) will be different;

 What, if anything, you will need to change about your curriculum in response to those differences (e.g if the new school will be in an area with much higher EAL, will that change your approach to literacy?); Anything else that will need to be different about the curriculum at the new school (e.g are there any changes to the subject choices you’ll offer because the labour market near your new school will be different? If you are a faith school with 100% faith admissions, what changes will be needed to accommodate 50%?);

Here the DfE want to see a comparison of the pupil cohort at your existing school(s) compared to the expected pupil cohort at the proposed school They will use this information to assess how appropriate your proposed curriculum is for the new cohort of pupils, and how you plan to alter it (if necessary) to cater for their needs

Please see here for how to establish a picture of your likely cohort for the school You should include this information in a table along with data on the cohort at your existing school Where your trust has several schools, you should choose the one for which you have based the curriculum for the proposed school on When discussing how you will change your curriculum, you should consider what the differences in cohort are, and you can best address these Areas you may want to consider are the time given to core subjects, the range of subjects available, interventions, and staffing differences (e.g a higher number of support staff) For example, if the proposed school will be an area where one industry offers a large proportion of employment opportunities you may want to offer subjects and qualifications that cater to that

Alternatively, if the new school will offer a higher proportion of pupils eligible for the Pupil Premium then you should focus on how you would spend that money

Faith schools

If you are an existing faith school that selects over 50% of pupils on the basis of faith you will need to outline how you will alter your curriculum to ensure that it meets the needs of a cohort that could be up to 50% from other or no faiths You may want to include information on:

 The ethos of the school, and how this will be inclusive to pupils of other/ no faith

 The alternatives available for pupils whose parents wish them to opt out of RE or collective

worship These should be meaningful alternatives that will have benefits for these pupils

Consistent approach to teaching and learning

The DfE ask for:

 How you will ensure the new school(s) and your current school(s) are consistent in their approach

to teaching and learning, etc.;

The DfE want to see that the successful approaches within your existing school will be replicated in the new school You should include information here on the systems and processes you will have in place to ensure that teaching and learning in the new school will be of the same high standard as that in the existing school When writing this section you should consider:

 The successful approaches used in the existing school that will be used in the free school You should outline what these are, and explain any changes you might want to make to your

approaches and why

 The development and training programme for teachers

 Systems for monitoring the quality of teaching

Curriculum model table

Please see here for information on completing this

Applicants completing the longer information

The criteria for section D1 state that you must:

 Demonstrate that your proposed curriculum will be deliverable

 Offer a broad and balanced curriculum which places a suitable emphasis on English, mathematics and science (pre-16 only) And where applicable:

o for nursery provision, how you will meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage (EYFS) for nursery and reception classes

o for 16 to 19, state what subjects will be covered, the range of qualifications offered and how these will meet the needs and interests of all students

 Offer appropriate qualifications

 Complete the tables in the application form with:

o A list of subjects to be offered with the number of hours spent per week on each You do not need to provide sample timetables

o The length of the school day, including any enrichment time, making a distinction

between compulsory and voluntary activities

Following the structure of this guidance below will give this section clarity, but you should use a different structure if you think it would be more appropriate for your school

Curriculum principles

You may wish to consider beginning this section with a statement of the principles behind your curriculum These should be an expansion of the principles you outlined in your vision They should provide your rationale for your curriculum, i.e.:

 How your proposed curriculum will deliver your stated vision;

 How your proposed curriculum will meet the educational needs and ensure the success of your anticipated pupil intake

Writing a list of your curriculum principles, with some explanation of how you arrived at those principles and how they link to the key themes highlighted in your vision, is one great way to link section D1 with section C This will strengthen your application Another way to do so is to consider the two bullet points above and write a few paragraphs at the beginning of section D1 which act as an introduction to the rest of the Education Plan

However you choose to present your curriculum principles, you should make sure that you know what they are before you begin to write this section They should be bespoke to your school When putting together your principles, you should have in mind the DfE criteria and guidance on what to include in this section

Expected pupil intake

The DfE have said they will be assessing the quality of your curriculum plans by how far they demonstrate that you have:

 An understanding of the expected pupil intake and needs

While you won’t know at the time of writing your application the precise nature of your pupil intake, you will need to demonstrate some appreciation of how the curriculum you are proposing will meet their likely

needs and the strategies you would use to ensure the success of each individual With this in mind, you should indicate what your pupil intake is likely to be and, briefly, how you have gone about determining this

So, for example, what proportion of your intake is likely to:

 Have Special Educational Needs or Disabilities (SEND)?

 Be gifted and/or talented?

 Have English as an additional language (EAL)?

 Be disadvantaged and in receipt of Pupil Premium funding (i.e pupils who have been registered for free schools meals (FSM) at any point in the last six years or are looked after continuously by the local authority for more than six months)?

 Come from any other group which is likely to have particular needs? For example, children from the traveller community

How you determine this information will depend on the type of school you want to open and your

admissions policy A useful source of indicative data will be the DfE’s performance tables These provide relevant data for the above pupil groups so you can, for example, find out the numbers and proportions of groups with different needs by looking at this data for:

 the Local Authority or constituency in which you will locate your school;

 individual schools which serve the same geographical area as your proposed school;

 similar schools in other locations by using the filtering option to consider factors such as gender or religious denomination

If you are going to use cohort data from other schools you might want to consider presenting this in a table

so it is easily communicated For example:

Schools nearest to the

National 3262633 15.9 12.3 21.3

In some instances previous applicants have been able to source useful information from Local Authorities Existing providers will need to describe their current pupil population and explain how they think it might change as a consequence of becoming a free school

Type of curriculum

The DfE have said they will be assessing the quality of your curriculum plans by how far they demonstrate that you have:

 A rationale for the type of curriculum proposed which is consistent with the vision Please

explain how it meets the needs of the expected intake, whilst having an ambitious approach to meeting those needs If you are proposing to teach something other than the national

curriculum, please reference – but don’t copy and paste – evidence (where it is available) which demonstrates that it is a good and successful model (e.g results of academic research)

You must state explicitly which curriculum you are planning to use Although free schools do not need to follow the National Curriculum, some choose to do so Others choose to base their curriculum on the National Curriculum and tailor it according to the specific needs of their pupils If you are intending to use the National Curriculum in some form in your school, it is not enough to simply state that you will do so You must justify this decision by explaining why you believe this is the best curriculum for your pupils In doing so, you should draw links with your curriculum principles

If you will not be using the National Curriculum, you must provide an outline of the curriculum you’ve chosen or designed and explain why it will be more appropriate to the needs of your pupils You have the freedom to use any curriculum you think will achieve the outcomes you want, though you must be able to demonstrate that it is ‘broad and balanced’ and your choice should be rigorously justified If you choose not to follow the National Curriculum, the DfE have specifically requested that you provide evidence of the success of that curriculum, for example published academic research You must be able to explain concisely and with evidence how your chosen curriculum will meet the needs of your pupils and raise outcomes for them

If you are drawing inspiration from a range of different published curricular then you need to take great care to ensure that these come together as a coherent whole In other words, that they collectively match your vision and the outcomes you want to achieve and that separately they are not setting out to achieve very different things If you intend changing from one curriculum to another as the pupils move through your school (for example as they move from one key stage to the next), you should be clear about how this will provide for appropriate continuity and progression For example, how will you deal with tracking pupil progress from one curriculum to the next if they use different assessment criteria?

If you are an existing provider aiming to convert your school into a free school, exactly the same guidance applies Instead of just describing the curriculum you currently offer, you should explain and justify it, with reference to the outcomes that pupils at your school have achieved in the past and how it will meet the needs of your anticipated pupil intake You should consider carefully the needs of your pupil intake which will be different to your existing profile of pupils and how you will adapt your current provision given these changes If there is anything you are going to change about your curriculum, or anything that you would like to add to it, you should explain these new features in greater detail

Curriculum model table

The DfE have asked all applicants to include:

 A list of subjects to be offered with the number of hours spent per week on each

 The length of the school day, including any enrichment time, making a distinction between compulsory and voluntary activities

The DfE also state that in preparing your application, it is important to note that:

 For primary schools, a broad and balanced curriculum should include, but not be limited to, the

core subjects of English, mathematics and science and will need to support progression to

secondary education as well as complying with the EYFS for nursery and reception classes

 For secondary schools, a broad and balanced curriculum should include, but not be limited to, the core subjects of English, mathematics and science, and all pupils should have the chance to

be entered for the EBacc when they reach their GCSEs

 For the nursery element of the school (if applicable)

o you consider, where appropriate, offering the local authority funded early education flexibility to meet the needs of working parents; and/or

o you consider including provision for disadvantaged 2 year olds

It is essential that you use the curriculum model table provided by the DfE to show what you are teaching, and in what proportions, at different stages during a pupil’s time in your free school

This should be completed for each Key Stage where the ‘subjects’ or proportion of time allocated to each subject are different If you are going to use a ‘stage not age’ model for organising your pupils then we would strongly recommend that you complete the table for each ‘stage’ in your free school This will give the DfE a really good idea of your educational plans

It is crucial that you then explain why you have made the decisions that have led you to that particular

model or models You should make links back to your section C in doing so Remember, your school does not have to do anything simply because it has been done before Every decision that you make should be thought through and explained it in your application

You should note that the DfE have said you do not need to provide sample timetables

Content of the curriculum

You are not expected to give a lot of detail about the content of your curriculum because the DfE requires only your high level strategy We would recommend that you provide high level information about:

 your delivery of the core subjects – English, maths and science (pre-16 only) – including phonics in Primary schools;

 any subjects which are particularly important to your vision for the school For example, if you want sport to be a central part of your school, you should provide an outline of your sports

curriculum;

 any subjects or pedagogies which are different or distinctive in terms of what schools usually offer;

 any important elements of the delivery of your curriculum For example, if you are going to use a thematic curriculum for some subjects, you should outline which subjects this will encompass, and how this will work in practice

 there are no constraints around the curriculum 16-19 schools offer, but you must show that the subjects and qualifications offered will meet the needs and interests of all students

For these areas you don’t need to provide anything as detailed as a scheme of work but should provide an idea of the kind of topics at different points to give an idea of how progression would work For example, a primary school which chooses ‘social enterprise’ as a distinctive part of the curriculum might suggest a project-based learning approach, and offer the following examples:

 Bringing unwanted toys to school to give to children in need – this would include talking to parents about why they no longer needed the toy, who it might be suitable for and how to find a new owner for the toy by thinking about other children who are less fortunate than them (reception and year 1)

 Creating a talking photograph album in dual language, (i.e.: home language and another language) which tells children who are going to start in the Reception class all about what Reception aged children can do at school and how they play and learn– then sharing it with visiting children before they begin school the following September (year 2)

Whilst you aren’t expected to provide huge amounts of detail on what your pupils will study, as a general rule, the further removed it is from the National Curriculum or other commonplace published curricular or teaching approaches, the more information you should give So, for example with the project based

learning approach suggested for the delivery of ‘social enterprise’ above you might outline the skills and capabilities pupils would learn from this approach and briefly explain what this kind of learning would look like in action

Whatever your approach to this section it is essential that you make it very clear how all the groups which comprise the anticipated pupil intake you have outlined previously will access your proposed curriculum and achieve success in it This should include information about how your curriculum design will be

explicitly tailored to meet all needs So, for example:

 Will pupils with English as an additional language follow the same curriculum as others? If not, what will they study and how will the school ensure their experience of school is inclusive? If they

do follow the same curriculum how will they be appropriately supported to achieve success and emotional well-being?

 If there are likely to be a high proportion of pupils with behavioural or motivational issues what curricular provision will you make? For example, you could secure the involvement of partners from industry or from specialist support agencies to plan or deliver aspects of the curriculum or to act as mentors or you might include components of work or community based learning

If you are an existing independent provider looking to convert to free school status or, you may find it quite difficult to provide a rationale for a curriculum that has evolved over time However, it is important that this is made clear in your application Go back to your vision and use this as your starting point If your curricular provision doesn’t match into your vision you may need to consider whether your vision requires updating or if there are aspects of your curriculum which may need to be ‘refreshed’

Nursery provision

The DfE ask trusts proposing a nursery as part of the school to explain:

 for nursery provision, how you will meet the requirements of the early years foundation stage (EYFS) for nursery and reception classes

You can find information on the statutory EYFS requirements here The information you include on the curriculum at nursery level can be briefer than that which you would include on the KS1 and KS2

curriculum, but you should mention the subject areas you will cover along with any distinctive elements of your curriculum In section D3 you should explain what staffing will be allocated to the bursary – for

example, will you sue qualified teachers?

Qualifications

You must provide details of the exams your pupils will sit, and/or the qualifications towards which they will work

Primary schools

If you are intending to set up a primary school, you will be expected to administer the following statutory end of Key Stage tests (previously called SATs):

Secondary and 16-19 schools

If you are intending to set up a secondary or 16-19 school, there is considerably more choice in terms of qualifications and thus you need to include more information You should list all of the qualifications which will be offered at your school, indicating which will be compulsory, which will be optional, which may be changed in response to the interests of pupils, and any other information which you think is relevant If it is

important to you to use a particular exam board, then you should state this and explain why

Independent converters

As above, if you are aiming to convert an existing school, you should go further than simply stating the qualifications you already offer You should provide the broad principals you apply to ensure they are the best and most appropriate for your school and your pupils (i.e you will not be required to justify each individual qualification choice)

You should also explain when you will offer different qualifications taking into account achieving successful outcomes pupils with different needs and abilities

Enrichment activities

The DfE ask you to state the amount of time given to enrichment in the curriculum model table We would advise including a short amount of information in the application on what enrichment will look like in your school, as it is likely to be an important element of your education plan

It is up to you how much you draw a distinction between your academic curriculum and your other

curriculum offerings Some groups do not draw a distinction at all, and refer to everything that they offer to pupils as part of the main curriculum; others draw a firm distinction There is no right or wrong answer to the question of which is best to use Your group must decide which is most appropriate for your school

However you choose to refer to them, if your school will offer enrichment activities you must explain what they will include, and why This explanation should have reference to your curriculum principles and aims,

as described above You should show that your plans for enrichment activities will benefit your pupils and improve their outcomes from school

You should also explain who will deliver your enrichment activities – will they be your teachers, your TAs, external experts, volunteers, or a mixture of these? Again, you should ensure that you explain why these will be the best people to make sure that your pupils get the most out of the time that they spend at your school You will also need to ensure that any cost implications are picked up in your financial plans

Assessing and meeting the needs of all pupils

In this section the DfE have said they will be assessing the quality of your curriculum plans by how far they demonstrate that you have:

 A strategy to assess and meet the needs of all pupils including looked after pupils, those

requiring literacy recovery/intervention (including English as an additional language), the most able (gifted and talented) and those with differing degrees of SEN and disabilities

Like the rest of the Education Plan, the DfE’s expectation for this element of the application is for you to provide a high level strategic proposal rather than operational detail

You should outline your strategy for assessing and meeting the needs of the expected pupil intake you have previously described Your strategy will need to be credible in terms of assuring the DfE that all your pupils, regardless of their needs, can achieve success and will be well prepared for the next stage of their

education when they leave your school It should match the likely proportions of pupils with different needs For example a strategy that will be appropriate for a school where 5% of pupils have English as an additional language will need to be different to that for a school for where this is the case for 75% Overall, you must ensure that you explain how your plans will support your pupils to overcome the barriers that they could face in accessing and succeeding in mainstream education

It is up to you how you structure your plans for this subsection but you should consider including

information on the following:

Assessing pupils’ needs

You will need to explain how you would go about assessing pupils’ needs on entry to your school and on an on-going basis, specifying how different types and levels of need would be determined This should include the types of information you will collect to determine different kinds of need, who would be involved and who would be responsible for managing the process

Approaches to meeting different needs

You should explain how learning will be organised to ensure every pupil can engage fully with every

opportunity and achieve success in it So, for example, will any groups or individuals be withdrawn from lessons to be taught separately or will there be additional learning opportunities for some after the usual school day? You should also outline any resources which may be used, including ICT You will receive additional Pupil Premium funding for disadvantaged pupils so you should explain how this might be used to greatest effect You can find useful information on how some schools have used their Pupil Premium funding successfully on the DfE’s website

The role and/or responsibilities of staff

You should briefly explain how the SENCO, teachers and other adults will be expected to enable pupils with specific needs to access learning and make good or better progress The roles you cover will depend to some degree on your anticipated pupil profile but you could include:

 Class or subject teachers;

 High level teaching assistants (HLTAs);

 Teaching assistants; and

 Other teachers who have specific roles, such as a Teacher for the Deaf

You should also explain who will have responsibility for looked after children (LAC) together with a brief outline of their role and responsibilities

Finally, you should state whether you will allocate responsibility for any other named groups of pupils, for example gifted and talented or EAL, to named posts within your staffing structure If you plan to do so, then you should, again, briefly explain their specific roles and responsibilities

Other agencies

You should think broadly of any professionals or professional organisations which you may wish to access and work with These will vary according to the needs of your pupils but may include:

 Various therapists, such as Speech and Language therapists, occupational therapists,

physiotherapists etc.;

 Physical health professionals such as GPs and paediatricians; and

 Mental health professionals such as those at the Children and Adolescents Mental Health Service (CAMHS);

There may be many others which are appropriate for your particular pupil demographic or educational model

Pupil transition

In this section the DfE have said they will be assessing the quality of your curriculum plans by how far they demonstrate that you have:

 Strategies in place to support pupils to be successful when they enter and leave the school

You should outline your plans for pupil transition on entry to your school and when they leave

Consideration should be given to:

 Both their academic progress and their emotional well-being, ensuring that your proposed

approaches are age appropriate

 How you will give pupil transition the status it needs to work well For example, which members of the senior leader team will be involved?

 Over how long a period transition activities will take place either side of the point of transfer once your school is up and running

 How you will ensure on-going collaboration before and after transfer so that there is an equal partnership for all stakeholders

 How you will ensure learning does not dip at the point of transition, especially for the most

vulnerable, for example by holding cross-phase network meetings to plan cohort specific

strategies;

 How to involve pupils and parents as actively as possible in the transition process For example, how might they be engaged in planning for and monitoring the experience? Might pupils act as mentors for their younger counterparts or be involved in workshops they attend?

 How the most vulnerable learners will be supported through any transitions

D2: Measuring pupil performance effectively and setting challenging targets

Assessment criterion: Measuring pupil performance effectively and

setting challenging targets

Shorter/longer applicants Applicants completing the shorter

information

You have an existing mainstream school with

a strong track record that is of the same age range as the school you are proposing, and you want to replicate this (similar

curriculum, same age range)

Applicants completing the longer information

You do not have an existing mainstream school with a strong track record that is of the same age range as the school you are proposing

Approximate length Applicants completing the shorter

information: 2-4 pages Applicants completing the longer information: 5 – 10 pages

Applicants completing the shorter information

Applicants with an existing school of the same type and age range as your proposed school can complete shorter information Some of this is the same as for applicants completing the longer information, and where this is the case we will refer you to this guidance

The criteria for section D2 state that:

 If you have (an) open state-funded school(s) with a strong track record, and you want to open another school(s) of the same type and age-range, please tell us:

o Anything that needs to be different in the new school compared to the existing school you are replicating;

o How you will ensure the new school and your current school(s) are consistent in their approach to assessment, target-setting, behaviour etc

 If you compared with a single school in D1 please use the same school for comparison; if you compared to the whole cohort please do the same here

 We will assess the quality of your plans based on a combination of your track record and what you write here

When establishing whether there will be differences between your existing school and the proposed school, you should use the same school you referred to in section D1

Differences between the existing and proposed schools

You should outline here any differences that will occur in your approach to the areas covered in this section

in the proposed school compared to what is done in your existing school You may decide to simply

replicate your existing system, which would be fine However, you may decide to make some changes to your approach In this instance you should explain how your proposed arrangements will differ, and why you have chosen to adopt this approach instead

 Who will be responsible for each of these areas in each school and across the trust

 How new systems will be implemented from scratch in the new school

 Whether there will be partnership there will be between schools

 How much variation there will be between schools

Targets

The pupil cohort in your proposed school may be different to that in your existing school and may

therefore require different measures of success If the cohort is similar to that in your existing school you can use your results there as a benchmark However, if the pupil cohort is different – for example, because

it is likely to have different starting points than pupils entering the existing school, then you should adjust your targets accordingly and include your proposed targets in this section Other sources of information you can look at are local and national averages, and the results of other successful local schools We have more detailed information on target-setting here

Applicants completing the longer information

The criteria for section D2 state that you must:

• Describe how you will establish a baseline of students’ current level of attainment (including

external validation of this) and put in place an assessment and data tracking system that will allow pupil performance to be monitored and continuously improved;

• Have ambitious and realistic targets for pupil performance, behaviour and attendance,

explaining why they are suitable to measure the delivery of your education vision, and what your strategy will be to achieve them; and

• Explain how you will review success measures and targets regularly to improve the school’s

performance This could include benchmarking assessment data with other relevant schools

Measuring performance and setting targets

Two useful terms you might want to use in this section are:

 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) which help an organisation to define and measure progress

towards their vision and/or goals KPIs are quantifiable measures, agreed at the outset, that reflect the critical success factors of an organisation A list of possible KPIs is suggested below

 Targets which go one stage further by defining your level of ambition for each KPI In other words they define a specific goal that the school as a whole or individual pupils will reach So, for

example, if one of your KPIs is academic achievement then relevant targets for this could include:

o for all pupils to make better than expected progress, or

o for attainment, in say the English Baccalaureate, to be 10+% above the average for other local schools

o for there to be no attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and all others

In order to establish your KPIs and targets you should start by going back to your vision and thinking

carefully about what is important to your school How will you know that your school has been successful? KPI’s which are likely to be important to you will almost certainly include:

 Academic achievement, including qualifications;

 Attendance;

 Behaviour;

 Pastoral care and pupil well-being;

 Quality of teaching;

 Pupil and parental satisfaction;

 Staff morale, development and retention; and

 Pupil participation in various activities

This is not an exhaustive list, and there may be other areas where you want to judge your school’s progress and performance Similarly, you may not want to set targets in all of the areas above

Academic targets

Whilst you should communicate your intentions on measuring the performance of your school across a

range of indicators and targets that reflect the breadth of your vision the focus of this section should be on pupil performance – that is, their academic progress, attainment and attendance

You may find it helpful to refer to the DfE’s Performance tables since these provide the key measures the government publish as part of holding schools to account for their performance We strongly recommend that you consider setting targets in the ‘topline’ measures for the Key Stage(s) relevant to your school These are set out below

End of Key Stage 2

 % achieving level 4 or above in reading, writing and maths

 % achieving level 4b or above in reading and maths tests and level 4 or above in writing teacher assessment

 % making expected progress in reading, writing and maths

However, from 2016 pupil performance will be judged differently An all-through primary school will be above the floor standard if:

 pupils make sufficient progress at key stage 2 from their starting point in the reception

baseline test; or

 85% or more of pupils meet the new expected standard at the end of key stage 2 (similar

to a level 4b under the current system)

End of Key Stage 4

 Percentage achieving 5 or more A*-C GCSEs (or equivalent) including English and

mathematics GCSEs

 Percentage achieving the English Baccalaureate

From September 2016 there will be two new headline measures:

 Progress 8 – a value-added measure that will calculate pupil performance across 8 subjects

 Attainment 8 – pupil achievement across 8 subjects including mathematics (double

weighted) and English (double weighted), 3 further qualifications that count in the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) measure and 3 further qualifications that can be GCSE qualifications (including EBacc subjects) or any other non-GCSE qualifications on the DfE approved list More information on these measures can be found here

End of Key Stage 5

 Percentage of Key Stage 5 students achieving 3 or more A levels at A*-E

 Percentage of Key Stage 5 students achieving 2 or more A levels at A*-E

 Percentage of Key Stage 5 students achieving 1 or more A levels at A*-E

 Percentage of Key Stage 5 students who get 3 A levels AAB in “facilitating” subjects

 Percentage of Key Stage 5 students that go onto any/Russell Group universities

 Average point score per A level student

 Average point score per A level entry

The 2016 performance tables on will publish a set of clear, headline measures to give a snapshot of the performance of schools and colleges They include:

 progress (and a combined attainment/completion measure)

 attainment

 English and maths GCSE (for students without at least a grade C at age 16)

 retention

 destinations e.g university, training or employment

Targets for specific pupil groups

As well as setting overall school targets you should also consider your anticipated pupil intake and identify specific targets for groups that tend to be at risk of underperformance including:

 Disadvantaged pupils

 Pupils with SEN

 Pupils with English as an additional language

The DfE performance tables may be a useful source for informing your target setting since they include Local Authority and national averages for each measure (including four year trends for the main measures) They also include the most recent data for every school in the country (including independent schools) so you can see how well the best schools are doing nationally and in your own Local Authority In addition, they provide national, local authority and school level data on each of the groups of pupils named above

Attendance

You should, in addition, set a target for pupil absence (‘absence’ is the way the performance tables report

on ‘attendance’) It is now considered to be ‘good practice’ to set a target which combines both authorised and unauthorised absence since the distinction between the two is immaterial: if a pupil is not in school then they are not able to benefit from schooling

Behaviour targets

In addition to setting performance and attendance targets applicants are also expected to set behaviour targets Your approach here is less obvious, as national benchmarking data is much more limited in this aspect of school performance Undoubtedly the Ofsted criteria for ‘Behaviour and safeguarding’ will be a useful starting point for any school in terms establishing expectations National data on permanent and fixed period exclusions is published annually for different ages, types of schools and pupil groups and may

be useful for some schools but, since exclusions measure behaviour at the poorer end of the spectrum this measure may not be helpful for all since most will set their target at zero

So, in the absence of useful national benchmarks schools will need to consider setting their own, internal targets Possible sources of evidence for behaviour targets include:

 The numbers of rewards and sanctions issued, based on specific criteria Schools might want to consider incorporating the recording of these into their Management Information Systems;

 Information from questionnaires issued to pupils, parents and staff These are particularly useful for gauging perceptions about how good or poor aspects of behaviour are;

 Pupil and other stakeholder ‘voice’ feedback;

 Lesson observations where criteria can be used to judge behaviour for learning and how effectively the school’s behaviour policy is being implemented

 Audits carried out before and after school and at transition points based on checklists including, for example, punctuality There are some useful exemplar checklists on the DfE website

As with all other aspects of your application your behaviour targets should relate clearly to your vision and / or ethos and be appropriate to your anticipated pupil cohort So, for example, if ‘respect' was to be a central tenet of your school’s ethos then you should define what your expectation for ‘respect’ involves and briefly state how you would go about measuring whether or not this is successfully operating in your school

Setting ambitious and realistic targets

It is important that the targets you set are ambitious, but also realistic – both overall and for the groups of pupils which will make up a significant proportion of your pupil intake There is no exact science for doing this unfortunately As a general rule of thumb you should be aiming for above national averages and, in high performing areas above local averages Consider how well the best local schools are performing and their pupil intakes: can you reasonably match or better them? Alternatively, if your school is likely to attract a very different pupil intake than is typical of local schools, for example if you have a faith school that will attract pupils from a wider area, can you find similar schools in other parts of the country that are performing well and use their outcomes to inform your targets?

Possible scenarios include:

 You are an existing school with high performance on most measures and the school you want to set up will serve a similar pupil profile You therefore pitch most of your targets at the same level

as your existing school with the rationale that your organisation understands and has a track record in what is required to achieve these outcomes

 You want to set up a school in an area of high deprivation in response to parents concerns about poor educational outcomes Although the LA is below the national average on many measures there are a couple of schools with a similar pupil profile to what you anticipate which perform much better You use these schools as benchmarks for your own targets

It is important that you explain why you believe your targets are both credible and realistic by providing a rationale of the kind shown in the scenarios above

Ultimately, the DfE will need to be confident that the provision you have mapped out in your Education Plan and the capability of your group can lead to the targets you have set

Assessment and data tracking

Once you have outlined your targets you will set you need to explain how you will measure progress towards them This will firstly involve explaining your approaches to assessing pupils and collecting this data in ways that allow progress to be tracked over time The DfE have said they will be assessing the quality of your plans to:

 Describe how you will establish a baseline of students’ current level of attainment (including external validation of this) and put in place an assessment and data tracking system that will allow pupil performance to be monitored and continuously improved;

Baseline testing

Under the new systems of assessment for primary and secondary school, baseline testing has greater important than previously This is because a key factor in how schools’ performance will be assessed is the progress made by pupils, rather than attainment This makes having a clear and reliable starting-point for pupils’ progress to be measured from incredibly important

You should address in your application whether you will baseline pupils, including what test(s) you will use

if you have decided this, and what other data you would make use of As well as testing pupils yourself you may decide to use data from their previous school, is applicable To ensure that your baseline assessment is accurate, the DfE will want to see that you will have this externally moderated You should then describe how you will use this data to set targets for pupils

Assessment and data tracking system

The DfE require you to outline plans to:

 Use appropriate data to inform teaching and drive progression and attainment for all pupils

In terms of assessment, you may choose to include information about the following:

 How will you assess pupils? For example, will this be through summative approaches such as end of term, or end of unit tests or will it be through more formative methods where teachers judge what pupils know, understand and have the skills to do in class or via their class and homework? Or a

combination of both?

 How frequently will you assess pupils and make a formal record of this?

 How will you ensure teachers’ assessments are accurate, especially in the early life of the school when, for the majority, there will be no external results through which to check the robustness of internal marking and judgements?

In terms of data tracking, you may choose to include information about the following:

 What information will be collected, by whom and how frequently? It will be important that the data collected is appropriate to informing the progress you are making towards your targets

 Where will assessment data be recorded? For example, what Management Information Systems are you likely to use and why?

 How you will organise and present tracking data so it can easily be analysed for patterns and trends either at individual pupil, class, teacher or cohort levels?

 How will you ensure that your tracking system is reliable in informing leaders about whether individual pupils and groups of pupils are ‘on track’ or not to meet their targets?

 How will you ensure that your tracking system is reliable in informing leaders about whether specific classes or cohorts are ‘on track’ or not to meet their targets?

 Who will be responsible for managing assessment and tracking when the school opens and when it is

‘at-scale’?

Monitoring and evaluating data

You should also explain how you will create monitoring and evaluation systems that will ensure that

appropriate data will be used to drive progression and attainment for all pupils

 Monitoring involves collecting and analysing data and other information to check how well the school

is improving and pupils (both individually and collectively) are progressing towards the targets set

 Evaluation involves using data collected through assessment and other information to form

judgements about what is improving well and where progress to targets is ‘on track’ or better More importantly, it involves judging where progress require improvement and the identification of

appropriate actions which will address the resultant priorities

In terms of monitoring pupil performance data, you may choose to include information about the

following:

 What types of data (e.g expected progress, core subjects, specialism subjects, attendance etc etc.) you will focus on and at what levels (e.g individual pupils, groups with particular needs such as EAL, classes, cohorts etc.)?

 Who will be responsible for monitoring what? For example different leaders may be responsible for monitoring different types of data at different levels?

 How frequently will data by analysed and formally reported on and who will be the audiences for the different reports?

You may find the Ofsted Common Inspection Framework and accompanying handbook a useful source of information in terms of what constitutes good and outstanding achievement and the expectations placed

on leadership and management in regard to monitoring and evaluating school performance

Whilst schools are no longer required to complete a self-evaluation framework (SEF) it is worth considering the concept in regard to explaining how you would go about evaluating your school’s progress towards its targets and how well this compares to national standards A challenge that is peculiar to schools starting up from scratch is that they have no historical data, such as that reported in RAISEonline It would be good to recognise this and to suggest how you might address this issue

Finally, having identified your schools strengths and priorities for improvement you should explain how you would go about identifying and communicating the necessary actions which will lead to improvement

Monitoring and improving the quality of teaching

In this section the DfE have said they will be assessing the quality of your plans to:

 Focus on measuring and improving the quality of teaching in the classroom

An important reference point for this should be Ofsted’s criteria for the Quality of Teaching and the

national Teachers' Standards which set a clear baseline of expectations for the professional practice and conduct of teachers, from the point of qualification Free schools will receive a full section 5 inspection in their first 36 months It will be important, therefore, to outline what will be done to ensure teaching is

‘good’ or better by the time it is inspected and how it will continue to improve into the future Whilst every free school aspires to recruit outstanding teachers from day 1 the reality may be different so you will need

to have a convincing plan for improving teaching across the school

You should consider including:

 Who will have overall responsibility for monitoring and improving the quality of teaching? As the school grows will this responsibility be delegated and, if so, how?

 How frequently will teaching be monitored and evaluated and what methodologies will be used?

 What you will use to judge the strengths and areas for improvement?

 How will this monitoring information be recorded and communicated?

 How will the monitoring and evaluation of teaching inform actions implemented as part of wider school improvement systems? For example, you might want to refer to professional development, performance management, line management and school improvement action plans as appropriate

Liaising with and reporting to parents/carers

In this section the DfE have said they will be assessing the quality of your plans to:

 Liaise with and report progress to parents

You should include information about:

 How frequently school staff will meet with and report to parents and whether this will be the same for all pupils or not

 What information you will communicate to parents on different occasions and through different mechanisms

 Who will be responsible for and involved in each of the various forms of communication

 What you will do to maximise the chances of parental involvement leading to improvements for their child Be very mindful of the main criteria for this section of your application which focuses on measuring the success of the school How might parents contribute towards this success? Recent research is clear that parents can and do play a key role in enabling their child to engage well with school and to make good progress

If you are going to involve parents in particular ways, you may well have described these in other sections

of your application There is no need to repeat them here unless they relate specifically to how you will ensure parents play an active role in improving their child’s engagement with learning and their progress

Summary

Nationally there is an increasing focus on the progress and attainment of different groups of children and young people This is especially true for disadvantaged pupils in receipt of the Pupil Premium and those with SEN and other educational needs As such, free schools are expected to be ambitious for their pupils

Setting these ambitious targets is vital, but it is just as crucial to outline really robust systems for

assessment, tracking, monitoring and intervention Without these systems, a DfE assessor will not be confident that your school will be able to achieve the targets that you have described A strong section D2 will go a considerable way towards showing that you have comprehensive plans to ensure that you can deliver on your vision

D3: Staffing structure

Assessment criterion: A staffing structure that will deliver the

planned curriculum within the expected income levels

Shorter/longer information Applicants completing the shorter

information

You have an existing mainstream school with

a strong track record that is of the same age range as the school you are proposing, and you want to replicate this (similar

curriculum, same age range)

Applicants completing the longer information

You do not have an existing mainstream school with a strong track record that is of the same age range as the school you are proposing

Approximate length Applicants completing the shorter

information: 1 page plus organogram(s) Applicants completing the longer information: 5-10 pages including

oranogram(s)

In this section you will need to show how your staffing structure will develop over the years whilst you are building to capacity as well as the final structure for when your school is established

Applicants completing the shorter information

The DfE criteria state that you must:

 Provide an organogram based on the school you are replicating (or on your trust-wide staffing

model if you are comparing the new school to your whole cohort), showing the proposed staffing structure for teaching and support staff each year until the school is at full capacity in line with planned pupil numbers (including for nursery and sixth form provision where applicable) You can either provide one organogram and colour-code which members of staff arrive in which year,

or you can provide several organograms if that is clearer;

 Explain whether you intend to use any of your existing staff in the new school(s) and if so how

this will work in practice Detail how you would use staff from any of your existing schools, if your trust has more than one

Please note: You no longer have to provide a commentary on affordability in this section

Organogram

This diagram (or diagrams if you prefer) should show clear lines of accountability and a suitable mix of senior and middle leadership as well as main scale teaching staff and support staff In this section the DfE will judge your proposed staffing structure of the free school by also taking into account your track record

in staffing the school You should therefore think very clearly about how you intend to effectively scale