Academy conversion grant – what next?

We provided an update earlier this year setting out the government’s proposal for the future of the academy conversion grant. The £25,000 grant, provided to voluntarily converting schools, covers costs such as obtaining legal advice, the costs of software licence transfers, HR or TUPE advice, re-branding costs, and expenses incurred in setting up and expanding an academy trust.

Since September 2024, only schools approved to convert as part of a group of three or more schools joining the same trust can benefit from the grant. This supported the aim for schools to join strong multi-academy trusts, rather than converting as stand-alone academy trusts.

However, as schools may now all be aware, the Department for Education has since announced that the grant scheme that has been available since the commencement of the academies programme, will no longer be available to schools from 1 January 2025. No replacement scheme has been announced.

Joining a MAT

Whilst the academy conversion grant will end, this does not mean that academisation as part of a strong group of schools will not be the best future for many schools, including smaller primary schools, particularly with the increasingly limited resources in Local Authorities. Single academy trusts that wanted to join a MAT were, in any event, not entitled to this grant.

Successful MATs are able to provide central support in staff training and development, sharing best practice, and securing economies of scale. Joining an existing MAT or converting in a group also opens up the potential for conversion costs to be shared, rather than the incoming school or the MAT alone, bearing the conversion costs in their entirety.

Schools will need to be increasingly cost-savvy when converting. Many costs can be provided on a fixed-fee basis. The full package of support provided should be considered. For example, we find that many schools prefer that we take a ‘project-management’ role when providing support with their conversion, helping to ease the burden elsewhere.

It is also important to note that the academy conversion grant applies to schools voluntarily converting to academy status. Separate arrangements exist for schools which are forced to convert. It is not yet clear whether these arrangements are due to be amended.

Schools hoping to receive the academy conversion grant must have made their application by 20 December 2024.