Commentary on Sections Conversion of schools into Academies Section 6: Effect of Academy order
21.This section provides that when an Academy order has been made, the local authority must cease to maintain the school on the date when the Academy opens. This date is known as the ‘conversion date’ (subsection (2)) and will be the date specified as the Academy’s opening date in the Academy arrangements.
22.On the conversion date, the school will be treated automatically as having met the independent school standards that are applicable under section 157 of the EA 2002 (subsection (5)). These are currently contained in the Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2003 (SI 2003/1910). This means that the Academy will not need to be inspected by Ofsted before being registered as an independent school or prior to opening. Once open, the Academy will have to comply with the usual requirements placed upon Academies, and it will be inspected thereafter in the usual way by Ofsted in accordance with section 5 of the Education Act 2005.
23.Schools with a religious character will keep that religious character upon conversion to Academy status and will be treated as designated, on conversion, as independent schools having a religious character (subsection (8)). Similarly, selective schools will be able to keep their selective status upon conversion (see subsection (3)), but selective status will not be available to other converting schools, or any other Academies, which do not have existing selective arrangements (see section 1(6)(c)).
24.Where an Academy order has been made, a converting school or its maintaining local authority will not need to follow the school closure procedures in section 30 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 or sections 15 to 17 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 (see subsection (9)).