The first sixth-form college to academise is on track to complete the process within the next two weeks, TES understands.
Hereford Sixth-Form College is hoping to convert on 1 February, which is likely to make it the first institution to take on academy status .
About two-thirds of sixth-form colleges have expressed an interest in converting, according to the Sixth-Form Colleges’ Association (SFCA), with several more set to complete the process this spring. Minister Lord Nash told the SFCA’s annual conference on Wednesday that a fifth of colleges had already started the formal process of academy conversion.
Hereford - the inaugural winner of the sixth-form college of the year title at the TES FE Awards 2016 - has found conversion to be “relatively straightforward” because it does not have debts and has opted to create a standalone single-academy trust, according to principal Jonathan Godfrey.
‘Technical’ hold-ups
The college’s conversion had been due to take place on 1 January, but it was delayed because of “technical issues” related to funding agreements for converting colleges, with all the other hurdles having been cleared. “The reasons which led the sector to conclude that academisation was in the best interests of our colleges remain, and our experience of the process has been that it is not burdensome,” Dr Godfrey said.
The Department for Education refused to confirm the date of Hereford’s conversion, but TES understands that several other colleges are also at an advanced stage of the process.
New College Pontefract, the first to state its interest in academisation last year, had also hoped to relaunch as an academy on 1 January. Principal Pauline Hagen said this was now likely to take place in April or May. “The trouble is that we are waiting for policies and procedures to be developed. But there is a real will to get it over the line as quickly as possible,” she added.
‘We’re waiting for new policies and procedures, but there’s a real will to get it over the line’
The policy change allowing sixth-form colleges to convert to academy status was announced by then chancellor George Osborne in November 2015.
For a college to become an academy, it first has to express an interest to the Education Funding Agency and Skills Funding Agency’s joint area review delivery unit. According to the SFCA, about two-thirds of colleges have now done so.
After consulting with stakeholders - including local schools - and obtaining the agreement of the governing body, as well as banks and other partners, the college must get the move endorsed and included in an area review’s recommendations.
TES can reveal that this procedure has been completed for 43 of the 56 colleges for whom area review recommendations have been published. This means three-quarters of colleges that have been through an area review are exploring academisation as either their first (26 colleges) or second (17 colleges) option.
The final decision is down to the sixth-form college commissioner, Peter Mucklow, and the relevant regional schools commissioner. A college can then dissolve its corporation and transfer its property, liabilities and rights to a new or existing academy trust.
The main attractions of converting to academy status include being reimbursed for VAT - worth more than £300,000 a year for most colleges - and the opportunity to build closer links with neighbouring schools.
Not for everyone
SFCA deputy chief executive James Kewin said that conversion was proving more complicated for some colleges than others.
“For example, the conversion of a sixth-form college with no debt that is forming a single academy trust is more straightforward than for a sixth-form college with significant debt that is joining a multi-academy trust,” he added. “Sixth-form colleges are leaving the private sector to join the public sector, so the government will rightly want to assess the financial cost and benefits of conversion.”
Not all colleges have been tempted by academy status. Roger Brown, chair of Barton Peveril Sixth-Form College, has insisted in TES that the Hampshire institution has no plans to convert (“Why the call to academise has failed to persuade us”, 25 November). “None of this effort would be needed if successive governments had taken account of the need for an adequate rate of funding for sixth-form work,” he wrote.
A DfE spokesperson said that academisation “allows sixth-form colleges to build stronger relationships with schools, harnessing the educational and financial benefits of sharing resources, expertise and administration”.
“All applications are considered on a case-by-case basis,” the spokesperson added. “This includes assessing the added value of the college becoming an academy and the potential partnerships with schools in the area.”
