New schools for Oxfordshire

The 2011 Education Act says that all new schools are expected to be academies, including special types of academies such as free schools, university technical colleges (UTCs) and studio schools. This means that they are not run by Oxfordshire County Council (OCC), but by independent multi-academy trusts.

These trusts can be set up by a wide range of organisations, including religious groups, educational specialists, employers, charities and community groups. Existing academies can apply to run new schools. In some cases, instead of opening new schools, additional places can be provided by expanding existing schools.

The county council will not run new schools but has two roles in their creation.

• Planning for and securing sufficient school places: the county council is responsible for negotiating sites and funding for new schools.
• Deciding who will run the schools: the new schools could be run by organisations which already run schools in the area – for example, local outstanding academies or the church dioceses – or by organisations new to Oxfordshire. The county council recommends a preferred sponsor but the final decision is taken by the Secretary of State for Education.

Interested in opening a new school

Organisations interested in opening a new school in Oxfordshire are welcome to contact our School Organisation and Planning team for information and advice.

Bidding process

The government has provided guidance on a bidding and selection process to choose which organisation(s) will run the new schools. In Oxfordshire, the process for new schools is:

1. Undertake a public consultation to identify the academy model to be implemented.
2. Invite initial expressions of interest in running the school.
3. Assess expressions of interest and then invite detailed bids from three or fewer providers to show clear plans of how they will contribute to the raising of education standards, add diversity of choice and which best fits the local requirements and meets the needs of those within groups offered specific protection under s149 Equality Act 2010.
4. Assess bids against criteria and rank in order of preference. Agree on a preferred option to be approved by the Lead Member for Education.
5. Submit preferred sponsor choice to the Regional Schools Commissioner for decision.
6. The proposal is developed with a provider approved by the Regional Schools Commissioner through sharing the vision of community, county and sponsor.
    

The Secretary of State will only consider entering into a funding agreement with an approved sponsor. (The DfE's approved sponsor list can be accessed from the education.gov.uk website )

Potential proposers who are not already known to the DfE are advised to contact the DfE at the earliest opportunity, and certainly before submitting a formal process to the county council.

New schools