Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will place in the Library her Department's guidance on the requirements for governors making an application for an Academy Order on behalf of a federated school.

Guidance and an application form are available on GOV.UK for all maintained schools that are considering applying to convert to academy status - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/convert-to-an-academy-information-for-schools.

It is for schools to ensure that they have complied with relevant requirements at the point they make their application. We are exploring if there is a need to revise Regulation 46 of the School Governance (Federations) (England) Regulations 2012 and whether additional guidance is needed to support federations of schools wishing to convert. The Department does not hold data on federated schools that have already changed their status and are now open as academies. There are currently 30 federated schools with an approved academy order. These schools will open as academies in due course, subject to them conducting a consultation, and satisfying the Department that they have completed the necessary legal checks and processes.