What is a trust school?

The Education and Inspections Act 2006 included the provision for a foundation school to set up a charitable foundation (or trust) to support the school. This type of foundation school is known as a trust school. To acquire trust status:

• Existing foundation schools can set up a charitable trust
• Community schools can take on foundation status and set up a trust within a single process

Schools can set up a trust in a collaborative group whereby the schools acquire foundation status and adopt the same trust. The aim of trust schools is to use the experience, energy and expertise from other schools and professions as a lever to raise standards in schools.

Trust schools remain local authority maintained schools. It is expected that the majority of new schools will be trust schools.

At a glance

A trust school is:

• A state funded foundation school supported by a charitable trust
• Made up of the school and partners working together for the benefit of the school

A trust school will:

• Manage its own assets, employ its own staff and set its own admissions arrangements
• Choose which partners to work with, for example businesses, business foundations, colleges, universities or community groups

A trust school is not:

• An academy
• A grant maintained school
• An independent school
• Involved in an admissions 'free-for-all'
• Funded differently from community schools
• Run by businesses
• Separated from the local authority
• Able to avoid local authority reorganisation plans