Academy Conversions and Projects

The academies programme has rapidly expanded over the last seven years and this is a fast maturing area of law with a large number of multi-academy trusts being established and an increasing number of conversions from single to multi-academy trust status, re-brokerages of academies and academy trust mergers.  However, the number of law firms with experience of advising academies remains relatively small.

Our Education Group has the expertise to advise you in your academy project including:

• Conversion to academy status
• Establishment of single and multi-academy trusts
• Conversion from single to multi-academy trust status
• Establishment of Free Schools
• Academy trust mergers
• Re-brokerage of academies
• Making a significant change to an academy trust
• Amending articles of association
• Amending funding agreements
• Winding up academy trusts

Expertise in Advising Religious Designated Schools and Academies

Lupton Fawcett is unusual in having an Ecclesiastical and Charites Team which gives us an expert understanding of church schools and church issues and we have experience of advising on Church of England and Catholic designated academy projects.  Our experience includes acting for both Diocesan Boards of Education and church schools on academy projects which allows us to see things from both sides of the coin and gives us an insight which is not available to many of our competitors.

Post-Conversion Support

We like to think that advising on your academy project is just the start of our relationship.  As a Lupton Fawcett client you will have access to a wide range of legal services and we can advise on, for example:

• Trustee training and Governance.
• Employment and HR
• Admissions and appeals
• Exclusions
• Special Educational Needs
• Child protection and safeguarding
• Health and Safety
• Environmental regulation
• Food standards regulation
• Data protection
• Commercial contracts and grant funding.
• Property and estates
• Planning
• Construction and capital projects
• Tax and trading
• Establishing subsidiary companies.
• Charity law
• Ecclesiastical law
• Corporate services
• Collaborative ventures
• Governance issues
• Immigration
• Training for Academy Trustees

Value for Money

We understand the importance to you in obtaining value for money and we have a range of pricing options for your academy project including capped fees and fixed fee arrangements.