The Education (Allocation of Grant-maintained and Grant-maintained Special Schools to New Categories) Regulations 1998

PART III RESTRICTIONS ON DECISIONS AS TO CATEGORIES

17.—(1) A grant-maintained school shall not be allocated under paragraph 7 of Schedule 2 to the Act to the category of community special school or foundation special school.

(2) A grant-maintained special school shall not be allocated under paragraph 7 of Schedule 2 to the Act to any category other than community special school or foundation special school.

(3) Subject to paragraph (4), a grant-maintained school or a grant-maintained special school shall not be allocated under paragraph 7 of Schedule 2 to the Act to the category of community school or community special school, as the case may be, unless the Secretary of State is satisfied that the execution of a transfer agreement will effect the transfer of any land held by either the governing body or trustees which is needed by the local education authority in order to maintain the school as a community or community special school, as the case may be.

(4) A grant-maintained school at which—

(a) the provision for religious education for registered pupils at the school, required by section 352(1)(a) of the Education Act 1996 to be included in the school’s basic curriculum is, pursuant to section 381(2) of that Act, in accordance with the tenets of a particular religion or religious denomination, or

(b) the registered parents of any such pupils are able to request, pursuant to section 380(2) and (3) of that Act, that the pupils may receive religious education in accordance with the tenets of a particular religion or religious denomination,

shall not be allocated under paragraph 7 of Schedule 2 to the Act to the category of community school.

(5) Subject to paragraph (6), a grant-maintained school which was not a voluntary school within the meaning of the Education Act 1996 immediately before the school became grant-maintained or which was not established as a grant-maintained school by promoters shall not be allocated under paragraph 7 of Schedule 2 to the Act to the category of voluntary controlled school or voluntary aided school unless—

(a) it is to belong to a group of schools for which a foundation body is to act under section 21 of the Act; or

(b) the Secretary of State is satisfied that—

(i) it has or proposes to have a foundation which is established otherwise than under the Act;

(ii) a significant part of the land to be used for the purposes of the school is, or is to be, held by the foundation on trust for those purposes; and

(iii) in the case of a grant-maintained school seeking to become a voluntary aided school, the foundation will be able and willing to pay so much as may be necessary of the governing body’s expenses in discharging any of their liabilities under Schedule 3 to the Act.

(6) A grant-maintained school whose indicative allocation under paragraph 3 of Schedule 2 to the Act is not voluntary aided school shall not be allocated under paragraph 7 of that Schedule to that category unless the Secretary of State is satisfied that the governing body will be able, with the assistance of grant under Schedule 3 to the Act, to meet the expenses of discharging their liabilities under that Schedule.