The Federation of Maintained Schools (Wales) Regulations 2014

Procedure for a school to leave a non local authority federation

79.—(1) This regulation applies to a request made to a governing body of a federation for a federated school (“the relevant school”) to leave the federation where the relevant school does not form part of a local authority federation.

(2) A request may not be made if the relevant school is subject to an intervention by a local authority or the Welsh Ministers under Chapter 1 of Part 2 of the 2013 Act unless the local authority or the Welsh Ministers (as the case may be) agree to the request being made.

(3) The request must be made in writing and signed by —

(a) two or more governors;

(b) one fifth of the parents of registered pupils at the relevant school;

(c) two fifths of staff who are paid to work at the relevant school;

(d) the local authority;

(e) the trustees of the relevant school; or

(f) a body entitled to appoint foundation governors to the governing body of the federation.

(4) The governing body of the federation must give notice of the request to—

(a) all relevant local authorities;

(b) the head teacher of the federation or (if there is no head teacher of the federation) the head teacher of each federated school;

(c) where the relevant school is a foundation or voluntary school with a religious foundation, any trustees of a trust relating to the relevant school and, in the case of a Church in Wales or Roman Catholic Church school, the appropriate diocesan authority, or the appropriate religious body in the case of all other such schools;

(d) a body entitled to appoint foundation governors to the governing body of the federation;

(e) the trustees of a trust of any federated school of the federation;

(f) all staff paid to work at the relevant school;

(g) every person known by it to be a parent of a registered pupil at the relevant school;

(h) every trade union known by it to have members paid to work at any of the schools; and

(i) such other persons as the governing body of the federation considers appropriate.

(5) Notice under paragraph (4) must be given within the period of five clear working days beginning with the date on which the request was received.

(6) A request under paragraph (1) is to be taken to have been received by a governing body of a federation if given or sent to the chair or to the clerk of the governing body of a federation.

(7) Not less than fourteen clear working days after the governing body of a federation has given notice of the request in accordance with paragraph (4), the governing body must consider the request and all responses received from the persons to whom notification of the request was sent and must decide whether—

(a) subject to paragraph (10), the relevant school should leave the federation and, if so, on what date it should do so (“the de-federation date”) (“y dyddiad dadffedereiddio”);

(b) the federation should be dissolved, and if so, on what date; or

(c) the relevant school should not leave the federation.

(8) Such a decision does not have effect unless the matter is specified as an item of business on the agenda for the meeting of which notice has been given in accordance with regulation 57(4).

(9) The governing body of a federation must give notice in writing of its decision under paragraph (7) within five clear working days to those persons referred to in paragraph (4).

(10) The de-federation date specified by the governing body must be not less than 125 days after the day on which notice of the governing body decision under paragraph (9) was given.