Types of school and trust

Learn about the characteristics of state-funded schools and academy trusts.

Guidance

12/06/2025

Types of school

Independent from the local authority (LA) and funded directly by the government
Run on a not-for-profit basis
Have greater freedoms in some areas (for example, these schools can set their own employee terms and conditions)

Academies and free schools include:

Converter academies
Sponsor academies set up to replace underperforming schools
New schools set up under the free school presumption
University Technical Colleges which cater for 14 to 19 year-old pupils and have university and employer sponsors

Includes:

LA is the direct employer of school staff
Governing body has some employer responsibilities (such as appointing the headteacher)
Land and buildings owned by the LA
LA is responsible for pupil admissions and appeals

Usually have a religious character
LA is the direct employer of school staff
Governing body has some employer responsibilities (such as appointing the headteacher)
Land and buildings usually owned by a trust (often a religious body) – the trust can appoint members of the governing board
LA is responsible for pupil admissions and appeals

Can be any type of LA-maintained school or academy
Provide specialist education provision to pupils with an education, health and care plan (EHCP) or statement of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or cater for children who aren’t able to attend a mainstream school for other reasons
Pupil referral units (PRUs) are a type of alternative provision

Federations

A formal structure between two or more local authority maintained schools, with one governing body that is accountable for all schools in the federation.

Each school continues to be treated as an individual school, meaning it continues to have its admissions determined by the appropriate admission authority and inspected individually by Ofsted.

A federation is not a permanent structure, meaning the organisation can be dissolved and schools can leave if they wish.

A MAT is where two or more schools have been joined together to form one organisation, governed by a single trust board. That trust board is responsible for the schools (academies) within the trust.
The MAT structure is made up of 4 layers: the members, the trust board, the central executive team and individual schools
The MAT is governed by its articles of association which set out the trust’s governance structure and charitable objectives.
Most MATs have a ‘local tier’ of governance (known as local governing bodies or academy committees) to ensure school level oversight and equip trust boards with intelligence to strengthen decision-making. The trust board can delegate specific functions to the local tier but not overall accountability.
Academies within a MAT follow many of the same rules as other state schools, including those on admissions, special educational needs and exclusions.

Governed by articles of association that have been developed by the DfE and the Church of England to protect the religious distinctiveness of church schools.

Work closely with the local diocese as a key stakeholder who usually has a role in appointing some members, trustees and local governors, developing policies e.g. admissions, collective worship and appointing senior leaders.

Catholic MATs

Exclusively made up of catholic schools
Governed by articles of association and other agreements that have been developed by the DfE and the Catholic Education Service to protect and promote the religious distinctiveness of catholic schools.
Work closely with the local diocese as a key stakeholder who usually has a role in appointing members, trustees and local governors, developing policies e.g. admissions, collective worship and appointing senior leaders.