Academies now represent a substantial proportion of the local authority maintained estate and together with new Free Schools, Studio Schools and University Technical Colleges, seem set to have an irrevocable impact on the local education landscape in the medium to long term.

Although the level of cooperation between the local authority and individual academies is left to the discretion of each academy, there is still much scope for the local authority to retain a key strategic role in local education – particularly where there are strong relationships with the governing bodies of converting schools.

By working with converting schools, a local authority can influence the development of a coherent local education strategy and help maximise the potential benefits to the local community of the expanded academies programme. In return, a local authority is able to offer unrivalled support and expertise to academies and schools in the process of converting.

A key point for a local authority to consider is the extent of the retained services it wishes to make available to academies post-conversion.

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