Frequently asked questions about federations
Questions
- Can staff be appointed to a federation and not to an individual school?
- How do school leaders get paid for work outside their own school?
- Does there have to be a federation to be able to appoint an executive headteacher?
- We are looking at pooling our resources; what other benefits and deficits does this bring?
- Will schools in a federation be inspected separately or jointly with one report published?
- Can a federation be time-limited?
- Federations appear to be used almost solely when the school is in difficulties. Are there examples of federations being established in more positive circumstances?
- What are the benefits for primary federations in isolated rural communities?
- Is there any particular training for executive headteachers?
- We are a federation of three schools with three headteachers, as opposed to an executive head and three institutions leaders. If one headteacher leaves, can the school employee the two remaining heads to lead the federation?
- Is it easier to appoint an executive headteacher than the headteacher of a single institution?
- How would we overcome any differing ethos associated with federating schools from different backgrounds (for example, faith/community schools)?
- What is meant by an all-through school (0–19, 3–18 etc)? And would such schools automatically be seen as federations?
- What happens when one or more of the schools in a federation becomes an academy?
Answers
1. Can staff be appointed to a federation and not to an individual school?
The contractual arrangement for all shared appointments can vary depending upon the type of schools involved.
If the schools share the same employer (for example, a group of community schools or a group of voluntary-aided schools) then contractual arrangements are simply a matter of agreeing working practices.
If, however, the schools in the federation have different employers then contractual arrangements become slightly more complicated. For instance, each employer in a federation might have its own contract detailing its part-time obligations in the contract arrangement; or a federation may identify a lead employer, draft its contract accordingly and then draft separate contracts for any other employers who may, for example, set out their obligations to buy back time and thus contribute to the cost of the overall federation.
In practice, new staff are often employed on federation contracts with time allocations to the schools within the federation being a matter for the leadership team. In many cases, existing staff also welcome federation contracts because it gives them greater flexibility in career options and the possibility of employment elsewhere in the federation should budgets in one school become an issue.
2. How do school leaders get paid for work outside their own school?
The School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) has been asked by the Department for Education (DfE) to develop a consolidated system for rewarding school leaders working outside their main schools. They have also been tasked with providing greater flexibility to encourage schools to share their expertise at all levels.
Currently, the reward of teachers with duties outside their main schools is a matter of individual negotiation and arrangement.
3. Does there have to be a federation to be able to appoint an executive headteacher?
The decision to appoint an executive head can be made in a number of circumstances. In federations, there are often co-leadership models as well as executive leadership models. For collaborations, an executive head can be appointed, reporting to the joint committee between the governing bodies of the schools concerned. Partnerships can also appoint executive leadership through the use of a service level agreement or memorandum of understanding.
This range of shared leadership models can also apply to other appointments which might include curriculum specialists, such as modern foreign languages teachers in primary schools, or expert support staff such as school business managers.
4. We are looking at pooling our resources; what other benefits and deficits does this bring?
Shared resources can give schools much greater buying power, and thus influence, with suppliers. This may allow the schools to achieve economies of scale. Shared requirements and pooled resources may also allow collaborations to afford new services that are beyond the reach of the single school. Each school in the federation may maintain its own budget and agree how much is put into a shared pot for joint provision or, under recent regulations, budgets may be pooled at the outset. This is a matter for the federation.
However, the budget share generated by each school is important for the viability of the school and care should be taken to ensure that any shared commitments are realistic, especially in the long-term.
5. Will schools in a federation be inspected separately or jointly with one report published?
Schools in a federation are inspected separately and, currently, have their own self-evaluation forms (SEFs). It would normally be appropriate to ask Ofsted to inspect the schools in the federation at the same time so that a rounded picture of the work of the federations can be formed. Ofsted is increasingly aware of and interested in the role that federations and collaborations play in improving standards.
Inspection providers have been asked by Ofsted to use the same team when inspecting schools in a federation. Some federations produce a joint SEF and indicate which sections applied to which school using colour coding. Currently, the government publishes performance information for schools individually.
6. Can a federation be time-limited?
Federations are seen as long-term commitments and a strong model which is able to operate as a single legal entity. It is possible for schools to withdraw from the federation but it is rare, and the amount of work involved in such withdrawals can vary depending upon how centralised the running of the federation has become.
Collaborations are often used as a short-term measure to bring schools together to develop more long-term structures for collaborative working. Collaborations are easy to set up but also easy to leave. For this reason they are seen as a weaker model, often leading to more permanent outcomes.
7. Federations appear to be used almost solely when the school is in difficulties. Are there examples of federations being established in more positive circumstances?
While this was the case for many federations in the beginning, there have always been examples of federations where the driving force has been a shared vision and positive opportunities rather than a deficit situation.
This is now increasingly the case as schools come together to strengthen leadership capacity, support the development of leadership, look to economies of scale and create a sustainable future for high-quality educational provision.
8. What are the benefits for primary federations in isolated rural communities?
Small, isolated schools in rural locations can be limited in the breadth of resources and services they can offer individually. By working together, schools can offer and share complimentary services and thus provide a wider range of services, which could include specialist teaching staff, support staff, transport links, greater professional development and working jointly with partners.
Rural schools may also choose to use a federation as the base for a more fundamental reorganisation, such as moving pupils to different sites based on their age.
The sustainability of small rural schools will continue to provide challenges for leadership recruitment as the role of the headteacher becomes ever more demanding. There is emerging evidence that recruitment is enhanced where there is a supportive leadership model rather than leadership in isolation. Federation can help to address this issue.
9. Is there any particular training for executive headteachers?
Yes – the National College’s Primary Executive Headteacher (PEH) provision is aimed at current and aspiring executive headteachers. The Schools Network (formerly Specialist Schools and Academies Trust) also offers a two-year programme for headteachers who have, or are likely to take on, the leadership of schools within a federation or partnership. You can also take advantage of our peer-to-peer support.
10. We are a federation of three schools with three headteachers, as opposed to an executive head and three institutions leaders. If one headteacher leaves, can the school employee the two remaining heads to lead the federation?
Depending on the circumstances, yes. The governors must be confident that the work of the federation is effectively distributed. For example, can the distribution of responsibilities across the group of schools can be rearranged to effectively remove the requirement for a separate head? Every school must still have a nominated leader, but there is no reason why an individual cannot leave more than one school. In these circumstances it is unlikely that a national advertisement would be required.
11. Is it easier to appoint an executive headteacher than the headteacher of a single institution?
There is certainly growing interest in executive headteacher positions from experienced leaders who are looking for a new challenge. It is not yet clear if these types of roles produce ease or difficulty from a recruitment perspective.
12. How would we overcome any differing ethos associated with federating schools from different backgrounds (for example, faith/community schools)?
Federation must be driven by a shared vision that cannot be ‘forced’ or ‘created’. All parties must be fully engaged and proactive around overcoming barriers. There are a number of tools in the models and partnerships section of this website that can help schools establish a clear mandate and priorities for federation. There are also a number of case studies which exemplify federations between faith schools and community schools which may be helpful.
13. What is meant by an all-through school (0–19, 3–18 etc)? And would such schools automatically be seen as federations?
An all-through school links the stages of education together in a shared context. This may be through collaboration, or maybe formalised through a federation, trust or academy/academy chain model.
There is growing interest in all-through schooling structures. The five main drivers for all-through schools are:
- personalisation (raising achievement)
- pedagogical (shared expertise cross phase)
- care and support (every child matters and shared ethos)
- community (engagement in learning)
- organisational (shared expertise and resources)
Different structures of schools and leadership emerge in response to local needs and priorities. All-through schooling structures can provide locality solutions which work together across phases to provide the best possible learning journey for children. Such structures are also more efficient service delivery mechanisms for children and families.
14. What happens when one or more of the schools in a federation becomes an academy?
The federation regulations (School Governance (Federation) England Regulations 2007) were amended by the Academies Act 2010 to allow a federation to continue in existence if a school leaves the federation, as long as at least two schools remain in the federation. No consultation is required but there would be a need to review the instrument of government according to regulation 32. (source: A guide to the law for school governors – The Department for Education updated 20 July 2011).
Where an academy wishes to be part of the federation, this can be achieved through partnership agreements which do not use the regulations but which enable all the schools in the group to function much as they would do under federation regulations. It is up to the partners to agree the form and structure they wish to put in place to deliver their joint vision for children.
There are examples on this website which show academies working together in a federated structure which is enshrined in their academy trust. Haberdasher’s Askes’ Federation of academies in south London is an excellent example: See our publication Chain reactions.
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