Opening a new free school

On Wednesday 8 May 2024 officers held an online engagement event. Meeting links were sent to Trusts requesting to join. 

Below are the presentation slides from the meeting:

Interested parties and any additional questions should be sent to a member of our team:

• Vikki Williams (School Organisation and Transport Policy Manager) - Vikki.williams@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk
• Janine Smart (School Admissions and Capital Development Manager) - Janine.smart@cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk

How much input/flexibility will there be for the successful Trust to change the designs once the award of the school is made?

There will be extremely limited input into the design and layout of the new school for the Trust, due to time and capital cost restrictions.

Where is it referenced within the Model Criteria document about strong track record as outlined in the introduction’?

’Introduction’ is to mean the Free School Specification.

Is there a specific financial plan proforma Trusts should complete to outline their financial forecasts?

No. Trusts can submit this information in any format they feel sufficiently covers what has been asked for within the School Specification. Trusts may wish to use the departments template. Further information on mainstream free school revenue funding can be found on the GOV.UK website. 

Does the nursery have to be provided by the school or could it be via a private provider?

There are no restrictions on how nursery provision could be offered. Trusts will need to clearly set out their proposed delivery model. If this is via a private provider please include their details.

The Trust would be keen to also offer nursery provision for two year olds – would that be acceptable and how would that work with the funding allocation?

We would be in support of this based on current sufficiency and sustainability potential for the school and other early years providers in the locality, and to further support parental choice.

If the school did choose to provide places for two year olds, they must adhere to the safeguarding and welfare requirements set out in section 3 of the Statutory Early Years Foundation Stage Framework.

Within this section, ‘Staff qualifications, training and support’ outlines how to ensure suitable staffing and ‘staff: child ratios – all providers’ confirms the ratios that must be in place for two year olds (paragraph 3.33):

• there must be at least one member of staff for every five children
• at least one member of staff must hold an approved level 3 qualification
• at least half of all other staff must hold an approved level 2 qualification

Our Early Years Team provide training, support/challenge, and advice to all maintained, academy and free schools at no charge, and it is worth noting that when signing the early years funding contract for two, three and four year old funding, there is an expectation that the school engages with the teams professional development, as well as support to set up the environment and ensure best practice.

Further information with regards to funding arrangements for two, three and four year olds can be found on the Live Well website.

From a capital perspective, we will not be providing funding for building accommodation for this purpose. If a Trust wanted to add accommodation at their own cost this would need to be commissioned directly by the Trust/school upon handover of the building.

Is there any set up funding available for resources within the nursery class i.e. furniture etc?

It will be for the Trust to determine how they use the set-up costs outlined in the specification. There is no specific funding available for the nursery. We will not provide any additional funding to what is outlined in the specification.

Can photographs be included in Trusts applications?

Yes, as long as the necessary permissions have been sought.

Will you accept hard copies of an application? If so, please confirm address.

Hard copies of applications can be submitted and marked for the attention of Vikki Williams/Janine Smart. They should be delivered to: Cheshire West and Chester Council, Main Reception, The Portal, Wellington Road, Ellesmere Port, CH65 0BA. Please provide sufficient notice so that we can ensure officers are available to accept the documents. In addition to the hard copies, we also ask for electronic copies so that they can be shared with DfE.

Regarding the information requested under financial matters which asks for details of the financial forecast for the next three years. Is this information for the proposed school, the trust or both? Also, in terms of format, how would you prefer the bid to be submitted?

Please provide forecasts for the proposed school. Trusts should be content the information provided allows us to fully understand the financial viability and take into account the financial capacity of the Trust for the project, including any financial plans produced by the Trust (the departmental finance template is acceptable for this). Further details and guidance can be found on the GOV.UK website.