Schools and learning

Types of state school

Different types of state schools have very important similarities. They are all self-managing, do not charge fees and work in partnership with other schools. They all work with the local authority, and all types except Academies receive funding from the local authority.  There are however some differences, which are detailed below:

Community schools
The local authority employs the school's staff, is the admissions authority and owns the school's land and buildings.

Voluntary Controlled (VC) schools
The local authority is the employer and the admissions authority.  The school's land and buildings will normally be owned by a charitable foundation or a religious group (e.g. Church of England, Roman Catholic or Jewish).

Voluntary Aided (VA) schools
The governing body is the employer and the admissions authority.  The school's land and buildings will normally be owned by a charitable foundation or a religious group (e.g. Church of England, Roman Catholic of Jewish).  The school accesses capital funding via the Locally Co-ordinated Voluntary Aided Capital Programme (LCVAP), directly from the DCSF rather than through the Local Authority.

Foundation schools
The governing body is the employer and the admissions authority.  The governing body owns the school's land and buildings.

Trust schools
These are a type of foundation school.  The governing body is the employer and the admissions authority.  The school’s land and buildings are owned by a charitable foundation.

Academies
Academies are independently managed, all-ability schools set up by sponsors from business, faith or voluntary groups in partnership with the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the local authority.  The academy trust is the employer and owns the land and buildings.  The governing body is the admissions authority.  Running costs for the school come directly from the government rather than via the local authority, unlike the other types of schools above.