The Federation of Maintained Schools (Wales) Regulations 2014

Procedure for a school to leave a local authority federation

80.—(1) This regulation applies to a request made to the maintaining local authority for a federated school (“the relevant school”) to leave the local authority federation.

(2) A request may not be made if the relevant school is subject to an intervention by a local authority or the Welsh Ministers in Chapter 1 of Part 2 of the 2013 Act unless the local authority or the Welsh Ministers (as the case may be) agree to the request being made.

(3) The request must be made in writing and signed by—

(a) two or more governors;

(b) one fifth of the parents of registered pupils at the relevant school;

(c) two fifths of staff who are paid to work at the relevant school;

(d) the local authority;

(e) the trustees of the relevant school; or

(f) a body entitled to appoint foundation governors to the governing body of the federation.

(4) The maintaining local authority of the relevant school must give notice of the request to—

(a) all relevant local authorities;

(b) the head teacher of the federation or (if there is no head teacher of the federation) the head teacher of each federated school;

(c) where the relevant school is a foundation or voluntary school with a religious foundation, any trustees of a trust relating to the relevant school and, in the case of a Church in Wales or Roman Catholic Church school, the appropriate diocesan authority, or the appropriate religious body in the case of all other such schools;

(d) a body entitled to appoint foundation governors to the governing body of the federation;

(e) the trustees of a trust of any federated school of the federation;

(f) all staff paid to work at the relevant school;

(g) every person known by them to be a parent of a registered pupil at the relevant school;

(h) every trade union known by them to have members paid to work at any of the schools; and

(i) such other persons as the local authority consider appropriate.

(5) Notice under paragraph (4) must be given within the period of five clear working days beginning with the date on which the request was received.

(6) A request under paragraph (1) is to be taken to have been received by the local authority if given or sent to the chief education officer(1).

(7) Not less than fourteen clear working days after the local authority has given notice of the request in accordance with paragraph (4), the local authority must consider the request and all responses received from the persons to whom notification of the request was sent and must decide whether—

(a) subject to paragraph (9), the relevant school should leave the federation and, if so, on what date it should do so (“the de-federation date”) (“y dyddiad dadffedereiddio”);

(b) the federation should be dissolved, and if so, on what date; or

(c) the relevant school should not leave the federation.

(8) The local authority must give notice in writing of its decision under paragraph (7) within five clear working days to those persons referred to in paragraph (4).

(9) The de-federation date specified by the governing body must be not less than 125 days after the day on which notice of the governing body decision under paragraph (8) was given.

(1)

Within the meaning of section 532 of the 1996 Act.