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Voluntary Aided and Voluntary Controlled Schools
There are two main categories of Church of England School, Voluntary Aided (VA) and Voluntary Controlled (VC). It is the State, via DfES or Local Authority that 'controls' or 'aids' a school; the LA therefore has more technical responsibilities in VC schools and the Diocese has in VA schools. Both VA and VC schools are fully Church of England Schools. Both have an Instrument of Government which includes a Church of England Statement of Ethos.
Historical Note
The terms Voluntary Aided and Voluntary Controlled date back to the 1944 Education Act, when the category of your school (if existing) was probably decided. Until the 1944 Act all Church School buildings were the responsibility of the Church, often locally. Some were in a better state than others! The decision over category depended on local factors, but financial confidence was often a key. The upkeep of the fabric of an Aided school was to continue to be the responsibility of the Church (although grant aid from the government was to be made available). If a school chose Controlled status, this responsibility was to be undertaken by the newly formed LEA which had secure funding. . The financial climate in the Church at the time (and the state of the buildings then) would have influenced the decision. In some dioceses schools were actively encouraged to go Aided (e.g. London and Blackburn).In others the large majority chose Controlled (e.g. St Edmundsbury and Ipswich). Schools in the Diocese of Ely were fairly typical of the national pattern: one third became Aided and two thirds Controlled.
Characteristics of VA and VC Schools
Voluntary Aided |
Voluntary Controlled |
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Foundation Governors form an overall majority |
No single group of Governors holds a majority. |
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Governors employ the staff determine Admissions Policy (and organise admissions appeals) and may determine RE Syllabus in accordance with school's Trust Deed. |
LEA employ the staff, determine Admissions Policy (and organise admissions appeals) The school follows the County Agreed Syllabus for RE |
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Governors responsible for external fabric of school including maintenance and new building. 85% grant aid from the DfEE and Diocesan assistance, practical and financial, is normally available. |
LEA responsible for whole fabric of school |
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Personal religious criteria can be applied to recruitment of staff and children. |
Personal religious criteria may not be applied to recruitment of staff or children. |
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Daily Collective Worship based on traditions of Foundation i.e. will be Christian and may contain elements specific to Church of England |
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VA School Buildings
Governors are responsible for the exterior fabric of the buildings of a VA school. Governors can claim 90% grant for repairs and authorised improvements. Most VA schools delegate the task of managing schemes and claiming grant to the Diocesan Schools (Buildings and Finance) Officer, David Hicks who should be contacted as soon as any building project is contemplated.
The Diocese also offers a Property Management Service for VA schools. Details can be obtained from David Hicks
Changing Status
Since, until legislation in 1998, any school wishing to move from VC to VA status, was obliged to compensate the LEA for all investment in the fabric of the school since 1944, few schools have contemplated such a move!
However, the Schools Standards and Framework Act 1998 removed this obligation to pay compensation and now such change can be a possibility. The DfES is responsible for guidance on timing etc. since it is not intended that there should be a continuous state of fluidity as schools go into and out of a category.
Governors will need to explore the issues and their reasons for seeking a change of status very carefully. Change of status should not be seen as 'quick fix' to a particular problem.
On the other hand, a resolution of the General Synod of the Church of England, passed unanimously, stated "(This Synod) welcomes the opportunities for Church schools to move to the Voluntary Aided category and encourages Dioceses to support governors in so doing, where appropriate"
Governors seeking to explore a change of category are advised to contact the Director of Education and Training at the earliest opportunity.
More information is available from this link to the resources on the National Society website
Ceasing to be a Church of England School
Church school status is fundamental to the permanent identity of a school, as enshrined in its Trust Deed, and its therefore not possible for a school to become, or to cease to be, a Church of England school. The only means available to affect this change of status is the technical closure of the school (including the technical redundancy of all staff and the standing down of the entire governing body) and the opening of a new school with a new identity on the site. Such a change would need the approval of the Schools Organisation Committee and conveyance of the site to the LEA or Diocese as appropriate: it is unlikely that such agreement (with its financial implications) would be easily granted. It would be necessary to make a detailed and well supported caseas to how the re-organisation would raise standards.