Cocentra has joined with Gleeds, bringing together a highly experienced and qualified team to advise and support the establishment of Free Schools. Together, we have extensive experience of:

• setting up new schools and working with parents, pupils, maintained and independent schools, Academies and further and higher education;

• project management, construction, design, facilities management, human resources and legal services.

We have highly developed expertise in school improvement across all phases in the maintained and independent sectors, and through the Building Schools for the Future programme we have built up extensive experience of all aspects of education and schools.

It is having clearly defined aims, well thought out processes and systems and a commitment to excellence and continuous learning that makes an outstanding school. We also know that recruiting and retaining staff of the highest calibre ultimately ensures success. We have good understanding of the regulations and legislation that applies to schools, know how to get the best out of the freedoms and opportunities that now apply, and can work in a range of ways to support groups wanting to establish Free Schools

Free Schools are all-ability state-funded schools set up in response to parental demand. These new schools will enjoy the same freedoms as academies, which are publicly funded independent schools, free from local authority control. Other freedoms include setting their own pay and conditions for staff, freedom from following the National Curriculum and the ability to change the lengths of their terms and school days. All Free Schools will be accountable like other state schools via inspections and tests.

Both the DFE (http://www.dfe.gov.uk/) and New Schools Network (http://www.newschoolsnetwork.org/) websites have responses to typical questions you might have. However they are general responses and in our experience every school and group of parents it serves is unique and special. If you choose to work with us we will ensure that a dedicated adviser is able to work with you to understand your issues and what you want to achieve and describe what you need to do next. We won’t over complicate matters but will keep things simple without being simplistic. Where we feel you need further specialist expert advice we’ll either provide it or introduce you to others who can.

You'll need to be clear what you want to achieve and why. We can help you to clarify your thoughts and describe the implications and some of the options open to you. We'll explain what you can and cannot do around issues such as admissions, selections, staffing and the curriculum.

You will need to make a formal application and meet a wide range of detailed criteria. We’ll use our extensive experience of constructing successful bids, applications and submissions to help you through the process. You’ll need to prove that you are suitable to run a school and explain your aims and the nature of the curriculum and show you have the capacity to run a school. Our curriculum experts will help you to explain your vision and ideas and will explain what you will have to do to set up and run a school and provide options for you to do it yourself or how to employ others who will do some of the work for you.

In your proposal you will have to prove that there is the demand for school places. Our surveys team can help you to construct a way of measuring the demand and presenting it in clear way.

You’ll have to provide a financially viable business case. We have experience of constructing these and we will work with you to simplify the process and provide technical assistance.

You may already have an idea of where you would like to site your school and have some premises in mind. We can undertake an assessment of existing property or land, to determine its suitability to accommodate the new school, arrange for surveys and site visits and work with you to provide the high level costings that your submission will require. Identifying available grants can be the determining factor in the feasibility of any project and we have wide experience in this field.

You will need to provide plans to show how the school will be led and managed. There are many ways of doing this and we have experience of most of them. We will use this to ensure that the solution meets the way you would like to see your school run.

Compliance with a range of regulations is important. Whilst these are not in themselves off-putting you will need to understand the implications of some of them and any possible conflicts with your vision. Again we will be on hand to help you through this.

Finally you will need to put together the proposal in the correct format. This can be time consuming and technically complex but we have the experience to construct it in a way that with the minimum of fuss it both describes your school and meets the exacting submissions criteria

At this stage you will need to start to firm up some of your proposals putting a timescale on the process. As time goes on increasing detailed project plans will be needed to make sure the work gets done. We are experts in the field of project planning and can take on this responsibility leaving you with the time to develop your vision for your new school. Some of the issues you need to tackle at this stage will be where the school will be sited, what it will look like, who will attend it and once it opens  what will teaching and learning look like. Further tasks revolve around the recruiting and appointing of staff, drawing up terms and conditions of service and establishing a system of governance.

We have an established team that can support you at every step of the way, whether it's helping you procure designers and constructors, appointing a headteacher or setting up a system that will agree contracts and ultimately pay teachers. We’ve done this both in the United Kingdom and abroad, we know the pitfalls and we will make it work for you.

Every school is unique. Yours will be special and in working to help you set it up we are well placed to help you grow and develop. We can provide on-going support for staff, help your senior leaders monitor standards and develop the curriculum. Similarly we can support you to ensure that the background jobs such as grounds maintenance, cleaning, administration and personnel issues are covered. We will also put you in touch with similar Free Schools so that you can share expertise and ideas.

Cocentra and Gleeds are established consultancy organisations. We have a strong reputation for excellence, breadth of experience and positive relationships with our clients. We value our consultants and clients as individuals. We are good listeners and communicators, explain ideas clearly, don’t promise what we cannot deliver and don’t walk away from problems. If you choose to work with us you will find us an excellent long-term partner or an organisation that can provide you with short term specific services to meet your needs as and when you want them.

If you feel that we can support you in the establishment of your Free School, or would value a no-commitment discussion about your situation and where you could go next, then please contact us for further information.