Joining the Trust

Join Us

Enquiries about becoming an academy with The Good Shepherd Trust should be directed to Paul Kennedy, who will be pleased to talk to Headteachers, leadership teams and Governing Bodies. Our experienced central team will work with you to explore whether the Trust is the right place for your school.

The Trust is open to applications from both church schools and local authority maintained schools who are working closely with existing Trust academies or from other schools who will empathise with the values, purpose and principles of the Trust.

We suggest that church schools also read the Memorandum of Understanding between the DfE and National Society.

You can read some of our testimonials here.

The Conversion Journey

Once an agreement to apply to join the Trust has been made between all relevant parties, the central team will work alongside the school throughout conversion in order to facilitate the process. Key steps on the journey include:

  • Undertaking consultation (as required) with the community, parents and staff

  • All parties undertaking thorough due diligence in key areas such as safeguarding, education, HR, governance, admissions, finance and buildings

  • Formally apply to join the Trust and obtain Diocesan (if a church school) and the Secretary of State’s consent

  • Inform the Local Authority

  • Ensure that new financial systems are in place to manage funding

  • Ensure that the school site is made available to the Trust via leases and supplemental agreements

  • Transfer, renew or procure new contracts, service level agreements and licences and purchase CPOMS, RPA and other insurances as appropriate

  • Transfer under TUPE all contract arrangements for staff. This is a formal legal consultation process which is separate from any consultation on the conversion process with all stakeholders

  • Participate in a service of welcome to the Trust

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

If you have any further questions on academy conversion or joining The Good Shepherd Trust please contact us.
We look forward to speaking with you.