Listed below are the various school diversity programmes, designed to support schools to develop their strengths and to contribute to other schools and the wider community.
A federation is a group of two or more schools with a formal agreement to work together to raise standards. There are a range of possible models of federation which can be adopted to meet the specific needs and characters of the schools involved.
We are keen to support federations, recognising that such formal collaborative arrangements have great potential to enhance the quality of teaching and extend learning opportunities for young people.
The Specialist Schools Programme helps schools, in partnership with private sector sponsors and supported by additional Government funding, to establish distinctive identities through their chosen specialisms and achieve their targets to raise standards.
The programme promotes school improvement by providing opportunities for schools to work to their strengths, enabling them to deliver effective teaching and learning in their area of expertise, as well as across the curriculum, and to drive innovation. Specialist schools also work with named partner schools for the benefit of pupils beyond their own school boundaries and with other groups of people in the wider community.
Any maintained secondary school in England can apply to be designated as a specialist school in one of ten specialist areas:
Academies are publicly funded independent schools, which will be state-of-the-art, all-ability specialist schools established by sponsors from business, faith or voluntary groups working with partners from the local community. Sponsors and the Department for Children, Schools and Families provide the capital costs for an academy with running costs met in full by the Department.
