Grant-maintained School - Legacy

Legacy

Grant-maintained status was abolished by the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. GM schools that had previously been voluntary aided, or which had private sponsors, normally returned to voluntary aided status, while others became foundation schools. However schools could choose a different status, and a few became voluntary controlled or community schools. Though funded through local authorities, voluntary aided and foundation schools retain some independence. They own the school buildings and grounds, employ the staff and control their own admissions.

After the abolition of grant-maintained status, the only remaining schools directly funded by central government were the 15 City Technology Colleges. In 2000 the Labour government introduced a new kind of directly funded school, the City Academy, later renamed Academy. Following the 2010 General Election the Academies Act 2010 was enacted, vastly expanding possibilities for schools to become academies. It was described by journalist Mike Baker as "not an extension of the Labour government's academies, but the recreation of the grant-maintained (GM) schools".