What's the difference between an academy and maintained school? Key differences explained

• All children aged 5 to 16 in England are entitled to a free place at a state school
• State-funded schools can largely be split into two groups; academies and maintained schools
• Maintained schools are funded and usually managed by a local authority
• Academies are funded directly by central government - and have more freedom
• But there are different subtypes of each group as well

From who’s in charge of deciding which children get offered a place, to the content of the curriculum, state-funded schools can be wildly different from one another.

Although paying fees to attend an independent (or private) school is an option for those that can afford it, all children in England between the ages of 5 and 16 are also entitled to a free place at a state primary or secondary school. But not all of these state schools are made equal - and it can play a big part in shaping your child and family’s school experience.

Most parents likely have some idea of the difference between maintained and academy schools, but each can be further broken down into distinct subgroups. These can have vastly different funding and governance models. Some might follow England’s national curriculum, while others currently have the power to create their own.

Here are some of the types of state-funded school you might encounter - as well as what sets them apart:

Maintained schools - and the different types you might find

Maintained schools receive their funding from the local education authority of the area they are based - usually a city or county council. This local authority usually has a big hand in how the school is run, even creating its own admissions policies and employing staff, in many cases.

These schools tend to follow the government-set national curriculum. Here are a few of the different types of maintained schools you might encounter:

Community schools

These are the maintained schools in their most essential form. They are controlled and run by the local authority, which usually determines their admissions arrangements and often owns the land and buildings too. They don’t have ties to any religious or business groups, and follow the national curriculum.

Foundation schools

Foundation schools receive their funding via the local authority, but are run by a governing body. They typically have a little more operational freedom than community schools.

This governing body usually sets admissions criteria and employs staff. According to youth law experts Child Legal Advice, they may also own the school’s land or buildings.

Voluntary aided schools

These have a lot in common with foundation schools, but are usually faith schools - tied to a specific church or religious organisation. They are funded mostly by the local authority, with the supporting charity or religious organisation typically contributing towards maintenance and building costs.

They too are run by a governing body, which is responsible for admissions and employs staff. The church, charity or organisation may also own the land and buildings.

Voluntary controlled schools

Voluntary controlled schools are similar to voluntary aided schools, Child Legal Advice says, but are funded solely by the local authority. The local authority is also the one which sets admissions criteria and employs staff - although they usually consult the supporting body behind the school on this.

Academies - and the different types you might find

Academies are also state-funded schools that charge no fees, but instead of receiving their funding via the local authority, it comes directly from the Government. They are governed by an academy trust - with some trusts being responsible for the running of several different schools (known as multi-academy trusts).

Academies were introduced in the early 2000s, and have since become fairly widespread. Currently, any local authority-maintained school that is found to have serious failings by Ofsted (formerly an overall grade of ‘inadequate’) is forced to become an academy.

They have some key similarities to maintained schools. They are inspected by Ofsted, and have to follow the same rules on admissions, special educational needs and exclusions as other state schools. Primary and secondary pupils also sit the same key exams.

But there are some differences too. Academy schools do not have to follow the national curriculum, which some high-achieving schools have attributed to the model’s success. They also don’t have to follow the same pay and conditions frameworks for teaching staff. However, both of these things could soon change, if the new Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill passes through Parliament as is.

Here are a few of the different types of academy schools you might encounter:

Academy converters

According to the House of Lords Library, converters are usually former maintained schools that have voluntarily chosen to become academies.

Sponsored academies

These were once maintained schools that were found to be underperforming by Ofsted. They were required by law to become academies, and their governance was usually transferred from the local authority to a high-performing multi-academy trust to turn them around.

Free schools

Legally, free schools function pretty much the same way as other academy schools, and they also receive their funding directly from the central government. The only real difference between them and other academies, according to a UK Parliament information page, is that free schools are typically newer - and have been academies since they were built - whereas many other academies have been converted from maintained schools.

Free schools can be set up by charities, faith groups, businesses, universities (these are often specialist schools called university technical colleges), and others, but must be run on a not-for-profit basis.

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Other types of state-funded schools

There are a few other types of state-funded schools that are less common, and either don’t fit neatly into a category - or can fit into both. These include:

Grammar schools

A grammar school, sometimes known as a selective school, is usually a school that selects its pupils based on their academic capabilities. This is usually based on how they perform in the 11+ exam. Grammar schools can be academies, or they can be maintained by a local authority. There are also selective private schools.

City technology colleges

City technology colleges are an older type of secondary school specialising in science, mathematics and technology. They were funded by the central government, but operated more like independent schools. There are now only a handful of them left, with most having converted to academies.

Special schools

State special schools may be either local-authority maintained or academies, but they are equipped to best support young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Special schools for secondary-aged pupils often specialise in meeting one of four different sets of needs, a government information page says. These are communication and interaction; cognition and learning; social, emotional and mental health; and sensory and physical needs. They can also specialise even further within these categories, for example, in Autistic spectrum disorders, or visual impairments.

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