# Foundation school

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For resident doctor training schools in the UK, see [Foundation school (medical)](/source/Foundation_school_(medical)).

In [England](/source/England) and [Wales](/source/Wales), a **foundation school** is a state-funded school in which the [governing body](/source/School_governor) has greater freedom in the running of the school than in [community schools](/source/Community_school_(England_and_Wales)). Foundation schools were set up under the [School Standards and Framework Act 1998](/source/School_Standards_and_Framework_Act_1998) to replace [grant-maintained schools](/source/Grant-maintained_school), which were funded directly by central government. Grant-maintained schools that had previously been [voluntary controlled](/source/Voluntary_controlled_school) or [county schools](/source/County_school) (but not [voluntary aided](/source/Voluntary_aided_school)) usually became foundation schools.

Foundation schools are a kind of "maintained school", meaning that they are funded by central government via the [local education authority](/source/Local_education_authority), and do not charge fees to students. As with [voluntary controlled schools](/source/Voluntary_controlled_schools), all capital and running costs are met by the government. As with [voluntary aided schools](/source/Voluntary_aided_school), the governing body employs the staff and has responsibility for admissions to the school, subject to rules imposed by central government. Pupils follow the [National Curriculum](/source/National_Curriculum_(England,_Wales_and_Northern_Ireland)).[1][2][3]

Some foundation schools, also called **trust schools**, have a [foundation](/source/Foundation_(charity)) or [trust](/source/Charitable_trust) that owns the land and buildings. Otherwise the land and buildings are owned by the governing body. The foundation usually appoints about a quarter of the school governors, as in voluntary controlled schools, but in some cases it appoints the majority of governors, as in voluntary aided schools.[4]

Within the maintained sector in England, approximately 2% of primary schools and 15% of secondary schools are foundation schools. Almost all of these are non-faith schools.[5] The proportion is considerably smaller in Wales, where four primary schools and eight secondary schools have foundation status.[6]

## See also

- [Community school (England and Wales)](/source/Community_school_(England_and_Wales))
- [State-funded schools (England)](/source/State-funded_schools_(England))
- [Education in England](/source/Education_in_England)
- [Education in Wales](/source/Education_in_Wales)

## References

1. ["Categories of Schools - Overview"](https://web.archive.org/web/20090422044559/http://www.governornet.co.uk/cropArticle.cfm?topicAreaId=1&contentId=548). *Governornet*. [Department for Children, Schools and Families](/source/Department_for_Children,_Schools_and_Families). 2003-09-05. Archived from [the original](http://www.governornet.co.uk/cropArticle.cfm?topicAreaId=1&contentId=548) on 2009-04-22.

1. ["The Composition of Schools in England"](https://web.archive.org/web/20090224235637/http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SBU/b000796/TheCompositionOfSchoolsInEnglandFinal.pdf). [Department for Children, Schools and Families](/source/Department_for_Children,_Schools_and_Families). June 2008. Archived from [the original](http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SBU/b000796/TheCompositionOfSchoolsInEnglandFinal.pdf) on 2009-02-24.

1. [Types of School](http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/n6w/index/family_parent/education/types_of_school.htm) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20090504010057/http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/n6w/index/family_parent/education/types_of_school.htm) 2009-05-04 at the Wayback Machine, [Citizens Advice Bureau](/source/Citizens_Advice_Bureau).

1. ["Trust School Proposals"](https://web.archive.org/web/20080911062835/http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/schoolorg/data/guidance_Documents/Trust%20School%20Proposals%202008-07-18.doc). [Department for Children, Schools and Families](/source/Department_for_Children,_Schools_and_Families). 18 July 2008. Archived from [the original](http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/schoolorg/data/guidance_Documents/Trust%20School%20Proposals%202008-07-18.doc) on 11 September 2008.

1. ["Pupil Characteristics and Class Sizes in Maintained Schools in England: January 2008 (Provisional)"](http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000786/). [Department for Children, Schools and Families](/source/Department_for_Children,_Schools_and_Families)

1. ["High school bids for independence"](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/wales_politics/8189532.stm). *BBC News*. 7 August 2009. Retrieved 14 May 2010.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Foundation school](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_school) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundation_school?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.