The Russell Education Trust (RET) is a Multi-Academy Trust. It provides educational support services in the creation and operation of free schools. It is a

not-for-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

company limited by guarantee In British, Australian, Bermudian, Hong Kong and Irish company law (and previously New Zealand), a company limited by guarantee (CLG) is a type of corporation used primarily (but not exclusively) for non-profit organisations that require legal pe ...

, with

exempt charity An exempt charity is an institution established in England and Wales for charitable purposes which is exempt from registration with, and oversight by, the Charity Commission for England and Wales. Exempt charities are largely institutions of furth ...

status, regulated by the

Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for child protection, child services, education (compulsory, further and higher education), apprenticeships and wider skills in England. A Department ...

. Its board members include experienced educationalists and representatives from RET schools' local governing bodies. RET was established in 2010 by directors of the school improvement company Education London (EL) which, between 2003 and 2017, provided educational support services to Government, notably as a service provider to the

London Challenge The London Challenge was a school improvement programme launched by the UK's Labour Government in 2003. The policy document "Transforming London Secondary Schools" set out the aims of the programme, which was designed to create a "step change" in t ...

, as well as to individual Local Authorities and schools. EL ceased trading in 2017 due to the retirement of its Operations Director, but continues to sponsor RET. Both organisations are based in the same office building in

Leatherhead Leatherhead is a town in the Mole Valley District of Surrey, England, about south of Central London. The settlement grew up beside a ford on the River Mole, from which its name is thought to derive. During the late Anglo-Saxon period, Leath ...

, Surrey. The Russell Education Trust has worked in partnership with parents, communities, and diocesan authorities to establish the following free schools: *

Bristol Free School Bristol Free School (BFS) is a Secondary Academy which opened in Southmead, Bristol, England, in September 2011. BFS has capacity for 790 pupils across Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4, and capacity for 300 in its Sixth Form, which opened in Septembe ...

, established 2011 *

Becket Keys Church of England School Becket Keys Church of England School is a free school established in Brentwood, Essex, England in 2012. It was the first Church of England secondary school to be established as part of the free schools programme. The school is sponsored by Russ ...

, established 2012 *

King's School, Hove King's School, Hove is an 11-19 free school of Christian designation. It is an ecumenical school, although it is not a CofE School, it has roots with the Church of England. The school was originally established on a temporary site in Portslade ...

, established 2013 *

St Andrew the Apostle Greek Orthodox School St Andrew the Apostle Greek Orthodox School is an inclusive secondary school which opened in 2013 in the Brunswick Park area of the London Borough of Barnet. It is the first and only state-funded Greek Orthodox secondary school in Britain. Th ...

, established 2013 *

Turing House School Turing House School is a co-educational comprehensive secondary school which was opened in 2015 in the London Borough of Richmond, south-west London, under the Government's free schools initiative. The proposal for the school was initiated b ...

, established 2015

Governance Model

RET established its first two free schools using the Single Academy Trust model. It formed two sub-trusts, the Bristol Free School Trust and the Becket Keys CofE Free School Trust, which each signed free school funding agreements with the Secretary of State. Like RET itself, RET's sub-trusts are

exempt charities An exempt charity is an institution established in England and Wales for charitable purposes which is exempt from registration with, and oversight by, the Charity Commission for England and Wales. Exempt charities are largely institutions of furt ...

, regulated by the

. For its later schools RET used the Multi-Academy Trust model. The Trust delegates a range of its governance responsibilities to each of its schools' local governing bodies via a formal Scheme of Delegation.

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.russelleducationtrust.org.uk/ Companies based in Surrey Educational organisations based in the United Kingdom Founders of English schools and colleges