A voluntary aided school (VA school) is a state-funded school in
England and Wales
England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...
in which a
foundation
Foundation may refer to:
* Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization
** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S.
** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...
or
trust
Trust often refers to:
* Trust (social science), confidence in or dependence on a person or quality
It may also refer to:
Business and law
* Trust law, a body of law under which one person holds property for the benefit of another
* Trust (bus ...
(usually a religious organisation), contributes to building costs and has a substantial influence in the running of the school. In most cases the foundation or trust owns the buildings.
Such schools have more autonomy than
voluntary controlled school
A voluntary controlled school (VC school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a Christian denomination) has some formal influence in the running of the school. Such schools have less autonomy than ...
s, which are entirely funded by the state. In some circumstances local authorities can help the governing body in buying a site, or can provide a site or building free of charge.
Characteristics
The running costs of voluntary aided schools, like those of other
state-maintained schools, are fully paid by central government via the
local authority
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...
. They differ from other maintained schools in that only 90% of their
capital costs
Capital costs are fixed, one-time expenses incurred on the purchase of land, buildings, construction, and equipment used in the production of goods or in the rendering of services. In other words, it is the total cost needed to bring a project to a ...
are met by the state, with the school's foundation contributing the remaining 10%.
Many VA faith schools belong to diocesan maintenance schemes or other types of funding programme to help them to manage those costs. VA schools are not allowed to charge fees to students, although parents are usually encouraged to pay a voluntary contribution towards the schools' maintenance funds.
The foundation usually owns the school's land and buildings, although there are instances where VA schools use local authority land and buildings.
The foundation appoints a majority of the
school governor
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, school governors are the overseers of a school. In state schools, they have three main functions:
*Giving the school a clear vision, ethos and strategic direction
*Holding the headteacher to account for the ...
s, who run the school, employ the staff and decide the school's admission arrangements, subject to the national Schools Admissions Code.
Specific exemptions from Section 85 of the
Equality Act 2010
The Equality Act 2010 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom passed during the Brown ministry with the primary purpose of consolidating, updating and supplementing the numerous prior Acts and Regulations, that formed the basis of anti-d ...
enables VA faith schools to use faith criteria in prioritising pupils for admission to the schools.
Pupils at voluntary aided schools follow the
National Curriculum A national curriculum is a common programme of study in schools that is designed to ensure nationwide uniformity of content and standards in education. It is usually legislated by the national government, possibly in consultation with state or other ...
.
Like all faith schools, VA faith schools may teach
religious education according to their own faith.
History
Prior to the 19th century, there were a variety of schools in England and Wales, from
charity school
Charity schools, sometimes called blue coat schools, or simply the Blue School, were significant in the history of education in England. They were built and maintained in various parishes by the voluntary contributions of the inhabitants to ...
s providing basic education for the poor to
endowed
A financial endowment is a legal structure for managing, and in many cases indefinitely perpetuating, a pool of financial, real estate, or other investments for a specific purpose according to the will of its founders and donors. Endowments are of ...
schools (often
grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...
s) providing secondary or all-age education.
Early in that century, the
British and Foreign School Society
The British and Foreign School Society (BFSS) offers charitable aid to educational projects in the UK and around the world by funding schools, other charities and educational bodies. It was significant in the history of education in England, suppo ...
and the
National Society for Promoting Religious Education
The National Society (Church of England and Church in Wales) for the Promotion of Education, often just referred to as the National Society, and since 2016 also as The Church of England Education Office (CEEO) is significant in the history of educ ...
sought to provide
elementary
Elementary may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* ''Elementary'' (Cindy Morgan album), 2001
* ''Elementary'' (The End album), 2007
* ''Elementary'', a Melvin "Wah-Wah Watson" Ragin album, 1977
Other uses in arts, entertainment, a ...
schooling for poor children, setting up non-denominational British Schools and
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
National schools respectively. From 1833, the State began to provide grants to support these elementary schools and the less wealthy endowed schools. They were joined by the
Catholic Poor School Committee, which established
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
elementary schools and received its first state grant in 1847. Secondary education also expanded at the same time, including a series of Roman Catholic secondary schools established by religious orders.
The State began to provide elementary education in 1870 and secondary education in 1902, but also continued to increase funding to the schools run by other organisations (usually the churches), now known as voluntary schools. In return these schools were increasingly influenced by the state, and were subject to jointly administered inspections.
In 1926, secondary voluntary schools were required to choose between being "grant-aided" by the local authority, or receiving a "direct grant" from central government. Under the
Education Act 1944, most of the direct grant schools became
direct grant grammar school
A direct grant grammar school was a type of selective secondary school in the United Kingdom that existed between 1945 and 1976. One quarter of the places in these schools were directly funded by central government, while the remainder attracted ...
s. The Act also imposed higher standards on school facilities, and offered the remaining voluntary schools a choice in funding the costs this would incur:
*
Voluntary controlled school
A voluntary controlled school (VC school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a Christian denomination) has some formal influence in the running of the school. Such schools have less autonomy than ...
s would have all their costs met by the State, and would be controlled by the
local education authority
Local education authorities (LEAs) were local councils in England that are responsible for education within their jurisdiction. The term was used to identify which council (district or county) is locally responsible for education in a system wit ...
.
* Voluntary aided schools would have all of their running costs met by the State, but their capital costs would only be partly state funded, with the foundation retaining greater influence over school admission policies, staffing and curriculum.
The Catholic Church chose to retain control of all of its schools, while more than half of Church of England schools became voluntary controlled.
The state contribution to capital works for voluntary aided schools was originally 50%. It was increased to 75% by the
Education Act 1959, and is now 90%.
By the 1970s, most local authorities were in the final stages of reorganising secondary education along
comprehensive lines.
The Roman Catholic hierarchy supported this change. Some non-Catholic voluntary aided
grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...
s opposed it. Local authorities could not compel voluntary aided schools to change any aspect of their admissions, but they could submit a proposal to the Minister to cease to maintain a school.
This was done in cases where the local authority and school could not agree. Some of these schools became
independent school
An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...
s:
Direct grant status was abolished at the same time and over forty such schools, almost all Roman Catholic, converted to voluntary aided status.
Many voluntary aided schools converted to
grant-maintained status in the late 1980s, generally reverting to voluntary aided status when grant-maintained status was abolished in 1998.
A few formerly independent faith schools that had become grant-maintained in the early 1990s also converted to voluntary aided status at that time.
By 2008, within the maintained sector in England, approximately 22% of primary schools and 17% of secondary schools were voluntary aided, including all of the Roman Catholic schools and the schools of non-Christian faiths.
Almost all voluntary aided primary schools and 93% of voluntary aided secondary schools were linked to a religious body, usually either the Church of England or the Catholic Church, with a minority of other faiths.
In November 2012, the interpretation of the
Education Act 2011
The Education Act 2011 (c. 21) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was the first major piece of education legislation to be introduced by the coalition government, and makes changes to many areas of educational policy, includin ...
, which appeared to prioritise the creation of
academies
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...
over maintained schools, was tested by a
judicial review
Judicial review is a process under which executive, legislative and administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. A court with authority for judicial review may invalidate laws, acts and governmental actions that are incompat ...
, which upheld the decision of the
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in southwest London forms part of Outer London and is the only London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas amalgamated under the London ...
to establish voluntary aided schools,
St. Richard Reynolds Catholic College
St Richard Reynolds Catholic College is a Mixed-sex education, coeducational Catholic school for pupils aged 4 to 18. It is located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England.
The school is named after Richard Reynol ...
, without first seeking proposals for an academy.
See also
*
Voluntary controlled school
A voluntary controlled school (VC school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a Christian denomination) has some formal influence in the running of the school. Such schools have less autonomy than ...
*
State-funded schools (England)
*
Education in Wales
This article provides an overview of education in Wales from early childhood education, early childhood to university and adult education, adult skills. Largely state funded and free-at-the-point-of-use at a primary school, primary and secondary ...
*
*
Charter school
A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of auto ...
*
Education Act 1902
The Education Act 1902 ( 2 Edw. 7 c. 42), also known as the Balfour Act, was a highly controversial Act of Parliament that set the pattern of elementary education in England and Wales for four decades. It was brought to Parliament by a Conservat ...
References
Further reading
*
*
{{authority control
State schools in the United Kingdom
Voluntary aided
A voluntary aided school (VA school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a religious organisation), contributes to building costs and has a substantial influence in the running of the school. In m ...
Education in England
Education in Wales
Education finance in the United Kingdom
Public education in the United Kingdom
Schools in England
Schools in Wales