Rule changes made after the requirement for all new schools to be academies was binned don’t make sense, trust leaders have said. The passage of Labour’s schools bill earlier this month saw the free school presumption scrapped, opening the door to councils to lodge bids to launch their own primaries and secondaries. But the changes have been branded “unnecessary” as guidance published on Monday states local authority proposals need to detail how the school will “move into a high-quality trust over time”. Academy expectation Confederation of School Trusts chief Leora Cruddas said: “We think it is unlikely that given the government’s vision for all schools being part of a trust that many, if any, new maintained schools will actually open. “In the vast majority of cases it is going to make little sense to open as a maintained school only to become an academy a few years later.” The guidance said local authorities can invite proposals for a new school if, following a consultation, it determines there is a need for one. Bidders – including councils – can submit plans “for a new school other than an academy”. But the government’s expectation remains they “will join or form high-quality trusts”. “Proposers who take this route will need to set out in their proposal how effective collaboration will be achieved once the school is operating and how they expect the school to move into a high-quality trust over time,” the guidance said. ‘Unnecessary’ change Amanda Hopgood, of the Local Government Association (LGA), stressed the schools white paper recognises the “excellent” work being “delivered in the council-maintained sector”. But the LGA believes it “should be open to schools to choose to become an academy”. Meg Powell Chandler But Meg Powell-Chandler, of the New Schools Network, argued the “regrettable removal of the free school presumption may have proved unnecessary, given the government clearly want all new schools to be academies anyway.” She also called for the guidance to “explicitly state” that councils “need to indicate whether they will submit a bid on publication of the invitation notice”. “It doesn’t seem right that they can decide after they have started receiving applications.”