Premier Advisory Group has a market-leading track record in bidding for free schools on behalf of our clients. Recently, we have supported over 25 trusts with free school applications in Wave 14 of the mainstream process, Wave 2 of the SEND free school process, and various LA competitions. Our overall success rate in helping clients reach interview is over 90% to date and we can support you in submitting a high-quality application. Your application will be drafted by a team of professionals who between them have proposed, opened and acted as a DfE Assessor or New Schools’ Network (NSN) Advisor for over 150 free schools including a significant number of special schools.

PAG offer a mock interview service to groups who have submitted applications to open free schools, either via the central route or any local authority presumption competitions. Our team have significant experience on both sides of the interview table and bring all our knowledge and experience to every mock interview we give. Our team will put you through a process which mirrors the free schools interview process. To follow on from the mock interview, we will conduct a review of the application and develop questions that will be asked in a face to face session with the trust team with feedback and coaching given.

At Premier Advisory Group we have a track record stretching back prior to the formation free schools programme. The schools we have helped to open span the range of provision from 4-19 and from mainstream to SEND, covering all points in between. For some we have worked from day one of their projects and for more experienced clients we’ve just provided expert input when required. Furthermore, we bring current experience in opening new schools as proposers and recent experience of having assessed free school applications from a DfE perspective. Click here to learn more about our pre-opening project management.

There is still the expectation that most schools will form or join multi academy trusts (MATs) so that proven educational models can spread and grow, and the best leaders can extend their influence by running multiple schools. We can work with you to convert to academy status and assist you in forming a MAT at each stage of the process, from preparation to opening as an academy and following the steps as required by the DfE.