Branscombe C of E Primary School has applied to Ofsted, to become an academy.

In a letter submitted to the school's National Director of the governing body Lee Owston on Thursday September 5. The school has applied to become an academy. 

Academies are independent, state-funded schools, which receive their funding directly from central government, rather than through a local authority.

The day-to-day running of the school is with the head teacher or principal, but they are overseen by individual charitable bodies called academy trusts and may be part of an academy chain.

These trusts and chains provide advice, support, expertise and a strategic overview.

They control their own admissions process and have more freedom than other schools to innovate.

The letter read: "Academy conversion and predecessor schools Under the Academies Act 2010, schools may apply to the Secretary of State to convert to academy status. These schools are known as academy converters.

"On conversion to academy status, the existing school closes and a new school opens in its place. Although little may have changed, the academy converter is a new legal entity. Academy converters may not have yet received an inspection under section 5 or section 8 of the Education Act 2005 since they became an academy.

"However, to assist parents and other interested parties, information about, and the inspection history of the school that preceded the new academy is available on Ofsted's reports website.

"The link to the predecessor school will be removed when the school has been closed for either three or five years depending on the date of closure, and removed from the reports website.

"It is important to note that, as the academy converter is a new school, which may not yet have been inspected, the inspection judgements of the predecessor school and any associated Ofsted logos are not those of the new academy.

"However, Ofsted takes into account the most recent inspection judgements of the predecessor school for the purpose of scheduling the first inspection of the new academy converter.

"Finally, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005 His Majesty's Chief Inspector (HMCI) may decide to inspect any school in England if, based on information received by Ofsted, HMCI judges that a school would benefit from inspection.

"HMCI will also inspect any school if requested to do so by the Secretary of State."

Read more on the Ofsted website. Searching for Branscombe Primary School on the website.