The provisions of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 that relate to trust proposals have not yet been commenced. They are due to come into force in early summer 2007 alongside regulations that will implement these provisions.
The Department has discussed trust schools with a wide range of organisations. We do not hold a comprehensive list of every organisation that has expressed an interest.
The following organisations or companies have been publicly named as actively working towards setting up a trust with a school or group of schools as part of the pathfinder programme: City of Bristol College, Co-operative Group, Co-operative College, Dorset Scope, Essex University, Exeter University, Laing O'Rourke, Microsoft, Prospects College, Trinity and All Saints HE College, Unilever, University of West of England, University of Wolverhampton and Westminster University. We will release information about further organisations once they have agreed to be involved with pathfinders (except in cases where release might prejudice discussions with stakeholders in the project).