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Free schools
The truth about free schools
NUT research into free schools shows them to be expensive, unnecessary and elitist. Celia Dignan reveals the shocking truth, and how the NUT is challenging the Government’s free school plans.
Free schools are publicly funded but operate outside the influence of the local authority or neighbouring schools. They can set their own pay and conditions and do not have to employ qualified teachers.
NUT research shows that many of the free schools that opened in 2011 and those due to open later this year will have a negative impact on existing local schools. Our research also reveals that a significant number of these new schools are secondary schools when many parts of the country are desperately short of primary places.
Under section 9 of the Academies Act 2010, the Secretary of State for Education has a duty to take into account the impact on neighbouring schools and further education institutions in the area where the free school is, or is proposed to be, sited. The NUT is seriously concerned that this is not being done.
The Union used Freedom of Information (FoI) legislation to ask for the impact assessments considered by the Education Secretary. The requests were rejected; we are now appealing to the Information Commissioner to overturn this decision.
NUT General Secretary Christine Blower says: “In many cases the Government is allowing free schools to open regardless of the concerns raised by local authorities, heads, governors and parents. Many free schools are opening, at vast cost to the taxpayer, in areas where there are already surplus school places. In others, the new free school will create surplus places, leading to unnecessary competition, and schools with many places unfilled. This is neither a coherent nor a workable way to organise the country’s education system.“
Bristol
The Bristol Free School, a secondary, opened in September 2011. There are four secondaries within a few miles of the free school, with a combined surplus of 300 places. A local head teacher has argued that there is no need for extra places in this part of Bristol and demographics do not indicate a future need. But Bristol City Council had to find an additional 250 primary places to ensure that all reception-age children could start
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