FOCUS ON... Free Schools 

Tiger Primary is Maidstone’s first new primary school in 25 years and was established to provide local parents with an alternative school to those that are often oversubscribed - it will eventually be a two form entry. Located on the same site as the New Line Learning Academy which in 2010 opened its doors to students aged 11 – 18, the school has adopted a Chinese approach to teaching mathematics, using an abacus. Children have more than an hour of Mandarin every week and animal lessons using the on-site farm.

Gabrielle Baker, whose daughter Eva, aged 4, started at the school when it opened in September, has been involved since the start: “As a local resident I feel like I have been involved with Tiger Primary right from the planning stage. There was a lot of excitement about the new school and the additional places for children were much needed in our area. I attended all the consultation meetings and at each stage I and other parents felt more and more sure that this was going to be a very positive addition to our community”.

Cobham Free School describes itself as a ‘new independent state primary school for boys and girls from ages 4 to 11’. It opened its doors in September 2012 with the aim of making available to everyone the best practice from the private sector. It boasts small class sizes (20-23 pupils), an extended school day (8am – 6pm) to help working parents, French is included in the curriculum from Reception upwards and every pupil has a laptop from Year 1 onwards.

For Donnie MacNicol, who has two children aged 5 and 6 at the school, this was an opportunity not to be missed, “We were fortunate to meet the original proposers and the feeling we got about the school was fantastic; with a focus on academic rigour and what we knew of the success of other Free Schools, we saw this as a fantastic opportunity for our children to be smart and confident”.

Despite having only opened in September 2012, both schools already have active and flourishing PTAs. “We quickly formed a PTA at the request and under the guidance of our headteacher”, Gabrielle comments. “We have called ourselves Tiger PAWS (Parents and Wider

What do you think about Free Schools?

Whichever way you look at it, Free Schools is a topic of debate, with everyone having a view. With more and more free schools forming if you have something to say then PTA-UK would like to hear from you. Email your comments to editorial@pta.org.uk and we’ll publish a selection early next year. Here’s a few to get the ball rolling:

The Rt Hon Michael Gove MP

Secretary of State for Education

Every child should have the choice to go to an excellent local school. These new schools have been set up by idealistic people who are determined to give parents the kind of choice that only the rich can currently afford.

A Parent

(as part of PTA-UK’s research panel in 2010)

Why would I want to run a school? You wouldn’t ask me to run my local fire station would you.

Stephen Twigg MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Education

Labour would not close the ‘free schools’ set up under the coalition government, but has not decided if it would allow any more.

Toby Young

Best-selling author, a journalist, film and TV producer and founder of the West London Free School

We believe the key to raising educational attainment – particularly that of the country’s poorest children – is to duplicate the practices of Britain’s independent schools, which Programme for International Student Assessment has ranked the best in the world.

Christine Blower General

Secretary, National Union of Teachers

Free schools, like academies, will offer less transparency and undermine community cohesion. They are not required to employ qualified teachers and are not accountable to democratically elected local authorities despite being funded by the tax payer.

18 PTA-UK Magazine Novembr 2012