Free Schools In England
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A free school in England is a type of
academy An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...
established since 2010 under the Government's free school policy initiative. From May 2015, usage of the term was formally extended to include new academies set up via a local authority competition. Like other academies, free schools are non-profit-making, state-funded schools which are free to attend but which are mostly independent of the
local authority Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...
.


Description

Like all academies, free schools are governed by
non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
charitable trusts that sign funding agreements with the Education Secretary. There are different model funding agreements for single academy trusts and multi academy trusts. It is possible for a local authority to sponsor a free school in partnership with other organisations, provided they have no more than a 19.9 per cent representation on the board of trustees.
Studio school A studio school is a type of specialist secondary school in England that is designed to give students practical skills in workplace environments as well as traditional academic and vocational courses of study. Like traditional schools, studio sc ...
s and
university technical college A university technical college (UTC) is a type of specialist secondary school in England that is led by a sponsor university and has close ties to local business and industry. These university and industry partners support the curriculum developm ...
s are both sub-types of free school.


Policy creation and implementation

Free schools were introduced by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition following the 2010 general election as part of the Big Society initiative to make it possible for parents, teachers, charities and businesses to set up their own schools. Free schools are an extension of the existing academies programme.Q&A: Academies and free schools
BBC News, 22 July 2010
The
Academies Act 2010 An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...
, which allowed all existing state schools to become academies, also authorised the creation of free schools. The first 24 free schools opened in autumn 2011.Increasing the number of academies and free schools to create a better and more diverse school system
Policy.
The
Education Act 2011 The Education Act 2011 (c. 21) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was the first major piece of education legislation to be introduced by the coalition government, and makes changes to many areas of educational policy, includin ...
gave rise to the academy/free school presumption; Government advice which clarified that any local authority in need of a new school must in most circumstances seek proposals for an academy or free school, with a traditional community school only being allowed if no suitable free school or academy is proposed. In July 2015 the advice was renamed the free school presumption reflecting the fact that the newly elected
Conservative Government Conservative or Tory government may refer to: Canada In Canadian politics, a Conservative government may refer to the following governments administered by the Conservative Party of Canada or one of its historical predecessors: * 1st Canadian Mi ...
regarded ''all'' new academies established after May 2015 as free schools.


Similar models in other countries

The free school concept is based on similar schools found in Sweden, Chile, New Zealand (an overlap between
designated special character schools Designated Special Character schools were created under the New Zealand Education Act of 1989 which allows the Ministry of Education (New Zealand), Minister of Education to establish two types of special character schools under Sections 155 and 156 ...
and partnership schools), Canada, and the United States. The concept has been compared to charter schools in Canada and the US.


Requirements

Free schools are subject to the same School Admissions Code as all other state-funded schools, although they are subject to
the 50% Rule The 50% Rule in English faith school admissions was introduced in 2010 and stipulates that where newly established academies with a religious character are oversubscribed, at least 50% of their places must be open places, i.e. allocated without ref ...
whereby oversubscribed free schools with a faith designation must allocate at least half of their places without regard to faith. Free schools are expected to offer a broad and balanced curriculum, are subject to the same
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inspections as all other maintained schools and are expected to comply with standard performance measures. To set up a free school, founding groups submit applications to the
Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for child protection, child services, education (compulsory, further and higher education), apprenticeships and wider skills in England. A Department ...
. Groups include those run by parents, education charities and religious groups. Start-up grants are provided to establish the schools and ongoing funding is on an equivalent basis with other locally controlled state maintained schools.


Types of free school

The majority of free schools are similar in size and shape to other types of academy. However, the following are distinctive sub-types of free school: *
Studio school A studio school is a type of specialist secondary school in England that is designed to give students practical skills in workplace environments as well as traditional academic and vocational courses of study. Like traditional schools, studio sc ...
– A small free school, usually with around 300 pupils, using project-based learning *
University Technical College A university technical college (UTC) is a type of specialist secondary school in England that is led by a sponsor university and has close ties to local business and industry. These university and industry partners support the curriculum developm ...
– A free school for the 14–18 age group, specialising in practical, employment-focused subjects, sponsored by a university, employer or
further education college Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is education in addition to that received at secondary school, that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. It ...
. *
Maths school A maths school is a type of specialist free school sixth form college in England which specialises in the study of mathematics. Each maths school is sponsored by a university and, frequently, also a nearby established sixth form college or mult ...
– A selective sixth form free school for those with significant mathematical aptitude, specialising in mathematics. They are sponsored by a selective mathematics university.


Waves

The Department for Education publishes and maintains the list of established free schools and those that are due to be established. Free schools approvals are processed and announced in batches, known as 'waves'. Wave 1: In the autumn of 2010, Education Secretary
Michael Gove Michael Andrew Gove (; born Graeme Andrew Logan, 26 August 1967) is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations since 2021. He has been Member of Parli ...
announced that 16 proposals for free schools had been given a green light by the Government and were expected to open in September 2011. This number eventually grew to 24. Five of the original 16 schools were
faith school A faith school is a school in the United Kingdom that teaches a general curriculum but which has a particular religious character or formal links with a religious or faith-based organisation. The term is most commonly applied to state-funded f ...
s: two Jewish, one Evangelical Anglican, one Hindu and one Sikh. Wave 2: In September 2012 the Department of Education announced 55 new free schools would open that month. Wave 3: The DfE received 234 applications for the third wave of free schools, of which 102 were approved to progress to the pre-opening stage. The schools were due to open in September 2013. Wave 4: Free schools wishing to open in September 2014 submitted proposals to the DfE in January 2013. In May 2013 it was announced that 102 schools had been approved. Waves 5,6,7: In March 2013, the Department for Education announced the application schedule for groups wishing to open free schools in 2015 and beyond. The Wave 5 pre-approvals were announced in January 2014, with 11 new schools being approved. Five months later another 38 were pre-approved for Wave 6, and in September of the same year, a further 35 schools were pre-approved for Wave 7. Wave 8: In January 2014, the Department for Education confirmed that there would be an eighth free school wave, with applications being accepted in the Autumn of 2014. The outcome was announced in March 2015, when it was confirmed that 49 applications had been pre-approved. Wave 9: In July 2014, a further funding round was announced for the period immediately following the 2015 General Election, with proposals being invited for submission from 8 May 2015. The
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
manifesto for that election included a proposal for at least 500 further free schools. On 2 September 2015, it was announced that 18 applications had been successful in reaching Wave 9's pre-approval stage. Wave 10 and beyond: In July 2015, the recently elected Conservative Government invited a tenth wave of free school applications to be submitted in October the same year. They also said that there would be further waves with closing dates in March and September each year for the rest of the Parliament. The Parliament had been expected to end in May 2020, but in the event it was dissolved on 3 May 2017. Between 2010 and 2015 more than 400 free schools were approved for opening in England by the
Coalition Government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...
, representing more than 230,000 school places across the country, and numbers have continued to grow since that time.


Closures

Sixty-six approved free schools had totally or partially closed, or failed to open entirely, by April 2018, at an estimated cost of almost £150m in startup costs and capital funding.


Qualification of teachers

Unlike local authority maintained schools in England, but in common with other types of
academy An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...
and with independent schools, free schools are allowed to employ teachers without Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). The
Coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...
said this freedom enables "innovation, diversity and flexibility" and "the dynamism that characterises the best independent schools". The Labour Party have expressed their opposition to this and said that if elected they would require teachers in academies and free schools be "properly qualified".


Discussion

When the free school policy was first announced, some commentators offered advice to potential proposers, while others expressed scepticism that the concept could be made to work at all. Supporters of free schools, such as the Conservative Party, claimed that they would "create more local competition and drive-up standards". They also felt they would allow parents to have more choice in the type of education their child receives, much like parents who send their children to independent schools do. However, critics argued that the policy would benefit only
middle-class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Comm ...
parents with the time to set up free schools and that they would divert money away from existing schools. Supporters of free schools said that they would benefit children from all backgrounds. Some people were concerned that free schools are not obliged to cap their headteachers' pay. A review of available research on the Swedish model that partially inspired the policy was published in a paper by Rebecca Allen. It concluded, "The econometric evidence on the effect of the reforms suggests that, so far, Swedish pupils do not appear to be harmed by the competition from private schools, but the new schools have not yet transformed educational attainment in Sweden." Peter Wilby, writing in ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', predicted that free schools would be run by private companies rather than parents, teachers or voluntary groups. The
New Schools Network The New Schools Network (NSN) is a United Kingdom-registered charity and former think tank which formerly supported groups setting up free schools within the English state education sector. History Early years The New Schools Network was found ...
was subsequently set up to help groups develop the skills needed to set up free schools. Paul Carter, a Conservative
councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...
, pointed out that under the funding arrangements in place at the time, "the more academies and Free Schools you operate, under the current academy funding arrangements, the less
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maintained schools would get." Subsequently, the Department for Education changed the funding arrangements for all maintained schools so that "schools in similar circumstances and with similar intakes receive similar levels of funding", whatever type of school they are. A warning by the
National Union of Teachers The National Union of Teachers (NUT; ) was a trade union for school teachers in Education in England, England, Education in Wales, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It was a member of the Trades Union Congress. In March 2017, NU ...
(NUT) that the policy would "fuel social segregation and undermine local democracy" was reported in the ''
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''. The NUT also said that free schools were neither wanted nor needed, based on a survey of a thousand parents. The Education Secretary accused free school opponents of subjecting supporters to personal attacks and even death threats. The Department for Education said that free schools were popular with parents. Figures released in 2013 showed that 90% of free schools were over-subscribed with an average of three pupils competing for each place. Critics pointed out that more than half of free schools opening in 2012 opened with 60% or less of the student numbers predicted by the impact assessment documents of each institution, leaving more than 10% spare places. Analysis by the
British Humanist Association Humanists UK, known from 1967 until May 2017 as the British Humanist Association (BHA), is a charitable organisation which promotes secular humanism and aims to represent "people who seek to live good lives without religious or superstitious b ...
in 2013 found that the majority of free school applications were from religious groups. The Catholic Education Service said that it would not open free schools because their admissions rules would only let them reserve 50% of places for children from Catholic families, unlike
Voluntary Aided A voluntary aided school (VA school) is a state-funded school in England and Wales in which a foundation or trust (usually a religious organisation), contributes to building costs and has a substantial influence in the running of the school. In m ...
schools which can select up to 100% of places using faith criteria. Education Secretary
Michael Gove Michael Andrew Gove (; born Graeme Andrew Logan, 26 August 1967) is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations since 2021. He has been Member of Parli ...
said in 2011 he had ruled out religious fundamentalist groups being able to set up free schools. In April 2014, following publication of a leaked document 'Future Academy System' prepared for schools minister
Lord Nash John Alfred Stoddard Nash, Baron Nash (born 22 March 1949)''Debrett's'John Nash, Esq/ref> is a British former businessman, also formerly a Conservative Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Schools. Nash was chair of the British Venture Capi ...
, critics claimed that failing free schools were being given special fast-track attention by the government to limit potential embarrassment to Michael Gove, the Education Secretary at the time. The leaked document stated that the "political ramifications of any more free schools being judged inadequate are very high and speedy intervention is essential." Polling in April 2015 put public support for Conservative proposals to increase the number of free schools by at least 500 at 26%. The 2015 Labour Party election manifesto proposed banning the creation of free schools in areas where there was a surplus of places. The free school concept has been described as a government obsession which should be abandoned as a failed experiment; the joint general secretary of the
National Education Union The National Education Union (NEU) is a trade union in the United Kingdom for school teachers, further education lecturers, education support staff and teaching assistants. It was formed by the amalgamation of the National Union of Teachers an ...
(NEU) said "The government should hang its head in shame at this monumental waste of taxpayers' money at a time when schools are severely underfunded". The centre-right think tank
Policy Exchange Policy Exchange is a British conservatism in the United Kingdom, conservative think tank based in London. In 2007 it was described in ''The Daily Telegraph'' as "the largest, but also the most influential think tank on the right". ''The Washing ...
claimed in 2015 that free schools affect the performance of the pupils in surrounding schools. Their assessment was that the results in low-performing schools located in the vicinity of a free school out-perform similar schools that do not have a free school nearby, and also that free schools are eight times more likely to be in England's most deprived areas than the least deprived.


See also

* List of free schools in England which are formally designated as faith schools * List of free schools in England with a local authority sponsor *
List of schools in England The Education in England, schools in England are organised into local education authority, local education authorities. There are 150 local education authorities in England organised into nine larger regions. According to the Schools Census ther ...
*
New Schools Network The New Schools Network (NSN) is a United Kingdom-registered charity and former think tank which formerly supported groups setting up free schools within the English state education sector. History Early years The New Schools Network was found ...
* State-funded schools (England) Types of free school in addition to those designated "free school": *
Academy (English school) An academy school in England is a state-funded school which is directly funded by the Department for Education and independent of local authority control. The terms of the arrangements are set out in individual Academy Funding Agreements. Mo ...
*
Studio school A studio school is a type of specialist secondary school in England that is designed to give students practical skills in workplace environments as well as traditional academic and vocational courses of study. Like traditional schools, studio sc ...
*
University Technical College A university technical college (UTC) is a type of specialist secondary school in England that is led by a sponsor university and has close ties to local business and industry. These university and industry partners support the curriculum developm ...
*
Maths school A maths school is a type of specialist free school sixth form college in England which specialises in the study of mathematics. Each maths school is sponsored by a university and, frequently, also a nearby established sixth form college or mult ...


References


External links


Free Schools
at the website of the
Department for Education The Department for Education (DfE) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for child protection, child services, education (compulsory, further and higher education), apprenticeships and wider skills in England. A Department ...

Swedish model of 'free schools'
BBC News, 20 November 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Free School (England) 01 Education in England School types State schools in the United Kingdom Education policy in the United Kingdom Public education in the United Kingdom United Kingdom educational programs