· The NUT is concerned about the impact of free schools on education provision in England. The first free schools opened in 2011 and with 251 now open, their impact on neighbouring schools and the wider education system is proving damaging.
· The Government has allocated £1.7bn of capital funding for free schools up to 2014-15[1] - a third of the total £5.3bn allocated for creating new school places in England as a whole over the spending review period.[2]
· Free schools can employ unqualified teachers and at November 2013, 13 per cent of the teaching staff in free schools were unqualified compared to 3.8 per cent of all teachers in state-funded schools.[3]
· In October 2013, Annaliese Briggs, the 27-year-old unqualified Head Teacher appointed to the newly opened Pimlico Primary free school in central London resigned just four weeks after the school opened. The free school is sponsored by the Future Academies chain established by Schools’ Minister Lord Nash. The Government may believe that unqualified teachers and unqualified Heads can teach in and run state-funded schools but this case proves otherwise.
· Free schools act as their own admission authorities and analysis of their intakes show they are not representative of the communities they serve. Research, by the Centre for Learning and Life Chances (LLAKES) at the Institute of Education (IoE) published in July 2014 found that around 13.5 per cent of pupils attending primary free schools were eligible for free school meals, while within the neighbourhoods of free schools, 18.3 per cent of children were eligible. Researchers also found that 17.5 per cent of pupils attending secondary free schools were eligible for FSM despite 22.1 per cent of young people being eligible in the areas surrounding the schools.[4]
· Earlier analysis by the National Audit Office (NAO) found that 18 per cent of pupils at 81 free schools had English as an additional language, compared to 36 per cent in neighbouring schools.[5] In addition, the NAO said that 16 per cent of the 174 open free schools at the time prioritised the ‘children of founders’ in their oversubscription criteria so those involved in setting them were getting priority for their children.[6]
· The Government has justified its free school programme saying it will raise standards of education. However, only 67 per cent of free schools were judged to be either ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ at their last inspection compared to 80 per cent of state-funded schools as a whole.[7] Furthermore, 45 per cent of the pupils attending free schools at the time of their last inspection were in schools that Ofsted judged to either require improvement or to be ‘inadequate’.[8]
· Serious problems at some free schools have also been identified by Ofsted. Five free schools have so far been judged to be ‘inadequate’ with one - the Discovery New School in Crawley, West Sussex - being forced to close after it failed to make the required improvements. More than £3m of public money was spent on setting up the school in September 2011 and keeping it running until April 2014.[9]
· The Al-Madinah Free School in Derby, which opened in 2012, was inspected in October 2013 when Ofsted found it to be “dysfunctional”.[10] It received the lowest Ofsted rating – “inadequate” – in all categories. Following a series of interventions it was announced in February 2014 that secondary education at the all-through school would stop because of continued concerns about the quality of teaching. This case, and that of the Kings Science Academy in Bradford where major financial irregularities have occurred, highlights the problem of allowing free schools to be run without local oversight or accountability.
· Free schools do not need planning permission during their first year and have been given extra time to win the permanent planning permission required to remain in the building. The Government presents planning regulations as ‘red tape’ yet they ensure that school premises provide a safe and secure environment in which children can learn and staff can work. Furthermore children have the right to suitable school premises providing, for example, outdoor play space, library facilities, a school hall and other facilities accepted as standard in maintained schools.
· Many free schools have opened on former maintained school sites. In these circumstances the academy trust that runs the schools is given the land and buildings at a peppercorn rent on a 125-year lease. This is effectively asset stripping publicly owned land and buildings and giving them to unaccountable free school operators.
· Free schools are undermining the role of democratically elected and accountable local authorities in school place planning. The decision to open a free school is determined centrally by the Education Secretary with scant regard for local views or whether new school places are needed. This is exacerbating the problem of surplus places in some areas while failing to address serious shortages in others.
· England is facing the worst shortage of school places, particularly primary places, for decades (see School Place Crisis fact sheet). This is resulting in overcrowded classrooms, primary schools expanding beyond an optimum size and children travelling further to school.
· The DfE estimates that 348,500 extra school places will be required by September 2015, of which over 90 per cent will be primary.[11]
· The NAO has analysed the projected capacity of the 174 free schools open by 2013. Just 34 per cent of projected places provided are mainstream primary. In addition, 42 free schools have opened in districts with no forecast need. The estimated total capital cost of these schools is at least £241 million out of a projected total of £950 million for mainstream schools.[12]
· The NUT wants the Government to end the free schools’ programme, with no further free schools to be approved and open free schools brought within the same regulatory framework and oversight arrangements as maintained schools. In addition, legal powers to establish new maintained schools and to direct local schools to expand where additional places are needed, should be returned to local authorities.
Produced by the National Union of Teachers
[1] National Audit Office (March 2013), Capital Funding for New School Places, London: The Stationery Office. p. 9. Available: http://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/10089-001_Capital-funding-for-new-school-places.pdf
[2] £4.3bn in capital funding being allocated by the Department to local authorities for new school places in England from £2010-2014 plus £982 million through the Targeted Basic Need Programme, ibid, p. 4 and paragraph 2.8.
[3] Department for Education (10 April 2014), Statistical First Release. School Workforce in England: November 2013, London: Department for Education. p. 6. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/335413/sfr11_2014_updated_july.pdf
[4] Irena Barker (7 August 2014), ‘Free schools not reaching the poorest, study finds’, TES [online]. Available: http://news.tes.co.uk/b/news/2014/08/06/free-schools-open-in-poor-areas-but-intakes-better-off.aspx
[5] National Audit Office (December 2013), Establishing Free Schools, London: The Stationery Office. p. 42. Available: www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/10314-001-Free-Schools-Book.pdf.
[6] Ibid, p. 43.
[7] Based on the most recent figures from Ofsted’s ‘Data View’ (http://dataview.ofsted.gov.uk/) and analysis of Ofsted’s published reports on open free schools (73 as of 9 September 2014, excluding 16-19 free schools).
[8] Based on NUT analysis of Ofsted reports and the number of pupils on roll at the time of inspection.
[9] BBC News (4 April 2014), ‘Discovery New School in Crawley becomes first free school to shut’ [online].
Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-26882509
[10] David Anstead (October 2013), Inspection report: Al-Madinah School, 1–2 October 2013, Ofsted. Available at: http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/inspection-reports/find-inspection-report/provider/ELS/138776
[11] Establishing Free Schools, p. 15.
[12] Ibid, p. 15.