Free Schools were the flagship policy of the Conservatives in the lead-up to the last general election, they are government funded schools but free of local authority control. They can be set-up by interested parent groups, teachers, charities, local interest groups and local businesses and are free to set their own curriculum hire their own staff and set their own hours and term dates.
24 new Free Schools opened at the start of this academic year, including the high profile West London Free School spearheaded by writer and journalist Toby Young. In his regular blog in the Telegraph yesterday he said that the announcement was “Fantastic news”.
“One of the constraints on the number of Free Schools likely to be set up in this Parliament” he said, “is the lack of funding available, given that the Department for Education's overall budget is due to be cut by 14.3% between 10/11 and 15/16. Now, thanks to the Chancellor, it looks as though there'll be 100 more Free Schools than expected.”
“Given how little there will be to celebrate at the end of this Parliament,” he concluded “Free Schools will be one of the few successes the Conservatives can point to in the general election campaign.”
Mr Osborne also announced that the new schools will include new Maths Free Schools for 16-18 year olds.
“This will give our most talented young mathematicians the chance to flourish”, Mr Osborne said. “these Maths Free Schools are exactly what Britain needs to match our competitors – and produce more of the engineering and science graduates so important for our longer term economic success.”
Like other state-funded schools, Free Schools are inspected by Ofsted, will have their exam and test results published and will have to teach a broad curriculum. Action will be taken if results slip or teaching isn’t up to scratch. Free Schools also have to abide by the same rules for pupil admissions as other schools.
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