Tory governments spent £325m on free schools that failed or disappeared | Free schools
Conservative governments spent £325 million to create 67 free schools, with many of these schools failing or disappearing due to lack of demand, data revealed by a freedom of information request reveals.
Department for Education (DfE) figures show the government has committed more than £10 billion to building new schools between 2014-15 and 2023-24; In contrast, £6.8 billion was spent on rebuilding existing schools; Critics say this leaves Britain with a pile of crumbling and decaying buildings.
The free schools scheme was launched by education secretary Michael Gove in 2010 under a new formula that allows groups or organizations to bid for funding for new schools that are centrally approved by the DfE.
While some free schools have been successful, such as Michaela community school in inner London, dozens have become “ghost schools” and have been destroyed or destroyed by existing schools and trusts.
Data shows that since 2010, more than £325m of capital funding has been spent on 67 free schools centrally provided by the DfE and then disappeared. Warnings from the National Audit Office It is predicted that 50% of new free school places created between 2015 and 2021 will be overcapacity in their local area.
A government source said: “These staggering figures represent the worst excesses of Tory free schools dogma.
“Instead of rebuilding dilapidated schools and putting special school places where they are desperately needed, the Conservatives have inexcusably prioritized unnecessary free schools, which will subsequently be closed.
“The Labor government has strengthened the foundations of our school system, tackled the forces outside the school gates that are destroying children’s life chances and improved standards in stuck schools.
“We will now reorganize our schools so that children once forgotten by the system are now included so that every child has the chance to succeed, so that they all receive an education that expands, not narrows, their horizons.”
An example of a “ghost school” built as part of the free schools program Waterside Primary Academy in NottinghamIt was built at a cost of £11.5 million to provide 210 places. Due to lack of demand the school will never open and the DfE was forced to pull the plug late last year.
Instead the DfE agreed with Nottingham city council to convert the building into a special school, a satellite of the existing Rosehill special school, to provide more places for children with special educational needs and disabilities (Submit).
A regional analysis shows £55 million was spent on eight free schools in London which were closed or “reorganised”, with one school moving from one academy trust to another. £16 million has been spent on two failing free schools in the West Midlands, while 57 existing schools in the area have been listed under the DfE’s rebuilding programme.
Meg Powell-Chandler, director New Schools NetworkHe argued that the program had “injected new energy” into England’s school system, enabling new thinking and innovation from teachers and leaders.
Powell-Chandler said: “Free schools now outperform other non-selective state schools from soundcheck to A levels, raising standards, expanding choice and improving outcomes for hundreds of thousands of students.
“We call on the government to move forward with 44 major projects that will transform education in many lagging areas and the stalled special and alternative education schools needed to provide vital, high-quality specialist areas.”
In October last year, Bridget Phillipson announced that planning for the 44 schools approved under the scheme would be paused while the government carries out its value for money assessment. A decision regarding their fate is expected to be made soon.
