‘Nightmare before Christmas’: 46 free school projects scrapped and 58 special schools in limbo

Twenty-eight mainstream and 18 special free school projects face the axe, with 58 more specialist settings thrown into limbo after a year-long government review.

The Department for Education has confirmed around two thirds of 44 mainstream free school plans that were placed under review when Labour entered government last year are now set to be dropped.

Meanwhile, just 15 out of 92 planned special and alternative provision (AP) free schools are definitely going ahead.

Councils will be given the choice on whether to proceed with another 58 specialist projects, or receive per-pupil cash to create places in existing schools.

Eighteen special schools planned under the free schools programme will definitely be scrapped, with funding diverted to local authorities.

Councils have welcomed the news, but school leaders have slammed ministers for the decision amid a chronic shortage of special school places.

Warren Carratt, CEO of Nexus Multi-Academy Trust which runs 19 special schools, described the news as “the nightmare before Christmas” for the specialist sector.

He blasted the decision to allow councils “the chance to cut and run with the money earmarked for these schools”.

Free school plans scrapped

Last year, the government paused plans for 44 new mainstream free schools – a flagship policy of the previous government – after launching a review into whether they offered value for money.

Today, the government confirmed just 16 of the projects will proceed, with 28 moving into the “minded to cancel” phase. Trusts and councils can appeal this decision.

Scrapping the projects is estimated to save the government around £600 million. The DfE said its decision would help “prioritise investment in specialist places”.

Among those facing cancellation is Perranporth Academy – a planned secondary school in Cornwall, whose website still says it is “opening autumn 2026”. 

The academy was going to be a “flagship” school for inclusive education, with a purpose-built “SEND hub” and resource base – something the Labour government is pushing for more of. 

 CEO Dr Jenny Blunden said the trust was “really disappointed”.

‘Huge amount of money to waste’

“We have huge numbers of housing needing to be built and short-term decision making by this government that will mean Cornish children will be worse off as a result of this.

Plans were “ready to go” when projects were paused last summer. 

“There had been a huge amount of money spent on feasibility study…that is essentially government money that has gone completely to waste.”

Among the projects reviewed were three selective sixth forms in Dudley, Oldham and Middlesbrough proposed by Eton College and Star Academies. The Middlesbrough project will now not proceed.

Sir Hamid Patel CBE, chief executive of Star Academies, said the trust was “delighted” three of its five free school projects have been confirmed, and understood “the rationale for not progressing the other two projects”. 

The government had faced growing calls to reveal its plans, including from the New Schools Network, a charity that supports and lobbies for free schools.

Its director Meg Powell-Chandler said the organisation “regret[s] the decision to cancel a number of projects, and remain concerned that uncertainty persists for 77 vital special and AP free school proposals that would provide much-needed, high-quality specialist places.”

Councils given say over special schools

Councils will be able to decide whether to carry on with plans to build the 58 special and AP free schools now in limbo or receive cash to create places. For the 18 cancelled specialist free schools, which were at an early stage with no trust approved, they will automatically receive money. 

The DfE says this would help accommodate children “often more quickly” than waiting for free schools to be built, as it can take years to open new schools. 

Carratt questioned the government’s focus on placing SEND pupils in mainstream schools “when special schools up and down the country are at breaking point”.

Several of those schools in limbo are in “safety valve” areas – where councils sign multimillion pound bailout deals for sweeping SEND reforms.

The DfE’s own data revealed that about two thirds of special schools are over capacity.

The department said it would deliver on all 10,000 places “in all areas” that were due to be created by the planned special free schools.

Councils welcome move

Amanda Hopgood, of the Local Government Association, welcomed the news special schools “will be funded or councils will be given money to develop their own provision”.

The DfE has also confirmed £3 billion in funding over four years for councils to create more specialist places – in special or mainstream schools – from next financial year. This is on top of £740 million for this financial year.

Applications will also open in the new year for a further 250 rebuilding projects. 

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “This additional investment should mean that, in time, more children and young people receive the provision and education that they need and deserve.

But he said investment in buildings are “only one part of the picture”, adding government must ensure there are “sufficient teachers and leaders with the right level of specialist training”.

The mainstream free schools

The special and AP free schools