free schools | Schools Week

No council cash for new free schools in Manchester

Manchester City Council is refusing to budget for three of the four free schools due to open in the city this September. From this year, councils have to pay for free schools from the moment they open, even if they are not established as a result of a “basic need” identified by local officials. Free […]

Religious studies allocation scuppers plans for Jewish free school

The government has rejected a bid to open a Jewish free school in London after criticising its plans to dedicate 20 per cent of learning time to faith-based education. The application from Barkai college to open a new five-form entry secondary in north-west London was thrown out by the Department for Education (DfE) after officials […]

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Teachers: The Michaela Way

This book is a pastiche of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. It substitutes matriarchs attempting to create divine children with teachers (at Michaela free school in north London) trying to shape disciplined and erudite scholars. Both rely on the same premise: a strict, no-nonsense and rigorous regime underpinned with fierce competition because the outside […]

Government writes off £800,000 of free school funding

The government has written off £800,000 it was unable to claw back from free schools. Schools Week revealed last month that the DfE needed to claw back £11 million from more than 100 free schools after they failed to recruit the expected numbers of pupils in the past academic year. New free schools are initially […]

Councils must estimate free school pupil numbers under funding change

Local authorities will now have to estimate how many pupils move to certain free schools opening in their area under changes to how the government recoups funding. Under the current system, the government recoups cash that it gives directly to academy and free schools from their council’s dedicated schools grant. If a free school is […]

Half of new special free schools specialise in autism

Autism-specific schools make up almost half of all special needs free schools. The “more complex” requirements of autistic pupils compared with other special needs have led to high exclusion rates and a rising demand for specialised school places, experts told Schools Week. Of the 44 special needs free schools set to open or already opened […]

TIMSS Results? Well, at least the kids are all right. The rest of us however….

While the news headlines have been dominated by how clever (or not) England’s children were revealed to be in this week’s international maths and science league tables, our reporter Jess Staufenberg noticed something different. She noticed that while England’s pupils may not achieve most highly, they nevertheless enjoy school more than children in many high-performing […]

Empty free schools owe government £11m

The government needs to claw back £11 million from more than 100 free schools after they failed to recruit expected numbers of pupils. New free schools are initially funded on anticipated numbers for the upcoming year. The Education Funding Agency (EFA) then reviews how many are on roll at the end of that year and […]

“Unusual” management plan for Parkfield Free School

A troubled free school has an “unusual” interim management structure in place as a takeover looms, although both the school and the government are refusing to take responsibility for setting it up. Three education experts have been called in to join an interim academy board (IAB) at Parkfield school, in Bournemouth, to help to steer […]