Ministers have U-turned on plans to cancel three primary free schools after receiving “compelling new evidence” of why they are needed.
Just before Christmas, the government said it was “minded to cancel” 28 mainstream free school projects following a review into whether they offered value for money. Trusts and councils were able to appeal against the decision.
Roger Ward, chief executive at Melrose Learning Trust, said he was “buzzing” that St Joseph’s Primary School in Hartlepool will now go ahead following a local campaign.
“The nearest school for some pupils would have been four miles away and others are oversubscribed,” Ward said.
“There have been 2,600 new houses and there is potential for that to rise to 9,800 by 2040, so that’s what we based our appeal on.”
John Townsley, chief executive at The Gorse Academies Trust, said there was “clear need for a high-quality school to be created in an area of significant new house building” in Leeds.
The Terry Elliott Academy, named after a long-serving former chair of the trust, will go ahead.
Also approved for the pre-opening phase is New House Farm Primary School, run by the Derby Diocesan Academy Trust.
The DfE said it decided to continue with these projects “due to compelling new evidence submitted” on the need for places.
Meg Powell-Chandler, director of the New Schools Network, welcomed the news but added that “greater clarity on how these, and previous, decisions have been made would be welcome”.
The DfE confirmed that 12 schools are cancelled, while 13 remain in the “minded to cancel” stage. Nineteen are planned to open.
Meanwhile, six councils with cancelled special free schools are trying to overturn DfE’s decision.
Westmoreland and Furness said some children with profound and multiple learning disabilities were travelling 120 miles a day.
The other councils are Buckinghamshire, Herefordshire, Newham, Nottinghamshire and Solihull.
Thirty-four special or alternative provision schools will go ahead, after councils were given a choice to build the provision or cancel it to receive alternative funding.
Twenty-seven councils will receive this funding over two years, instead of three. The DfE said this was because of an urgent need for more specialist places.
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