There is 'little evidence of how free schools will work'

February 02 2011

There is little evidence of how the free schools movement will work, it has been claimed.

John Coe, general secretary of the National Association for Primary Education, said that at the moment we are "being confronted with a lot of rhetoric".

"What we are seeing is the political rhetoric of the first year of a newly elected government which is often modified by the experience they suffer and their advisers in the Department for Education," he explained.

"The free school movement is at the moment strongly a minority movement. The number of approvals is very small, and indeed over the next few years is likely to remain so.

"One must have some thoughts as to why they are pursuing it with such a lot of publicity and I think it is related to their stronger political objective of a policy of which we have more evidence and can comment on more decisively, that we are engaged in the government's attack on local authorities in education."

Mr Coe said he sees education as a three-sided relationship with partners and suggested that removing local authorities from the equation will upset the balance.

Education secretary Michael Gove revealed last week that eight free school proposals have now entered the pre-opening stage.

He made the announcement at the UK's first ever free schools conference, which was attended by over 400 people.

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