What are Free Schools?
Free Schools will be set up by a wide range of proposers, including charities, universities, businesses, educational groups, teachers and groups of parents, in response to parental demand, to improve choice and drive up standards for all young people, regardless of their background. Free Schools will provide an inclusive education to young people of all abilities, from all backgrounds, and will be clearly accountable for the outcomes they deliver.
These new schools will have the same legal requirements as academies and enjoy the same freedoms and flexibilities to help them deliver an excellent education and drive up standards in our schools across the country, particularly in disadvantaged areas. These freedoms include
- the ability to set their own pay and conditions for staff
- greater control of their budget
- freedom from following the National Curriculum
- freedom to change the length of terms and school days
- freedom from local authority control.
Like academies, they will be funded on a comparable basis to other state-funded schools and will not be profit making.
Who can set up a Free School?
A Free School could be set up by any suitable proposer, where there is evidence of parental demand such as a petition or declaration from interested parents. This could include one or more of the following groups:
- charities
- academy sponsors
- universities
- independent schools
- community and faith groups
- teachers
- parents
- businesses.
The Secretary of State will consider each proposal on its merits, and take into account all matters relevant to that proposal. Generally, he would expect that all proposals will comply with all aspects of the rigorous suitability and vetting tests throughout the application process, including due diligence and CRB checks and will reject any proposers who advocate violence, intolerance, hatred or whose ideology runs counter to the UK’s democratic values.
On 18 June 2010, The Secretary of State for Education, the Rt Hon Michael Gove, unveiled the first major step towards the first Free Schools by inviting groups interested in setting up a new school to come forward and start developing their proposals.
Free Schools are all-ability state-funded schools set up in response to parental demand. The most important element of a great education is the quality of teaching and Free Schools will enable excellent teachers to create schools and improve standards for all children, regardless of their background.
Under the new plans it will become much easier for charities, universities, businesses, educational groups, teachers and groups of parents to get involved and start new schools. Ministers are working right across Government to remove the red tape which can prevent new schools from setting up from planning laws, to the Department’s own school premises rules.
For those interested in having a new school in their area, but without the time or experience to set one up, there will be advice available from the New Schools Network, an independent charity. The New Schools Network can also link them with more experienced groups and other parents to help make a new school a reality.
As part of this process announced by ministers, the Department will work with a range of different groups who want to join this first wave of Free Schools. By working with these early groups, the Department will support them to iron out any difficulties they face, and develop the models for the development of future Free Schools. We expect the first of these schools to be able to open in September 2011.
These new schools will enjoy the same freedoms as academies, which are publicly funded independent schools, free from local authority control. Other freedoms include setting their own pay and conditions for staff, freedom from following the National Curriculum and the ability to change the lengths of their terms and school days. All Free Schools will be accountable like other state schools via inspections and tests.
Any groups interested in establishing a new Free School should contact the New Schools Network to discuss their ideas before filling out a proposal form.
The Secretary of State for Education has also written to all local authorities setting out the Department's new policy on Free Schools.
Setting up a Free School
There are four stages that proposers (groups wanting to set up a Free School) need to follow, outlined in the diagram and explained in more detail below.
For proposers without experience in making such applications, advice will be available to make sure they are not disadvantaged at any point in the process.
Stage 1 – preparation
All proposers interested in setting up a Free School should contact the New Schools Network to discuss their ideas.
http://newschoolsnetwork.org/get-involved/register
The New Schools Network is working on the behalf of the Department, acting as the first point of contact for all groups wanting to set up a Free School. It will provide information and advice on setting up a new school, and help groups through the process.
Stage 2 – proposal
Proposers complete a form asking them to set out
- the aims and objectives of the new school
- the main people and organisations involved in the project
- evidence of parental demand (e.g. a petition)
- possible premises that have been considered.
The proposal form is available to download here.
Any groups having difficultly filling out the proposal form should contact the New Schools Network who will be able to offer advice.
Completed forms should be submitted to the Department by emailing them to
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
After submitting a form, proposers can expect to receive their first contact from the Department within two weeks with advice on how best to progress their application.
The Secretary of State will make a judgement on the potential of the project – based on criteria relating to educational aims and objectives, evidence of demand, potential premises and suitability of provider – to decide whether the proposed Free School project should move into stage 3.
All proposals will be published on the Department’s website.
Stage 3 – full business case and plan
Proposers will make a fully detailed business case for the new school and set out the plan to open and operate the school. This will need to include
- a detailed statement of educational aims and curriculum
- final details of the key people and organisations that will be involved in the running of the school
- full evidence that there is demand for the school and that it will be financially viable over a minimum five-year period
- evidence that the school will meet all required standards (including the Independent School Standards and the Admissions Code) and a commitment to conduct national tests where appropriate
- the name of the DfE project lead
- details of proposed premises and a full business case for the public value of all start-up costs
- financial projections for operating the school on an ongoing basis.
More detail on what is required in a business case and plan will be published in due course.
Projects will be supported by a named official from the Department. An assessment of the support the individual project needs will be made, working with the proposer. Depending on the individual project, this could include help to bring appropriate partners on board, support to develop the educational aims and objectives in more detail or project management support to drive the proposals forward,.
The Secretary of State will make an assessment based on this final business case on whether the project has met all the criteria to allow a new school to be set up and receive state funding.
Stage 4 – Pre-opening
Proposers will sign a funding agreement contract with the Department to trigger the release of potential start-up funding. The school will need to set up new financial systems and contractual arrangements, completing registrations and ensuring that all Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks are carried out as necessary. The Department will support the school to ensure all legal documents are completed relating to governance, land transfer and company registration.
Length of time to set up a Free School
The length of the process will vary depending on the level of preparation and expertise of the proposers wanting to set up the new school and also the complexity of the issues associated with their particular project. The first wave of Free Schools will allow us to work through common issues and the details of the policy and process to help those schools coming into the programme in the future. We expect the first Free Schools to open in September 2011.
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