Free schools | LocalGov

Government announces 16 new special free schools

09/05/2024

New schools for 2,000 children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are to open in 16 areas across England.

Seven new special free schools announced

23/08/2023

Seven new special free schools are set to open amid a critical shortage of places for pupils with special educational needs, the Government has announced.

Local authorities to bid for funding for 75 new free schools

10/06/2022

Up to 75 new free schools - including sixth forms, specialist schools and alternative provision - will be created across England.

First 50 schools chosen for £1bn rebuilding programme

05/02/2021

The first 50 schools to receive £1bn funding under the Government's School Rebuilding Programme have been announced.

Thousands of new school spaces for SEND children

20/07/2020

New special free schools will provide over 3,000 extra places for pupils with the most complex needs.

PM announces new wave of free school applications

10/09/2019

The Government has announced the latest round of applications for the controversial free schools programme in an effort to ‘drive up education standards’.

Braverman calls on Government to ‘double down’ on free schools

13/08/2019

Tory MP Suella Braverman has urged the Government to speed up the expansion of free schools which she argues act as ‘drivers of competition and innovation’.

Whitehall approves 22 new free schools

14/06/2019

Bids to create 22 new free schools have been approved, education secretary Damien Hinds has announced.

Whitehall opens two free schools for SEND children

11/01/2019

Children and families minister Nadhim Zahawi has announced the opening of two new free schools to help pupils with complex social, emotional and mental health needs.

Labour pledges to scrap new academies

25/09/2018

Councils would be given control of academies and have new powers to build more schools if Labour were elected, the party conference heard yesterday.

Free schools ‘failing’ to offer innovative approaches to education, study reveals

31/05/2018

Free schools are failing to offer new approaches to education and are not educating enough disadvantaged children, according to researchers.

Labour will invest £13bn to repair ‘deteriorating’ school estate

27/09/2017

Labour will provide local authorities with the £13bn needed to repair the school estate, shadow secretary of state for education tells conference.

Whitehall announces new free school places for SEN pupils

28/07/2017

A total of 19 local authorities have invited applications to sponsor new free schools for children with special needs.

Councils call for greater power to increase first-choice school places

14/06/2017

Local government leaders have renewed demands to be given more power over school admissions following the latest figures on parental choice.

Whitehall’s free schools policy ‘incoherent’ and ‘poor value for money’

26/04/2017

MPs have warned the Government its system for funding new free schools is ‘increasingly incoherent’ and ‘too often poor value for money’.

Councils call for control over where new grammar schools are built

13/04/2017

The Government is due to announce a new wave of grammar schools later today that could be forced to take a quota of pupils from poorer backgrounds.

Over 130 free schools announced in ‘biggest wave’ of Parliament

12/04/2017

The Government today announced the approval of the ‘biggest wave’ of free schools this Parliament.

New public property company to deliver 500 free schools

29/03/2017

The Government yesterday announced the creation of a new public property company which will purchase sites for 500 new free schools.

Budget 2017: Funding for new wave of free schools

08/03/2017

Chancellor Philip Hammond has today confirmed a £320m funding package to build 110 new free schools.

Councils call for oversight of academy finances after string of abuses

26/08/2016

Council chiefs are calling for local oversight of all school finances following a series of abuses by academies and free schools.

Church to open more schools to ‘influence’ education debate

11/07/2016

The Church of England plans to open over 100 schools in the next five years in order ‘enhance’ provision and ‘influence’ debate.

Nearly 2,500 academies not signed up to healthy school meal standards

22/03/2016

A loophole that enables nearly 2,500 academies and free schools avoid signing up to healthy school meal standards must be closed in a forthcoming child obesity strategy, town hall leaders say.

Bradford accused of being in ‘denial’ over illegal schools

04/03/2016

Ofsted has accused a council of being ‘naive’ when it comes to illegal schools which could be operating in its area, the Yorkshire Post reports.

Police commissioners should start free schools for troubled children, home secretary says

05/02/2016

Elected police and crime commissioners should be given new powers to set up free schools for troubled children, according to home secretary Theresa May.

Black hole spending review image

Black hole spending review

Jonathan Werran, chief executive of Localis, reflects on what the Spending Review means for local government.
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