Supporting evidence-based policymaking
Andrew Carter explains how new guidance will help councils decide what services should be prioritised in the wake of swinging cuts.
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. |
This issue of Local Government News explores how councils can tackle modern slavery and trafficking in their supply chains, finds out more about Cambridge's first cohousing scheme and the launch of a new project to build a shared service pattern library for local government.
This issue also contains a special focus on children's services and how councils are protecting children following local safeguarding children boards being abolished.
