The coalition government’s encouragement of an increase in the number of free schools has proved to be a decisive issue. Critics of the government’s plans to approve or open over five hundred new free schools by 2020 are concerned that the schools offer places in areas where they are least needed and that they are divisive, likely to weaken already neighbouring schools by selecting their best performing students. On the other hand, celebrators of free schools argue that schools are open as a result of direct demand for them, and that they are improving results across the board. So, what are free schools?
Free schools in England are drawing on the successes and experience of similar programmes in the US and Sweden.
A free school can be set up by an organisation, or a group of individuals (for example, a faith group, a charity, a group of parents) and is funded by the local government but is not controlled by the local authority.
Free schools are ‘all-ability’ schools, which means that they are not permitted to use academic selection processes such as the 11+ examination for grammar schools.
There are currently over 400 schools open or approved (with nearly 50% of these based in London and the South East), and the Conservative government are aiming to approve another 500+ schools by 2020.
Free schools (established as academies) are exempt from teaching the National Curriculum, and they also have increased control over teachers’ pay and conditions as well as the length of school terms and days.
Free schools are subject to Ofsted inspections, just as other schools are, to ensure that their pupils are receiving the best education possible in the best environments.
Free schools do not need to employ “qualified” teachers in the traditional sense, but can hire those with more hands-on experience (for example, a professional musician and music enthusiast as opposed to a qualified music teacher).
Free schools are non-profit making.
As all free schools represent a response to a specific demand in a community, policies and curriculums are unique to each school; it is impossible to make a generalisation of what free schools aim for (aside from student success, safety and satisfaction). Instead, a closer look at a couple of particular free schools is useful to gauge an idea of what free schools can offer.
One successful free school is the West London Free School, founded by Toby Young and opened in 2011. West London Free School, bases in Hammersmith in London, is open to girls and boys between 11-18 and aims to become one of the top schools for academic excellence and instilling world-beating ambition regardless of pupils’ backgrounds. The school has extremely high aspirations with an emphasis on academic attainment, and very strict discipline.
The school’s curriculum (for the full curriculum, please follow this link) is designed to be Classical and Liberal; a rigorous, knowledge-based curriculum designed to teach children the most important work in the humanities and the sciences. Students will study compulsory Latin until the age of 14, and is also a music specialist school. The West London Free School sets aside 12 places per year for pupils who have a particular aptitude for music; no prior musical experience is needed as the assessment is based on pitch perception, rhythm and pulse. The West London Free School has high hopes for its pupils, aiming for 100% of pupils to pass at least 8 GCSEs at grade C or above, and encouraging every child to stay at the school for Sixth Form study. There are 120 places available at the school each year, and competition for a place is increasingly high due to the school’s rigorous and strict teaching style.
Another London-based free school is ARK Conway Primary Academy in Acton which also opened in 2011. The school prides itself on being non-denominational and non-selective, open to all pupils regardless of academic ability from local neighbourhoods. ARK Conway’s aims and core values are: aspiration (everyone can succeed); respect (mindfulness of the needs and feelings of others); perseverance (never giving up when things seem hard); honesty; and happiness (aiming to find joy and pleasure in learning).
ARK Conway is one such free school which is proving the fears of critics wrong. In its 2013 Ofsted inspections, just two years after opening as a school, ARK Conway received ‘Outstanding’ grades in every category, with the inspector saying that “all pupils make rapid progress and achieve highly, particularly in learning to read and write, and in their understanding and application of mathematics”.
As the majority of these schools have only been open for a short time, it is difficult to draw conclusions as to whether they have long-lasting promise for their pupils or whether they will falter and slowly disappear. Concern over “unqualified” teachers and a free reign over the curriculum and teaching hours is legitimate, particularly when there are instances of recently opened free schools being deemed “unsatisfactory” and shutting their doors. When the risk is so high – as it is with any new system, particularly those based in education – taking the decision to apply for a place in a free school is a risky one.
Yet, it must also be considered that the risk may well pay off. Over 70% of inspected free schools have been rated good or outstanding by Ofsted and, in a recent report by Policy Exchange, free schools were said to have aided the substantial improvement in results of neighbouring lowest-performing schools. Furthermore, the report also explicitly stated that the free schools programme is raising education standards across the board. The aforementioned ARK Conway Primary Academy, for example, achieved the best Key Stage 1 results in England in 2014, ahead of even the top private schools. Similarly, the London Academy of Excellence in Newham had five students accepted into Oxford and Cambridge and 72 into Russell Group universities.
However, despite many parents favouring the strict rules of certain free schools, and embracing the rigorous curriculums, there are others who are turning away from them. As much as strictness and exam-focused schooling can garner the highest results, it is also unfortunately true that by doing so, pupils are – from an incredibly young age – placed under immense stress. Free schools, in an attempt to prove their worth, are pushing students to their limits lest they risk flailing behind in results tables and being labeled a failure or “not worth it”.
One of the other major concerns surrounding free schools are that they supposedly open in the least-deprived areas and are therefore able to accept the highest achieving applicants (thereby increasing the chances of top school results). However, free schools can only open and be approved when there is proof of sufficient demand from local residents. Furthermore, it has been shown that these types of schools are over 8 times more likely to be located in the most deprived local authorities than they are in the least deprived. Free schools offer one answer to the issue of overcrowded schools and oversized classes. When full, the free schools will provide an extra 200,000 new school places to those that exist already and will be opened in areas as a direct response to the need for a new school. The coming few years will be crucial in determining the fate of free schools; will they prove to be innovative and successful and herald a new dawn of education, or will they fall flat and fail to live up to their promises and aims?
What are your thoughts on free schools? Would you be happy to send your children to one? Do let us know!
Websites Consulted
Gov.UK: What are free schools?
BBC Article: What is the rationale behind free schools?
Guardian article: Should the free schools programme be extended?
Guardian article: David Cameron pledges to open more free schools
Guardian article: Do free schools work?
Telegraph: Why 500 new free schools is good for England
Politics.co.uk: Do free schools raise standards?
Policy Exchange report on free schools
The West London Free School website
ARK Conway Primary Academy website
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