Free Schools in England set for extra £600M
As of 1st November 2011 there are 1,419 academies open in England. I expect that this figure will continue to rise over the next year. A model also being encouraged by the Government is the 'Free School' model. Free Schools can be set up by groups of people such as parents, teachers and religious groups. They will be established as academies. The Department for Education said that it received 323 applications by groups to set up a Free School in the first round. For further details about Free Schools see the link to a BBC news report below.
Education Bill receives Royal Assent
The Education Bill is now the Education Act after receiving Royal Assent on the 15th November 2011. It makes changes to many areas of educational policy including reforms to the procedure for the establishment of new schools, to give preference to Academies and Free Schools.
In respect of Academies the Education Act builds on the Academies Act 2010 and provides provisions that appear to make it easier for schools to convert to an Academy, for example:
- The need for secondary level academies to have a specialism in a specific subject area has been removed
- '16-19 academies' and 'alternative provisions academies' have been created
- It provides that the Local Authority is not prohibited from providing an Academy with assistance, financially or otherwise, which will assist those schools with PFI contracts who wish to convert
- A federated school can now convert to an Academy without the agreement of the whole federated body
For further information about the Education Bill and Academies see the Department for Education link below.
