18 June 2010
The government today announced £50m of capital funding to help parents, teachers and private bodies set up free schools – one of the coalition’s major policies.
Education Secretary Michael Gove also published detailed guidelines for anyone seeking to set up a school independent of their local education authority.
The £50m will form a Standards and Diversity Fund, to ensure a variety of provision in the sector, and has been re-allocated from the abolished Harnessing Technology Grant, which was reserved for school IT projects.
Organisations or individuals looking to establish new schools will be able to apply for the money to pay for start-up costs such as converting or adapting premises.
Funding will be available only up to the end of March 2011. What happens after that will become clear only after the autumn Comprehensive Spending Review. However, Public Finance understands that future capital costs are likely to be paid for through Whitehall departmental budgets.
Gove also announced that he would relax planning rules to make it easier to set up new schools. His reforms will allow schools to be set up in commercial properties or homes without the need for ‘change of use’ consent to be granted by the local council.
In addition, the secretary of state has promised to update guidelines for local planning authorities to ensure there is a ‘presumption in favour’ of setting up new schools. Councils will also be given more powers to preserve school sites to ensure they can be used by new school operators.
Despite the apparent reduction in council autonomy over local education policy, Gove has reassured local authorities that they will still have a central function in education.
In an open letter to council leaders published this month, Gove said he wanted councils ‘to have a strong strategic role working with schools to drive up standards’.
He also said he wanted to see councils ‘supporting schools who want to work together to share expertise, and promoting the spread of innovation’.
The Local Government Association has expressed concern that a boom in independent state schools could lead to inequalities developing in the school system.
