Following the General Election, Michael Gove, the coalition Education Secretary quickly set out his priorities for schools.
He confirmed plans for ‘free’ schools and more academies. ‘I believe, nothing is more important to the fairness of our society and the future prosperity of our country than getting education right.’ The coalition government shares an ongoing concern with the previous government that too many children leave primary school every year without meeting basic standards in English or Maths and too few 16-year-olds get five decent GCSEs. ‘So improving literacy, raising pupil’s attainment, extending parental choice, freeing teachers from bureaucracy, improving discipline and closing the widening gap between the richest and the poorest should be our shared goal.’ These are all reasonable aspirations, although begging the question as to the values underpinning the aspirations.
Media attention was overwhelmingly directed towards the ‘free’ schools and soon there was much debate, discussion and print. Assuming that enough of these schools will take off, how significant will they be in the bigger picture? Only time will answer that question. In the meantime, what are these ‘free’ schools?
