There has been no change to the department\u2019s policy regarding the types of school that can open as part of the free schools programme.<\/p>
In the most recent application waves, the department approved 15 mainstream free schools, two of which were new universal technical colleges (UTC), 41 special free schools and 20 alternative provision (AP) schools. My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, also announced a further wave of 15 special free schools as part of the Spring Budget.<\/p>
<\/p>
Since the programme started in 2010, the department has opened 701 free schools, made up of 542 mainstream schools, 51 AP schools, 108 special schools (125 of which are local authority presumption free schools and seven of which are specialist maths schools), 44 UTCs and 20 Studio schools. These schools will provide over 405,000 places at capacity, thereby helping to ensure that children and young people have access to a good quality school place in a range of different settings across the country. Overall, since 2010 the department has supported the creation of nearly 1.2 million new school places via various routes including opening new free schools.<\/p>
<\/p>
Local authorities are often named in an application for a free school as part of the process to identify a site for the proposed school. It can also help the department to understand the local context of the application and whether there is a need for that type of school in the area.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3969", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Damian Hinds"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "East Hampshire"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Damian Hinds"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2024-04-29", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2024-04-29T13:22:31.047Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2024-04-12", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Free Schools"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, on what date it became her Department's policy that free schools should only be (a) university technical colleges and (b) studio schools; for what reason this is her Department's policy; and for what reason local authorities have to be named in a bid to open an academy.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4129", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Ian Paisley"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "North Antrim"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Ian Paisley"} ], "uin" : "21033"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1694980", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1694980/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The department publishes information about open free schools, including the date they opened. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/open-academies-and-academy-projects-in-development<\/a>.<\/p> <\/p> On the Get Information about Schools site, it is possible, by using the filter of \u2018free schools\u2019 and \u2018closed\u2019 in a search function, to bring up a list of all free schools that are now closed. The site is available at: https://www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/Search?SelectedTab=Establishments<\/a>.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3969", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Damian Hinds"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "East Hampshire"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Damian Hinds"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2024-03-19", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2024-03-19T17:50:40.567Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2024-03-11", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Free Schools"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will list the free schools that have opened since 2011 by (a) type of school, (b) opening date and (c) closing date.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/111", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Nick Gibb"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Bognor Regis and Littlehampton"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Nick Gibb"}
], "uin" : "17768"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1693380", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1693380/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " The department publishes information about open free schools, including the date they opened. This information is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/open-academies-and-academy-projects-in-development<\/a>.<\/p> The attached table provides the number of free schools opened each year from 2011 to 2023. This includes primary, secondary, all through and 16-19 age ranges of the following types of free schools: mainstream free schools, alternative provision free schools, special free schools and specialist maths schools. University technical colleges and Studio schools have been listed separately.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3969", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Damian Hinds"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "East Hampshire"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Damian Hinds"}
, "attachment" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1693380/answer/attachment/1", "fileName" : {"_value" : "16584_table_attachment - due 08.03.xlsx"}
, "title" : "16584_table_attachment"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2024-03-12", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2024-03-12T17:27:43.543Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2024-03-04", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Free Schools"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many free schools were opened in each year from 2011 to 2023.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/111", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Nick Gibb"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Bognor Regis and Littlehampton"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Nick Gibb"}
], "uin" : "16584"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1471125", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1471125/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.<\/p> There are 613 open free schools which, based on the latest Ofsted judgements, will create more than 155,000 good and outstanding school places for children when at full capacity. Mainstream primary and secondary free schools are more likely to be rated good or outstanding by Ofsted than state-funded mainstream schools nationally and all open 16 to 19 free schools with an Ofsted judgement are good or outstanding.<\/p> The free schools programme remains an important part of the department\u2019s plan to level up standards and respond where there is need for more school places.<\/p> The department launched a further round of free school applications on 10 June 2022 covering mainstream, special, and alternative provision free schools. The mainstream wave is seeking to approve free schools where there is the greatest need for new school places, prioritising proposals in Education Investment Areas. This will include a targeted number of new academic 16 to 19 free schools to help talented children from disadvantaged backgrounds get to leading universities.<\/p>