No Profit-Making for Free Schools

Monday 5th September 2011

In a move against the Tory Education Secretary Michael Gove plans for free schools, Nick Clegg is set to rule out the potential for the Government’s new schools being allowed to make a profit to prevent them becoming "the preserve of the privilaged few".

The free schools policy has been championed by Michael Gove who has said that it did not need profit ’at the moment’, and that free schools were intended to improve social mobility, promote higher standards, and better chances for children in some of the most deprived areas in the country. The Deputy Prime Minister will say that the schools will be incentivised to attract under-privileged pupils, and will be set up in areas of high deprivation, or locations where there is a shortage of school places. Free schools are state-funded but can be run by charities, organisations or even groups of parents. By not allowing them to make a profit he is making sure that the schools will be accessible to all children.

The Press Association reports that the first 24 free schools are planning to open within the next month and the next wave of free schools will be decided upon in the next few weeks. The Department for Education said that 15 of the new free schools were oversubscribed for their first year and that half of them are located in the 30% most deprived communities.