As has been brought to light elsewhere in this forum, the main evidence/argument for the creation of a free school is the parent petition. In fact it seems the DfE is not even bothered about seeing the petition as simply there mere mention of one can get your FS application beyond Stage 2.
So what happens when a group obtains the required signatures that 'prove' desire for a FS but another group does not see eye to eye with those who obtained the signatures? Now, the work has been done to prove desire and the signatures provide the 'proof'. So surely any group could then use this same petition to make their own application in the same community?
Not in the Inner Circle of current application, launch your own! Don't agree with faith issues? Start your own application! Think the school should be located in a different spot? Form a counter group.
Once a petition has been generated, what's to stop dozens of competing groups from entering an application? Perhaps the ensuing quagmire of competition might stall or destroy the FS process altogether.
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Meanwhile, the local authority is trying to allocate children to established schools but nobody knows if there’ll be another school, or schools, somewhere in the area (sites unknown) offering unknown curricula with unknown staff.
If this school and other free schools look like materialising into reality then significant opposition will be guaranteed!
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