Beccles free school

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David Fitzsimmons: An unnecessary Free School in an AONB in Devon

Route 39: A “not so free” school arrives with a negative impact on pupils already in local schools. On Tuesday afternoon of the February half-term holiday I was in school. As a result of predicted falling rolls I was working on draft paperwork for staffing redundancies to wipe out a predicted £115,000 deficit at the end of the 2013/4 financial year. ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Dawn Robinson-Walsh: "Good news about the planning decision Restores some faith in local democracy and common sense. I was frankly appalled by the response I had from DfE re this whole Route 39 situation (which they say is near to reaching ......"

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Janet Downs: Free Schools and Academy Trusts change advertising after ASA steps in

“Legal, decent, honest and truthful” – that’s what marketing is supposed to be. And you’d expect schools to make sure their marketing reached these standards. But 43 objections about marketing from educational establishments were informally-resolved by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) after the organisations agreed to amend or withdraw advertising following complaints in 2012. The 43 rulings covered driving schools, distance learning, ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Martin Campbell: "The first black mark of 2013 goes to Seckford Foundation Free Schools Trust for a second misleading ad. Two complaints about two different misleading statements in the ad were upheld in an ASA ruling this week. http://www.localschoolsnetwork.org.uk/2013/01/asa-censures-seckford-over-second-misleading-ad/ The excellent Educating Brentwood blog ......"

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Janet Downs: “Managing potential over-supply” will create more headaches for LAs than providing more school places, says DfE/LAG report

Local Authorities (LAs) have a statutory duty to manage a potential surplus of schools places but managing this possible over-supply is a source of great anxiety, says a report commissioned by the Department for Education (DfE) and the Local Government Association (LGA). The ability of LAs to manage the number of school places locally is hampered by Government policy which encourages ... read more and comment →

31 comments

Latest comment by agov: "But Sarah was making quite a specific point about the supply of school places and their cost. Is there any other area of government where you think it's a good idea to throw money like confetti and wait to see what ......"

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Janet Downs: Controversy surrounds new free schools

It appears that Beccles Free School is not the only one dogged by controversy. In August, the Guardian revealed how the DfE pressurised a council to “release” part of a playing field belonging to the closed Woolston High School for the King’s Leadership Academy, Woolston. The closed school was earmarked for special schools and the field is used by sports ... read more and comment →

11 comments

Latest comment by Tubby Isaacs: "" The government predicted between 5000 and 13,000 per annum . The outturn was >250,000 per annum. Being wrong on that scale is par for the course for bureaucrats sadly." Oh really? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-21682810 "In the end, of the 15 prior member states only ......"

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Janet Downs: Gove celebrates opening of free school which was not wanted by locals

Michael Gove told the House that the opening of a new free school in Beccles was cause for celebration. The 2773 people in Beccles who signed a petition against the free school will not appreciate Gove’s arrogant belief that riding roughshod over their wishes is something to rejoice about.  And neither will the Tory MP, Peter Aldous, when election time arrives in ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Janet Downs: "The link to the Beccles staff list still isn't working. However, anyone wanting to read the list should copy the whole link (including .pdf) and paste into address bar...."

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Janet Downs: Government pulls plug on free school days before opening

Bradford based One-in-a-Million free school will not open as planned this month. The Government has cited low enrolment figures as the reason. The proposed 11-18 secondary school, sited in Bradford City football ground, only attracted 30 pupils instead of the 50 needed for its initial intake. The school planned to cater for just 350 pupils when all year groups were filled. The ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Janet Downs: "And Adonis is still at it. In the Standard he writes about how London schools have become the nation's best. According to him it's all to do with sponsored academies, Teach First and free schools. He gives ......"

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Janet Downs: Consultation shows majority were not in favour of free school – but it goes ahead anyway

“A majority of people who responded to the public consultation did not support the proposal that The Seckford Foundation Free Schools Trust should govern Beccles Free School on behalf of the Department for Education.” So said the Consultation Report sent to the DfE. Cambridge Education, who ran the Consultation, said it was “aware of a separate petition running in parallel with ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by THE WORLD IS BACK TO FRONT | Jasper Bouverie: "[...] experience of the Beccles Free School and the associated public consultation would seem to suggest that this is possible. Even the local MP was against it but the project went [...]..."

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Janet Downs: Free school causes problems for established secondary

Beccles Free School, which has been given approval by the Department for Education (DfE) to open in 2012, is already causing problems for a nearby academy – the only other secondary school in the area. Sir John Leman High, in the small market town of Beccles, Suffolk, has been planning for scheduled expansion for years. It was expecting to take ... read more and comment →

58 comments

Latest comment by James Hargrave: "The numbers at Sir John Leman are expected to be lower due to Pakefield. Nobody is concerned about this it was planned for. The school can cope with this. The "fact" you quote that "less and less people are choosing ......"

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