Free school

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Steve Maguire: Why won’t they engage with the community?

My story concerns the proposal to open a free school in Stoke By Nayland, Suffolk. The group to date refuse to answer any of my questions It must be a right to hear a public debate not merely a privilege. I feel that the lack of response from the free school proposer's in my community is devisive, dismissive and arrogant. ... read more and comment →

3 comments

Latest comment by Steve Maguire: "Just to back up a number of points that have been made. This Facebook exchange appears on the SBNHC facebook page. Ronan Connolly is heading up the free school parents. Ronan Connolly: Hi Everyone. Yesterday we submitted our application ......"

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Allan Beavis: Westminster Adult Education Service left homeless after their premises are handed over to New Primary School

Sadly, more evidence here that the Tories disregard the needs of the majority to pander to the vanity of the few. Adult education is next to be targeted. The Westminster Adult Education Service (WAES), the largest local authority provider of adult education in London and one of the largest nationally, providing Adult Education services for 12,000 people, will be left homeless ... read more and comment →

6 comments

Latest comment by Allan Beavis: "The TES today reports that the situation with WAES is getting no better and that Westminster Council is even considering ending its involvement with the service together and spinning it off as an independent company. In the meantime, they will ......"

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Georgina Sait: Opposing proposed free school

I live in a small market town in Suffolk where we have a very good high school, the county have undergone a programe of closing middle schools which is now in its last couple of years. A group has got together an are proposing a new free school to act as an alternative to the local high school. This free ... read more and comment →

11 comments

Latest comment by Paul Reeve: "http://www.saxmundhamfreeschool.org.uk/ The consultation document from this site makes interesting reading. Some of the advantages to the local community are listed.... The proposed School may create additional career opportunities and/or an enhanced career paths for teachers by making available a greater breadth and depth ......"

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Laura Brown: Bolingbroke Academy (finally) U-turns to include our most deprived primary school as a feeder

In a slightly strange setting for an announcement, ARK have pledged (in the midst of a longer interview with the Evening Standard) that they will include Falconbrook Primary school in Wandsworth as a feeder school for the Bolingbroke Academy that they will sponsor. This is after extensive campaigning by several local groups who were extremely upset that this school has been ... read more and comment →

12 comments

Latest comment by Caz: "Most people are very much in the dark about what free schools and academy schools are actually about. It seems that ARK is behind this one. It is essential to read the Schillings solicitors letters with respect to what Ark ......"

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sarah: First Free School Approved

So Toby Young is to get his way. Two things I noticed about this story. First was one of the comments Toby made. 'My wife often jokes that if I spent the same amount of time on my career as I spend on the school we could afford to send all our children to Eton' - clearly exposing Toby's ... read more and comment →

15 comments

Latest comment by Fiona Millar: "Sarah is right, the capital figures are being very well kept from view. Who is purchasing the site for free schools, how much is the refurbishment/renovation costing and in the cases of schools (like the WLFS) that are opening so ......"

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Fiona Millar: Rivendale School – cracks start to appear in the free school model

We may be starting to see a few cracks appearing in the shiny new free school model.  The proposers of the Rivendale Free School, in West London, have announced that they are withdrawing their bid for a local health centre which they had planned to convert to a new school by September. The reasons for this are two fold - ... read more and comment →

16 comments

Latest comment by Tracy Hannigan: "Rivendale has expressed interest in another local building, 250ish metres from another good one form primary. The building is on a large busy road across the street from Brook Green. The building, previously a school, is too small ......"

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Graham Mellor: Manchester Montessori School

It seems the proposal to establish a Montessori free school in south Manchester is at a fairly early stage. Over the last few weeks there has been the beginnings of a local publicity campaign and they have set up a Google website seeking support . At the moment there is no rationale is provided publicly for the proposal other than ... read more and comment →

8 comments

Latest comment by Ariana Yakas: "I live in the area and all my three children have gone to the local primary schools. The local schools are all excellent schools. I should know as I have been a governor in this area for over ......"

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Marie Faulkner: The West London Free School — a father and daughter’s view

I attended the seminar session last week introducing the new West London Free School. I went along intrigued to know how I would be convinced that this could possibly be a good idea, and was left feeling upset that such a policy is going ahead. Yes, many parents will be impressed with the 'rigorous' idea of secondary education that the school ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by parfum: "Hello there, just became alert to your blog thru Google, and found that it's really informative. I am going to be careful for brussels. I'll appreciate should you proceed this in future. Many other people will probably be benefited out ......"

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Henry Stewart: Would there be any need for free schools if we had sensible admissions policies?

There are moves afoot to set up a new free school in Southwark. The chief complaint about existing provision is that the best schools are faith schools and are over-subscribed. I haven't investigated this in detail yet, but a first thought comes into my head: if there was a sensible admissions system whereby local children went to the local school ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Melissa Benn: "Yes - it's crazy - all these structural 'solutions' to problems that could be remedied in a much simpler - and fairer - way. I really hope Labour under Miliband and Burnham grasps the nettle on this key question...."

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David and Anita Miles: The “new schools” initiative threatens to destabilise the current provision to the disadvantage of all of the local schools

Our local authority is the London Borough of Richmond. Richmond has for the past thirty years operated without sixth form provision in their secondary schools. The sixth form needs are met by Richmond upon Thames College and the neighbouring Esher College which provide a high quality broad range of A level and vocational courses. Richmond also has one of ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Emma Bishton: "'Free schools' are certainly threatening to destablise current provision in Suffolk, too. Suffolk has recently started to restructure from a 3-tier to a 2-tier system; in my (west) part of Suffolk this will be done between 2011 and ......"

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