The New Schools Network, a charity set up by Michael Gove to help deliver free schools, appears to think that free school bidders should either just be given cash directly by government and then allowed to find and negotiate for  own premises or they should be allowed to raise private capital,  presumably in return for delivering a profit – an idea that is always lurking around in the background of the policy.Rachel Wolf, director of the NSN, says: “It is clearly true that if you allow an injection of private capital, you allow new institutions to form.”

I have got a better idea. The money set aside for free schools should now be re-directed towards capital investment in existing school buildings and the creation of new primary places in existing schools where the demand is highest. I believe this would be popular with many schools and parents and it would  save Mr Gove from having quite a lot of egg on his face at the end of this Parliament.