"Free schools are proving tremendously popular. Approximately 24,000 pupils already attend free schools and many of those schools are already oversubscribed. Free schools are also more likely to be rated “good” or “outstanding” than other schools inspected under Ofsted’s new framework...." Lord Gove - View Speech
"I would be delighted to meet my hon. Friend and to do everything I can to ensure both that the need for a new school is met and that the concerns across the community that he highlights are properly addressed...." Lord Gove - View Speech
"All free school applications go through a rigorous process that is policed by the Department’s due diligence and counter-extremism unit and will ensure that any inappropriate application that is put forward is not accepted...." Lord Gove - View Speech
"I absolutely do agree. It is important to bear in mind that the All Saints school in Reading was outstanding in every category when it was inspected by Ofsted. I look forward to working with my hon. Friend to ensure that the quality of education that Reading parents enjoy continues …..." Lord Gove - View Speech
"I think it is important that there is a balance—I find myself increasingly in agreement with the hon. Gentleman. There is a role for greater autonomy—exercised by principals, driven by a sense of moral purpose—to improve education. It is also the case that there is a role for local authorities …..." Lord Gove - View Speech
"I do not mind embarrassment personally—[Interruption.] Just as well, some might say. What I do worry about is if any school, anywhere in the country, is not providing the highest quality education for children. One of the striking things about the free schools programme is that not …..." Lord Gove - View Speech
"The architect of the free schools programme was actually Andrew Adonis, not Dominic Cummings, as he himself has said. Free schools were a Labour invention—a point that was repeated by the former Prime Minister Tony Blair when speaking to The Times today. As for the hon. Gentleman’s points about former …..." Lord Gove - View Speech
"Free schools and academies must comply with the school admissions code. The criteria that are used to decide the allocation of school places must be “fair, clear and objective”. Anyone who considers that a school’s admission arrangements do not comply with the code can make an objection to the schools …..." Lord Gove - View Speech
"The adjudicator is already capable of making binding determinations, and has already been clear about the schools—whether they are academies, free schools or other schools—that have not subscribed to the requirements for fair admissions. Let me add, in relation to the broader question of admissions in general, that it is …..." Lord Gove - View Speech