Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether it is his policy to allow existing selective schools to open new sites; and whether the Selective School Expansion Fund can be used to fund school expansion onto new sites.

The Department obtains legal advice as appropriate on new policy and its application to individual cases. The Education Act 1996, defines a school as an educational institution which is outside the further education sector and the higher education sector and is an institution for providing primary education, secondary education, or both primary and secondary education. Legislation permits all categories of schools to expand onto additional sites.

The selective schools expansion fund application guidance sets out that bids for expansions onto an additional site are permitted. The guidance highlights that the establishment of new selective schools is unlawful and that the Department must be confident that satellite proposals are genuine expansions and would not constitute new schools. This guidance can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/779310/Selective_schools_expansion_fund_-_Information_for_applicants.pdf.

A new school can be established by following the relevant processes and legislation as published on GOV.UK as below.

Opening and closing maintained schools: Statutory guidance for proposers and decision-makers can be found here:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/756328/Opening_and_Closing_maintained_schools_Guidance.pdf.

School Organisation (Establishment and discontinuance of schools) Regulations 2013 can be found here: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/3109/contents/made.

Collected guidance on opening a free school or mathematics school can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/opening-a-free-school.

The free school presumption: Departmental advice for local authorities and new school proposers can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/706171/Academy_and_free_school_presumption_departmental_advice.pdf.