Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many of the 22 new free schools announced by her Department on 5 February 2016 are being sponsored by trusts and chains which currently run schools which have an inadequate Ofsted rating.

Twenty two free school applications were approved as part of Wave 10, which was announced on 5 February 2016. One of the approved applications has a sponsor (South Gloucestershire and Stroud College) which also sponsors The Forest High School, judged by Ofsted to be inadequate in May 2015. However, the inspection was conducted only two months after the trust was asked to take over the academy and since then Ofsted has assessed the academy to be taking effective action towards the removal of special measures. The trust is working in partnership with an outstanding special school to establish the free school.