Free Schools: Reviews

(asked on 30th June 2025) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent progress her Department has made on the Mainstream Schools Review; and when she expects to announce the outcome.


Answered by
Stephen Morgan Portrait
Stephen Morgan
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This question was answered on 10th July 2025

The review has focused on ensuring that government funding is targeted where it is most needed. In the past, a significant proportion of spending on free schools has created surplus capacity, resulting in subsequent closure of new schools. Some of that funding could have been put to better use by improving the deteriorating condition of our existing schools and colleges.

The department understands that trusts and local authorities want to have certainty about their projects as soon as possible. We will provide an update on next steps to trusts and local authorities in due course.

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