Nursery World - Analysis: Power to the people?

With the first 'free schools' preparing to open next year, debate is raging about their potential impact on communities and education. Karen Faux hears both sides.

So far the application procedure for 'free schools' has 16 contenders going through to the final rounds. The next step is to come up with detailed business and case plans to convince the DfE they are ready to open their doors in September 2011.

In the wake of all the Government's rhetoric about 'hundreds of expressions of interest', the figures highlight that any move to free schools is certainly not going to happen overnight.

But despite this reality check, do free schools represent an insidious threat to an established state education system which continues to strive for inclusiveness and fairness? Or will free schools truly succeed in delivering pupil and parent power, by being independent state schools, run by teachers and answerable to parents?

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