According to the first independent report on free schools' performance, most free schools are in areas of high rather than low performance, when the programme was supposed to improve access to good-quality school provision in under-performing parts of the country.
The Education Policy Institute's (EPI) Free Schools Report, published today, is based upon data on parental preferences, attainment and progress, inspection outcomes and access measures to assess the effect of the free schools programme since its introduction in 2010.
It finds that free schools are helping to meet the need for new school places, and growth has been higher in areas of ‘basic need’, however they still represent just 2 per cent of all state-funded schools. Two-thirds of areas in England remain outside a ‘reasonable distance’ of either a primary or secondary free school.
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