NASUWT: Free schools a 'costly and unnecessary experiment'
Thursday, 1 September 2011 2:37 PM
Commenting on the opening of 24 new free schools, Patrick Roach, Deputy General Secretary of the NASUWT, the largest teachers’ union,
said the following.
“We are on the side of parents and public who are opposed to free schools.
“Free schools are a costly and unnecessary experiment in children’s education that provides no guarantees to parents or to children and young people.
“There is no guarantee about the curriculum that will be provided in these schools or that pupils will in future be taught by qualified teachers.
“There is no guarantee that free schools will raise standards of education.
“The evidence from Sweden, the pioneers of free schools, is that these schools often perform worse than other schools.
“Parents are being given fewer rights or redress by this Government.
“Free schools will be able to set their own admissions rules meaning local children could be denied places at local schools.
“There are also serious concerns about the lack of transparency around these free schools. The Government is spending huge sums of money without proper scrutiny.
“This is bankrolling of the private sector which is likely to produce misery for children.”
Stuart Gannon
NASUWT Press Office
Tel: 020 7420 9681
Mobile (and out of hours contact): 07966 198894
Address: 5 King Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 8SD
The largest teachers' union in the UK
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