News from Surrey Labour

Conservative plan for ‘free schools’ attacked in Surrey

Matt Willey, Shadow Schools Minister Michael Gove’s opponent, has criticised his policy of setting up “free schools” alongside state schools in Surrey.

“We have an example in Camberley of what happens when private organisations are not able to achieve satisfactory standards in the schools they take over,” says Mr Willey. “Management of France Hill was given to 3 Es CTC in order to improve the school’s performance and its financial position. The results of a recent disastrous Ofsted Report reveal that granting control of the school has conspicuously failed to make any improvements either academically or financially.”

“3Es appear to have now walked away from Kings International College here in Camberley. The meeting with parents to announce that the school is now to be managed by Tomlinscote College included details that part of the land Kings International’s land is to be sold off in order to reduce its financial deficit. Surely this is rubbing salt in Kings wounds,” he continues.

“Michael Gove is suggesting that his “free schools” should take schools that succeed as well as those like Kings that have failed away from the state sector. I believe with the Conservative Leader of Kent County Council that the consequence of this will be to deprive money desperately needed for our schools in order to set up to pursue his experiment. Another Conservative in Hampshire has said that going ahead with this programme will make deep and immediate cuts in our school’s budgets. It costs £25m to set up a secondary school and £4,000 for each student in a secondary school.”

“Michael Gove states that the non-education spending in the Department for Children, Schools and Families is £36bn,it is £28bn, and that this money could be used to finance his ‘free schools’. £200m will be taken from Sure Start alone which will be filleted. This means that a whole range of programmes such as after school homework clubs, sports and music programmes caring for children whose parents are at work are under threat here. Significantly the Conservatives have not ring-fenced education from their cuts programme which means the money available for Mr Gove’s experiment be taken from the main education budget.”

“The well respected Institute of Fiscal Studies has reckoned that the unringfenced education budget will loose £1.7bn under Conservative plans,” Mr Willey says in conclusion.

Other news from Surrey Labour

• Surrey Heath Tories forced into climb down on community meals - 12 January 2012
• Concern grows about pressure on schools to become Academies by "ideological" Gove - 8 January 2012
• NHS cuts in Surrey show Cameron's promises are empty - 8 January 2012