 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|||||
- Home
- Education Executive
- ICT Matters
- About Us
- Editor's Blog
- Events
- For Advertisers
- News
- Product News
- Resources
- Useful Links
- Subscribe
Free school extras "nothing new" say school leaders
Released 22/06/2011
NAHT criticises suggestions that free schools can offer better services than their mainstream equivalents
The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) has criticised suggestions that free schools will offer parents and pupils extended services that are unavailable elsewhere in the state sector.
General secretary Russell Hobby said he was surprised that Michael Gove appeared to believe that such services gave free schools an edge over their maintained-school peers.
Hobby said: "In the secretary of state's talk on free schools on Monday 20 June, he trumpeted their ability to open for extended hours during the day and across the year. This is perplexing: thousands of maintained schools have been doing exactly that for over a decade. What's more, they have targeted these services at those who need them most, rather than those who can afford them most.
"This 'freedom' for free schools and academies is another mirage that downplays and ignores the substantial innovations in the maintained sector. Not only do our state schools often open for extended hours, they have also experimented successfully with wrap around childcare, doctors' surgeries, social care and many other services.
"Innovation comes from culture and ambition - both of which are alive and well in our education system - not from structure, which creates only the illusion of change."