Private school becoming a free school

[DanglingChillis]

Our local private school is planning on applying to become a free school. I was talking to another Mum about it and she had a very different view to me. Neither of us are anti-private education but I was surprised by her attitude to this news. What would you think about a private school becoming a free school?

It's funny how differently people see things. I live in inner London and a quarter on free school meals strikes me as a low proportion.

According to wikipedia about 15% of children in England are on free school meals so 1/4 is high. I doubt the proposed school will have that many if it applies entrance criteria based on distance to school but it would be higher than the most affluent state schools in town.

It's interesting seeing everyone's views, local factors do play a part. I've heard a rumour that the state schools here are full and there are no spare spaces this year (but that is rumour rather than fact) but there's never been children left without a place up to now like there are in some areas. We're lucky that most of the schools in town are 'good' schools so people have the luxury of picking based on social mix (there are several catholic schools as well as some that are in more affluent areas) and locality, it is suppose to be one of the best places in the country to get a state education, which is probably related to the low number of private schools (if this one is changing to a free school there will be no private secondary school in town).

I can see that it might be good for the council to have some extra places in the system, and new parents might want to apply. I'm less convinced that there's a good reason to pull your child out of a good school to put them into an unknown environment that will be undergoing quite a few changes.

I think it goes back to whether or not the criteria for selecting free schools are effective. The children who go to that school need to be educated somewhere and they have a right to a state education, so as long as it meets standards, why not transform the private school into a state school? If it is substandard, it shouldn't become a free school.

It does sound as though some parents in your area might be getting the wrong idea about what the school might be able to offer as a free school. (Although for all I know, free boaters for all might be an acceptable USP if you want to start a free school).