Launching a free school – the application

An interview with New Schools Network could be make or break for Dave Lewis and his group of educational experts in their bid to launch a free school...

Since the last column, things have moved on apace in some areas and have slowed up in others.

There are two main ways it’s possible to go about setting up a free school. One is to go directly to the DfE and complete its 150-page application form, sit back and wait to be called for an interview. The other, the option we have chosen, is to apply through New Schools Network (NSN). There are more steps to this approach, but we felt it was the safer choice.

We were told there were four phases to the initial application process: if we succeed in the first or second phase, NSN will have more time to help us prepare our application; success later on will result in reduced contact and support. We decided to apply in the first phase, unsure of success but aware that, if we failed, we would be given feedback and the chance to apply again in the next phase.

As luck would have it, our application was approved in the first phase and we were invited to interview – the final stage before being taken under the wing of NSN. To us it’s important we succeed at this juncture because, although we could still apply independently without the help of NSN, 100 per cent of the groups it has helped have made it to the DfE interview, and 84 per cent of those interviewed were accepted.

Unfortunately, the interview date given was so immediate that all but one of our group had commitments elsewhere, so we rescheduled to take part in the second phase in May.

Since sending in our application, we have reviewed and refined our rationale ready for the interview. For instance, the International Baccalaureate is being considered as an alternative to GSCEs and we are looking again at points of entry, based on potential pupil numbers in town. We have also taken on board several new members of the group, all of whom add gravitas (an IT expert from IBM, another headteacher, a bursar with legal expertise, and a project officer from the Fire Service).

Local lethargy

Surprisingly, things have slowed up on a local level with the town’s newspaper, initially enthusiastic, wanting to get a wider range of local views on the school before publishing an article. This has prevented us garnering the necessary information on levels of local parental support.

We’ve also struggled to get feedback from local community groups that we wanted to be part of the project, although all expressed initial interest. Having advised all the local schools and the LEA of our plans, we expected a deluge of emails about our intentions, but instead received just two replies out of 15: both of which were from schools who were considered outstanding both locally and by Ofsted. The group believes the lack of interest is possibly down to local stakeholders thinking that the project will fail, so we have to prove them wrong! Interestingly, our neighbouring local authority has just received a damning report on the standards of education there and NSN has organised a road show in the city to encourage groups to consider setting up free schools in the area. We’re hoping that this may heighten awareness and interest in our project.

We now await the all-important interview and have carefully selected those who will attend so they will represent as broad a view of the project as possible.

We’ve been told the interview is to be around an hour in length and will involve us making a five minute presentation, expanding on our vision. The criteria for success in the interview are interesting, being based on how much useful help NSN believes it can provide to groups. It would seem that if the group is too prepared and NSN feels the mentoring process will not add much more to our chances of success, we may be turned down for being too good!

By the time of the next article, the interview will have been and gone and we’ll know whether we’ll be taken under NSN’s wing. Keep your fingers crossed for us please.