Parent plans for new secondary school rejected
- March 29, 2010
-
Keywords:
- conservatives
- parent plans
- secondary schools
- Not rated
Children’s Secretary Ed Balls has rejected parent plans intending to set up a new secondary school in Kirklees as he claimed this would fragment the local organisation of schools
Since legislation made it possible four years ago for parents to apply for school funding, there has only been one approval among three applications.
Conservatives have criticised Balls for not backing parents, as their proposed 'free schools' policy would make it easier for parents to get funding to set up their own school.
Balls claimed it would be a poor use of resources to set up another school as there are currently thousands of empty places in UK schools:
“We’re very supportive of new schools where there is a need. But it’s not a free lunch.”
Michael Gove,Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, argues that Balls has let down a dedicated group of hard-working parents wanting the best for their children and that too many parents simply don’t get the schools they want:
"It is only the rich who can guarantee the kind of education they want for their children either by going private or paying for a mortgage on a house in the right catchment area."
A Liberal Democrat spokesman has however criticised Conservative plans to be ‘whimsical’: “Their policy will also be costly and they haven't fully explained where the money will come from.”
