Free schools building programme axed

Dozens of free school projects have been shelved as the Department for Education (DfE) redirects funding to expand special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision in mainstream schools.

Education secretary Bridget Phillipson confirmed at least £3bn will be spent creating new specialist places in existing schools, including calm and purpose-built spaces designed for children with autism, ADHD and other additional needs.

Schools Week reported today that around two thirds of 44 mainstream free school plans placed under review when Labour entered government last year are set to be dropped.

Meanwhile, only 15 out of 92 planned special and alternative provision (AP) free schools will definitely proceed.

The change in approach follows a review of mainstream free school projects and comes amid rising demand for SEND provision, which has increased by 400,000 pupils since 2020 to reach 1.7 million.

The government said it will still deliver all 10,000 places planned through special free schools.

However, some of these will now be delivered directly by local authorities using equivalent capital funding, instead of new school construction, which ministers said could be delivered more quickly.

Phillipson said the reforms would “shift children with SEND from forgotten to included”, and reduce the need for pupils to travel long distances for education. More than 180,000 children with SEND currently receive transport to school, with nine per cent travelling alone in taxis.

The new investment will support the creation of tailored learning environments within mainstream schools, allowing pupils to receive support for part of the day while still joining other pupils for suitable lessons.

The department said only free schools those that meet local demographic or housing demand, or offer a unique educational offer without harming existing schools, would continue.

Primary enrolment numbers have been falling since 2019 and secondary numbers are expected to decline from 2026.

The government said a further 250 schools will be selected for rebuilding as part of a £38bn investment in the education estate between 2025 and 2030, with applications for that programme opening early next year.

Further details on the SEND reforms will be set out in a Schools White Paper in the new year.

Source: Construction News