The point here, though, is that academy/free schools are by design more likely to have the wrong people running things, with their lower qualification requirements.

Given Sir Wilshaw is also advocating the employment of unqualified teachers, I don’t think we’re going to stop this from happening.

Ofsted are just the governments attack dogs.

Your quote in full.

The programme’s success and value for money ultimately depend on how Free Schools perform but lessons must be learned systematically from problems that have arisen in a few early wave schools, especially where these have revealed failures in governance and control.”

MY BOLD
the discussion is about standards not about costs- yes he has done it relatively cheaply the issue is has he done it well.

It may be too early to tell but there are warning signs

Anyway the stats still dont support your trouble in the area view and that quote was cropped when it highlight major concerns as noted by Northwind – Why do you do this?

the results so far are

The Department is responsible for monitoring Free Schools’ educational performance. New Free Schools do not yet have a track record of exam results. Ofsted inspects all Free Schools within two years of opening, and judged four Wave 1 schools to be ‘outstanding’, 14 ‘good’, five ‘requires improvement’, and one ‘inadequate’: the Discovery New School. In October 2013, Ofsted inspected Al-Madinah, a Wave 2 School, after concerns raised with it and the Department. It was judged ‘inadequate’ (paragraphs 3.1 to 3.3 and 3.9).

So 5 require improvement 2 are inadequate one of which has been closed out of 24.

Good on you, after if YOU can’t spell or have awareness of basic grammar, what hope is there for your pupils? Oh no wait, there’s an education minister you can blame for you being useless.
Way to gain some popular support there, spelling boy

You don’t care that you’re teaching someone to write English properly, with a skill set that doesn’t appear to be up to the job. That B- should be an E and see me after class. Shame on you!

Wow the trolls have appeared from under the bridge.

I don’t teach people English, I teach engineering and am quite good in the classroom. The current system means that I also have to promote basic spelling and gamer 😉 one of which I have genuine issues with, that have to overcome in my day to day job and manage it as best I can. This puts me in a good position to offer support strategies for others with dyslexia and difficulties with their English skills.

It’s funny how individuals can form an opinion on my suitability for the role from a few hastily typed posts.

BTW Sandwich “Shame on you!” had me laughing, you might as well have put “wont someone think of the children!”

ChubbyBlokeInLycra- please re-read and correct the first part of you post. It does not read easily.

Free schools are Gove’s vanity project,and an experiment in undermining the teaching profession. As JY says he has done it fairly cheaply,has he done it well? Indeed:l would question the relative cost as well. Thank Dog they are an English affection (affliction?)

That is a shocker

As a post-script to this thread, Bristol City Council has cleared the plan to convert the basement of Bristol City Library for use by a ‘Free School’, despite significant public opposition.

The lease terms (a bargain rent for 125 years) effectively allow the land-grab of a public asset. I’m not one for tin-foil hats, but the self-styled city fathers (i.e. “business leaders”) have their fingers all over this. It stinks.