Ixia

The Department for Education has not yet made a decision on the funding for Building Schools for the Future (BSF) or any other capital programmes. The government is committed to a full comprehensive spending review in the autumn and Ministers will shortly be considering their spending priorities, which will take into account all areas of spending including schools capital. An article in The Guardian stated: ‘the government has put the £55bn school rebuilding programme under review, freezing plans for hundreds of new secondaries in England.’[1] BSF schemes that ‘have not yet reached preferred bidder stage have already been stopped pending a review.’[2] Michael Gove, the new education secretary, has prioritised the Conservative policy for the ‘Swedish free-schools model’. [3] This would enable private organisations, parents and teacher groups to start a new school in an attempt to compete and drive up standards.

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[1] ‘£55bn school building plan faces axe to fund Swedish-style system’, Polly Curtis in The Guardian, Friday 14^th May 2010, http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/may/14/school-building-plan-faces-axe

[2] ‘Questions on education policy for the new Con-Lib Dems’, Mike Baker in The Guardian, Tuesday 18^th May 2010, http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/may/18/coalition-education-policy-cuts

[3] ‘Questions on education policy for the new Con-Lib Dems’, Mike Baker in The Guardian, Tuesday 18^th May 2010, http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/may/18/coalition-education-policy-cuts