Equality and Free Schools - Help us develop the evidence base

Inclusive Schools - Free Schools Monitoring Project

ROTA is carrying out a project that aims to help ensure that children and young people from marginalised Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities benefit from the services provided by free schools. Part of this involves research to determine: the level of involvement of BAME communities in free schools as proposers, governors, staff and pupils; the support needs of BAME communities seeking to set up free schools; and the support needs of free schools in developing inclusive services.

Please support us by completing this short survey, and/or by sharing the link with other free school proposers:

Following a successful pilot conducted in late 2011, ROTA is now extending the Free School monitoring survey.

If you are involved (or have been) in proposing a free school, please take this opportunity to share your views and experiences of the application process.  Please complete the survey here.

The deadline for this survey is Monday 16th April 2012.

Your responses will provide important information that will contribute to a better understanding of equalities issues in Free Schools.

We hope that our research will help us to support:

• Free schools to deliver inclusive services
• Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community groups who are looking to set up Free Schools.

To find out more please contact Barbara Nea, Senior Policy Officer, email barbara@rota.org.uk or telephone 020 7842 8531.

More about Inclusive Schools - the Free Schools Monitoring Project

Current educational reforms, including the expansion of free schools and academies and decreased regulation, risk exacerbating the persistent educational inequalities faced by Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) pupils. There is evidence that the establishment of similar school systems in the US and Sweden have lead to socio-economically and ethnically segregated school systems in many local areas, with significant gaps in the quality of educational provision. We believe the risks of this happening in the UK need to be given more consideration by government. This project is assessing the risks of similar inequalities emerging with the expansion of free schools and academies in the UK, and identifying potential ways to mitigate such risks.