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Nearly 3,000 specialist schools in England are facing the axe in a funding shake-up by Education Secretary Michael Gove, the Standard has learned.
In one of the Government's biggest departures from Labour policies, officials have drafted plans to scrap ring-fenced funding for state secondaries that specialise in anything from sports to IT to science and the arts.
The schools, which Tony Blair created to end the era of “bog standard” comprehensives, each receive about £130,000 a year on top of their normal budgets.
But the Department for Education could transfer the money into a central budget for redistribution among all secondary schools, sources claim.
Mr Gove will announce the planned changes as part of the comprehensive spending review tomorrow.
John Townsley, chairman of the headteachers steering group of the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, told the Standard today that such a step would be “a bad move” which could undermine the good work they had achieved.
“I understand that the new administration are more focused on freedoms, simplicities and permissiveness. But I would have big worries about moving away from a system of specialist schools that has dramatically raised standards,” Mr Townsley said.
Critics fear that the shift away from ring-fenced, guaranteed funding for specialist schools is part of a move by Mr Gove to generate cash to increase the numbers of academies and free schools.
Government ministers are keen to end ring-fencing in a raft of areas, believing that simply giving cash to schools to spend as they see fit is a better way of pushing up standards.
Representatives from specialists schools met Mr Gove privately last week to lobby hard for their cause. They have been warned that they are set to lose out on £8 million in capital funding earmarked for buildings.
The Government is saving a further £7 million by scrapping plans for a new cadre of High Performing Specialist Schools. This was aimed at the top performing 30 per cent of specialists schools to enable them to provide system leadership and to share good practice.
Mr Gove told MPs recently that “unfortunately some tough decisions have to be made” in terms of funding. But he hinted that the changes could benefit some schools. “[The] fantastic achievements that have been secured so far by specialist schools and academies will be rewarded appropriately after the comprehensive spending review,” he said.
The DfE refused to comment on the claims and Whitehall sources said that any developments would be revealed as part of the spending review.
Reader views (2)
What a typical insightful inspired comment from JC. I can only imagine her direct knowledge of education ended at 16 and has been updated by a glance at the 'red tops' Thanks for adding to the debate.
- WThornton, Hertfordshire, 20/10/2010 09:03
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What "fantastic achievements" have been achieved by specialist schools? or any schools for that matter. They're turning out wimpish inadequates, incapable of living life, unable to fit into society and certainly not equipped to hold down a job -that's if there were any for them, hence the reason they're not being educated I suppose. It's not worth the money.
- Judith C, London, England, 19/10/2010 15:27
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