Gove’s free schools increase segregation and harm nearby schools, says study

Michael Gove’s free schools programme increased social segregation, according to an analysis of the flagship scheme that also suggests it reduced student intakes at neighbouring schools.

The creation of free schools has been touted as a major success of the 14 years of Conservative-led government. They were intended to offer high-quality institutions and improve parental choice. Part of their stated aim was to pressure nearby schools to improve and create a “galvanising effect on the whole school system”.

However, new research shared with the Observer suggests that free-school enrolment was associated with increased segregation of primary pupils, particularly in terms of their ethnicity. The study, by academics at University College London, also found that the presence of a free school was not associated with any significant change in student attainment in nearby primary schools.

The trend in England has been towards decreasing school segregation, but areas in which primary free schools opened saw the opposite trend. Researchers attributed this to the ways some free schools offered a more homogenous student body than their local area, including both “self-segregation” by minority ethnic parents and perceived “white flight”.

Free schools also affected student enrolment in nearby schools. Primaries near a free school saw a decline in reception-year numbers. Secondaries saw a slightly larger and more consistent decline of 4.5% in Year 7 entrants across a six-year period. This was raised as an issue by some heads, as schools receive most of their funding based on the total number of children in the school.

Related: Flagship free school that cost £35m closes due to lack of pupils

One primary head said the free school “had an impact on numbers … we had less money coming in. It had a significant impact on the curriculum we were able to offer.” Schools serving areas of deprivation also reported increases in pupils who needed “huge amounts of resources”, which may be related to free schools taking more of the students who did not require this. Several heads predicted their “solidly good school” would be shut.

Free schools were part of Gove’s education reforms under the coalition government. The scheme allowed any group of teachers, parents or charities to start a school, whether or not the local authority felt there was demand. More than 650 are now open.

While nearby secondary schools did show a modest increase in student attainment in English and maths after a free school opened, there was also evidence to suggest this was linked to attracting more advantaged students. Secondaries admitting a substantially more disadvantaged intake did not tend to improve after a free school opened nearby.

The UCL study of free schools found that despite claims of setting high standards, this was not the case. Primary free schools performed worse than a matched sample of similar schools, while secondary free schools performed no better or worse.

Leaders in nearby schools reported feeling they were in competition, but this appeared to drive them to work harder on their advertising and external appeal, rather than enhancing the quality of their teaching. The highest levels of perceived competition were where free schools appealed to aspirational or middle-class families who had a “quasi-private school ethos”.

“Our findings show the introduction of free schools has often created new competition,” said Rob Higham, associate professor at UCL’s Institute of Education and the lead author of the study. “When subjected to these new market pressures, neighbouring schools rarely prioritised change or innovation in classroom practices.

“Not all free schools create such choice and competition, but where they do, this has the potential to increase social divisions in the school system, including the social segregation of students.”

Researchers found that nearby schools were more likely to become destabilised if they served a deprived neighbourhood, lost students due to a free school and were downgraded to below “good” by Ofsted just before or after a free school opened. They said this could start “a cycle of decline”, further concentrating disadvantaged students into certain schools and creating the need for cuts.

The report comes before this week’s GCSE results, which some experts warn may start to decline as a legacy of school closures due to Covid . Last week’s A-level results saw record highs for the proportion of A* and A grades awarded. In maths, 42% of 18-year-olds in England got A* or As.

The Department for Education said: “Making sure all schools are inclusive places, so that every child gets the best start in life, is at the heart of our mission to break down the barriers to opportunity. The children’s wellbeing bill will introduce a range of changes to ensure children are safe, healthy, happy and treated fairly. This includes measures to require state-funded schools to cooperate with the local authority on school admissions, Send inclusion, and ensure admissions decisions account for the needs of communities.”

A Conservative party spokesman said: “Education is the closest thing we have to a silver bullet, which is why in government we drove school standards up from when Labour left office – meaning 90% of schools are now good or outstanding.

“Free schools were a part of that mission – creating thousands of new school places for children in England, including for those living in disadvantaged areas, who have special educational needs and disabilities, or require alternative provision. We urge the government to continue our work to improve school standards, including ensuring children in England remain the best readers in the western world as they are today.”