Education Policy: 2010 Educational Policy | Sociology for GCSE/IGCSE - Year 11 PDF Download

Academies, Free Schools, and the Pupil Premium

In 2010, the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition government advanced the marketisation of education by:

• Implementing policies to reduce government control over education.
• Cutting public spending on education due to the financial crisis.
• Introducing forced academisation, free schools, and the pupil premium.

New-Style Academies

New Labour introduced academies to address inequality in disadvantaged areas. The Coalition government expanded this by encouraging all schools to leave local authority control and become academies if they chose.

• New-style academies receive funding directly from the government.
• They have the freedom to opt out of the National Curriculum and set their own teachers’ pay, term times, and school day length.
• Converter academies are high-performing schools that voluntarily become academies.
• Failing schools are either closed or taken over by sponsored academies or Multi Academy Trusts.

Free Schools

Free schools can be established by parents, teachers, charities, universities, businesses, or religious groups and are funded by the government, not local authorities.

• Like academies, they are exempt from the National Curriculum and can set their own staff pay, conditions, and school schedules.
• Free schools allow parents and teachers dissatisfied with local state schools to create new ones, with the aim of increasing competition to raise standards.
• Critics argue free schools draw students away from existing local schools, reducing their funding and making it harder to hire quality teachers.
• They are often more attractive to middle-class parents avoiding local comprehensive schools, potentially worsening educational inequality for the poorest children.

The Pupil Premium

The pupil premium is a Coalition policy to enhance educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in England’s state schools.

• Schools receive additional funding for each pupil eligible for free school meals (FSM) or previously under local authority care.
• This funding supports extra resources, such as one-to-one tutoring, revision guides, or school trip subsidies, to close the attainment gap for disadvantaged students.

Evaluation

• Marketisation has diversified school types, creating a complex system with excessive choice.
• Accountability has shifted from local authorities to individual schools and academy chains.
• Academies and free schools are more likely to hire unqualified teachers, negatively affecting disadvantaged students.
• Pupil premium funds may be diverted to cover budget cuts rather than directly supporting students.
• Supporters argue that increased choice and diversity in education better meet individual needs.