Local MP says Free Schools are 'barking mad'

John Cryer, the local MP for Leyton and Wanstead, has slammed the government's Free Schools programme as 'barking mad' in a statement sent to Our Community Our Schools. John has given us permission to publish his statement and you can read it in full below:

"The introduction of free schools removes democratic accountability and oversight from children’s education. There will undoubtedly be people running free schools who have the best of intentions but the scandals we have seen so far involving a number of free schools will probably prove to be the tip of the iceberg. The next few years will, I suspect, see a series of exposes in the media involving financial mismanagement, inappropriate teaching and inadequate staffing – all courtesy of the taxpayer. Incredibly, while the government cuts vital public services there are 100 civil servants working on free schools – and that’s what they admit to.

“Frankly, the government’s free schools programme is barking mad and seems to have been dreamt up by some ideologically driven obsessive somewhere in the bowels of Conservative headquarters.”

Our thanks to everyone who has already lobbied their MPs and Councillors on the issue of the proposed Free Schools in Waltham Forest. Please keep up the good work! You can find out how to do this quickly and easily here.