The Government strongly agrees that free schools are an important tool for raising standards in communities across the country, particularly for disadvantaged pupils. The free school programme was introduced in 2010 to allow parents, teachers, charities, and other organisations to set up schools that would drive up standards by increasing choice and competition in the local area. Free schools provide additional choice for parents and places for children and have been shown to be more likely to be rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted compared to other state schools. Between 2010 and 2015, over 350 free schools were opened, and these were disproportionately located in areas of high deprivation. New schools have been opened in communities across the country, including those with predominantly White populations. Since 2015, the Department has been more explicit in directing where free schools are needed and the benefits they can bring. Our approach is driven by the need for new places, the quality of existing provision, and the Department’s priority to address educational disadvantage. This has ensured that the free school programme continues to deliver the right schools, in the right places, for the children who need them most. Our free schools are now more often approved in areas of deprivation and lower educational attainment. For example, 75% of open free schools are in an area rated by the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) in the top 50% most deprived nationally. For mainstream free schools (primary and secondary), 73% are in an area rated in the top 50% most deprived nationally. This compares to 60% of all state schools nationally. The Department has prioritised applications from local authorities with high proportions of pupils attending ‘Requires Improvement’ or ‘Inadequate’ schools, or where attainment is below the national average. In the most recent funding round, we particularly encouraged applications from over 100 disadvantaged areas, including those with high levels of White working-class pupils who are underperforming. Free schools have a strong track record of supporting disadvantaged pupils. Attainment 8 scores for disadvantaged pupils in free schools are higher than for disadvantaged pupils in other state-funded mainstream schools (41.6 in free schools compared to 37.1 in other state-funded mainstream schools for 2019). The Progress 8 score for disadvantaged pupils in free schools is also higher (+0.03) than for disadvantaged pupils in other state-funded mainstream schools (-0.51). We will continue to support the growth of the Free School programme in areas of greatest need, in line with the Government’s levelling up agenda. We will continue to prioritise free school applications from areas with the greatest need for new provision and where the proposal has a strong focus on raising attainment for disadvantaged pupils.