The free schools program by the government recently received a massive blow when the Department for Education announced the closure of one of the first free schools to open, citing poor leadership and unqualified teaching as reasons. According to Lord Nash, the schools minister, the Discovery New School, a primary school in Crawley, West Sussex, will have its funding agreement terminated and will be shut down in April. The school was rated inadequate and placed in special measures by Ofsted in May, and subsequent visits found no improvement, where inspectors highlighted that the teachers at Discovery were not confident in teaching reading, writing, and maths. The Montessori school system advocates in the UK, who hold a membership of 679 schools, also dispute Discovery’s claim to be using its free school status to offer a curriculum based on the Montessori education system. They claimed to have warned the DfE of the school’s likely failure three years ago. Tristram Hunt, the shadow education secretary, sees this as a direct vindication of its criticisms of the free school program. Henry Smith, the Conservative MP for Crawley, shared his disappointment on the decision, whereas Natalie Evans, the CEO of the New Schools Network, stated that while this decision would be hard for parents and students of Discovery New School, they believe it’s the right choice. Parents of the 65 pupils at the school have expressed their shock, disappointment, and disbelief at the decision made.
The founders of Discovery School had marketed the institution as implementing a "Montessori curriculum and approach." However, the failure of the school has sparked concern within the British Montessori education community. Interestingly, the name "Montessori" is not trademarked in Europe, allowing institutions to use the term without accreditation.
In seeking help from the Montessori Schools Association, the former head of Discovery and her husband, Lindsey and Andrew Snowdon, refused to undertake any accreditation process or hire accredited teachers. This approach has been viewed with unease within the education community.
In other education news, the DfE has refused to fund the construction of two grammar schools in Kent, citing its funding guidelines that only apply to new academies or free schools.
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