7/29/2019 Michael Gove letter on free schools FOI.

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Rt Hon Michael Gove MPSecretary of State

sanctuary Buildings Great Smith Street Westminster London SWlP 3BTtel: 0370 000 2288 www.education .gov.uk/help/contactus

Christopher GrahamInformation CommissionerInformation Commissioner's OfficeWycliffe HouseWater LaneWilmslowCheshireSK9 5AF

Dear Mr Graham,

19 February 2013

The Department for Education has been ordered to release a range of informationabout Free School applications. My Department will, of course, comply with thatorder. But, in doing so, I want to explain my own ps~onand put this into the contextof my mission to improve education.The Free Schools programme was designed to allow citizens the opportunity to opengreat new schools outside of bureaucratic control. Since the programme started,over 1000 groups have submitted an application. We have helped channel thepassion and commitment of dedicated people who want something better for theirchildren and their community. Free Schools are proving extremely popular withparents - the majority of schools which opened in September 2011 are either full oreven oversubscribed.But there are people who are ideologically opposed to the Free Schools programmeand some of the opposition to the programme has gone further than normal healthydebate.We are aware of personal attacks on individuals who simply want to improveeducational standards and choice locally. Organisations opposed to Free Schoolshave run hostile publicity campaigns. In some cases these have become highlypersonal, vilifying individuals involved in opening a Free School. We have been toldof instances where teachers have lost their jobs simply by virtue of their associationwith a Free School application. One proposer has even told us that they have beenthe subject of a death threat. lt is because we wanted to protect public-spiritedvolunteers from intimidation that we fought against the ruling and appealed it all theway through to the Tribunal.And it is for these reasons that we must be very careful when it comes to theinformation we publish about the programme. We want to make sure that people arefree to open Free Schools without fear of reprisal or backlash, and parents are freeto choose the education they want for their children, whether in a Free School or any

7/29/2019 Michael Gove letter on free schools FOI.

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other establishment, without intimidation.I would defend, to the death, the right of anonto oppose Government policy. I dont believe however that it is right to facilitate the targeted intimidation of bravepeople acting onnoble motives.

MICHAEL GOVE