Should free schools make a profit?

You can read the article in Civil Service World here.

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Old Teaser

9 May 2011

James Croft argues that free schools should be able to make a profit in Civil Service World.

We need a proper education industry

Published in City AM here.

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Old Teaser

21 April 2011

Allister Heath discusses the findings of the ASI's report into Free Schools and harnessing the profit motive to sort out UK schools in his Editor's Letter in City AM.

Free schools must be allowed to profit, Michael Gove told

Published in The Guardian here.

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Old Teaser

21 April 2011

The Guardian covers the release of the ASI's latest report arguing that for profit-schools should be allowed to take part in the Free Schools programme.

The Adam Smith Institute argues that Free Schools should be able to exist as profit-making concerns

Published on ConservativeHome here.

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Old Teaser

21 April 2011

James Croft details the findings of his report on for-profit schools and the Free Schools programme on ConservativeHome.

Let us decide for ourselves when we want a holiday

Read the rest of this article on The Times website (£).

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Old Teaser

21 April 2011

Dr Eamonn Butler argues in The Times that bank holidays should be abolished and we should all be free to take holidays when we choose, not when politicians deem it appropriate.

Free Schools revolution will fail without profit-making schools

 21 April 2011

·  The success of the government’s school reforms depends on a large increase in the number of good school places. But the Free Schools programme, as currently constituted, will not be able to deliver this.
 

· In-depth new research suggests that the only way the government will be able to meet its targets for new schools and extra school places is by allowing profit-making schools to participate in the Free Schools programme.
 

· There are already 489 independent profit-making schools in England, and these are overwhelmingly non-selective, secular, and concentrated in some of our most wanting metropolitan areas.
 

· 41 percent of these schools operate on fees less than or on a par with the national average per-pupil funding in the state maintained sector, but still significantly outperformed the independent sector as a whole in Ofsted inspections between 2007 and 2010.    
 

In a report released today (Thursday 21st) the Adam Smith Institute has called on the government to allow profit-making companies to open and run Free Schools, without the need for a charitable vehicle or trust framework, as required by existing legislation.
 
The Institute endorses the spirit of the Free Schools programme, but argues that unless the profit motive is introduced, its impact will be limited. Tom Clougherty, executive director of the Institute, says:
 
“The  idea behind Michael Gove’s reforms is that if you let independent providers open schools within the state sector, you will hugely increase the supply of good school places. That will create choice and competition, and drive up standards. But unless you allow for-profit companies to enter the market, it is very hard to see where all those new school places are going to come from.”
 
In 2008 the Conservatives set a target of 3,000 new schools to provide 222,000 extra school places. The state education system as a whole will need to provide 350,000 extra places by 2014. Yet so far, only 323 applications to open Free Schools have been made. Just 41 have proceeded to business case stage, and only a handful will open in September 2011. The Adam Smith Institute believes that for-profit schools can and should fill that gap.
 
Profit-Making Free Schools: Unlocking the Potential of England’s Proprietorial Schools Sector, by education expert James Croft, provides the first in-depth, empirical analysis of England’s existing for-profit schools. It identifies 489 of them, which – perhaps contrary to expectations – are overwhelmingly non-selective, secular and urban or suburban. Moreover, 41 per cent of these schools operate on fees less than or on a par with the average per-pupil spend in the state sector. Both this subset of inexpensive for-profit schools, and for-profit schools in general, significantly outperformed the independent sector as a whole in Ofsted inspections between 2007 and 2010.
 
Crucially, Croft also finds that these for-profit schools have significant spare capacity relative to their size – although they only have 15 percent of the total number of pupils educated in the independent sector, they carry 25 per cent of the sector’s spare capacity. This, coupled with their proven ability to add capacity (1), suggests that for-profit schools are the ideal solution to the Department for Education’s problems.  
 
Croft adds:
 
“There  is no evidence to suggest that trust governance guarantees solid educational outcomes. Nor is there any evidence to suggest that for-profit management compromises standards – in fact, the opposite appears to be true. So why shouldn’t we have profit-making Free Schools? My research suggests they would provide sorely needed additional capacity and deliver a good education at an affordable price. The government should be welcoming them with open arms.”
 
The report concludes by proposing that the government remove any requirements relating to corporate or legal structure from the Free Schools legislation. Schools would no longer have to be run via a charitable vehicle or operate under a trust framework. Public companies, private companies, partnerships and sole traders should all be able to participate in the Free Schools programme.  The report also advocates measures that would make it easier for existing for-profit schools to convert to free school status, and suggests that the government set up a bursary scheme that would allow children eligible for the pupil premium to take advantage of spare capacity in independent schools.

You can read the full report here. For media enquiries please contact Sally Thompson on 07584 778 207.
 

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ASI's Eamonn Butler on client charging, the FSA and pensions

You can view the video of the interview on MoneyMarketing here.

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Old Teaser

15 April 2011

Free-market think tank director Dr Eamonn Butler tells Money Marketing why the FSA has helped kill competition and offers an alternative to its detailed regulation. He also explains to Steve Tolley why despite his free-market background he sees a case for the Government getting involved with pensions through its auto-enrolment reforms.

Response to Cameron's immigration speech

14 April 2011

Sam Bowman, Head of Research at the Adam Smith Institute, said:

“Any argument that immigrants create unemployment uses the same flawed logic that says that open trade makes us poorer.

“In the long run, immigrants increase native wages. Technological advancement and the entry of women into the labour force displaced workers and created frictional unemployment, but ultimately created large gains in per capita income. The same is true of immigrants.

“Fears that immigration creates a drain on the welfare state are misguided. Immigrants contribute more in taxes than they use in services. Home Office research suggests that is equivalent to 1p off the basic rate of income tax. Immigrants don't drain the welfare state, they subsidise it.”

To arrange an interview with an ASI spokesperson, please contact Sally Thompson, Communications Director, on 07584 778 207,sally@adamsmith.org

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Bank of England should replace inflation targeting, Sumner says

Published in full on Bloomberg here.

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Old Teaser

11 April 2011

By Scott Hamilton

Bloomberg covers the Adam Smith Institute's latest report on nominal GDP targeting, by Scott Sumner.

Banking Commission should avoid one-size-fits-all solution

Published in full in Money Marketing here.

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Old Teaser

11 April 2011

By Steve Tolley

Dr Eamonn Butler gives his response to the Independent Commission on Banking interim report in Money Marketing.