Tristram Hunt: One minute he's for, the next he's against free schools

Free schools have been getting a bad press recently. The headmistress of a new primary in Pimlico resigned unexpectedly, a secondary in Derby was judged "dysfunctional" by Ofsted and another in Bradford stands accused of financial mismanagement. Does this prove that free schools are a "dangerous ideological experiment" that is "reaching the end of its natural life" as Labour's new Shadow Education Secretary claims? 

To answer that question I think we need to unpack Tristram Hunt's phrase. 

First, let's deal with the "dangerous" bit. Are the 174 free schools that have opened so far more likely to fail pupils than the average taxpayer-funded school? Not according to the regulator. Yes, there have been some high-profile problems, but 72 per cent of the free schools inspected by Ofsted have been judged "good" or "outstanding", which is above average. To date, only two of the 174 have been rated "inadequate".

Does Hunt mean they're dangerous because they employ unqualified teachers? The headmistress who resigned from Pimlico Primary School didn't have a postgraduate certificate of education (PGCE) when she was appointed (though she had one by the time the school opened) and much has been made of that by opponents of free schools. But a person doesn't have to have a PGCE to be qualified to teach. Brighton College employs 39 teachers without formal teaching qualifications, including the headmaster, and that didn't stop it being named the 2013 Independent School of the Year by the Sunday Times. On the other hand, possessing a PGCE doesn't automatically make you a good teacher. According to a 2010 Panorama investigation, 15,000 teachers currently employed in state schools are "incompetent". So it's doubtful that unqualified teachers are any more dangerous than qualified ones.

The second part of Hunt's phrase is the word "ideological" and on the face of it that's not true either. Let's not forget that support for free schools isn't confined to the two parties that comprise the Coalition. Several prominent members of the Labour Party have voiced their enthusiasm too, including Tony Blair, Andrew Adonis and — bizarrely — Tristram Hunt. Forty-eight hours before condemning free schools as a "dangerous ideological experiment", he told the Mail on Sunday he wanted to put "rocket boosters" under the policy.

Nevertheless, it's true that defenders of free schools are, for the most part, right-of-centre and one of the reasons they're attracted to the policy is because it involves a transfer of power from the state to voluntary associations. Reducing the size of the state is a guiding principle of conservative politics and, in that sense, the free schools policy is ideological.