Opening a new free school

We have a statutory duty to ensure that there are sufficient school places for primary, secondary and special schools within the borough.

We are proposing to open two new free schools across the borough within the next three years.

For sponsors looking for an opportunity to open a new free school in Cheshire West and Chester, there are potentially two routes available:

The central mainstream free schools programme (wave process)

If, as a sponsor, you have a proposal for a free school that meets the government's criteria you can, on occasions, apply directly through the government's wave process.

Free school presumption process

The presumption process is the main route by which Local Authorities establish new schools. More information about the free school presumption can be found on the Gov.UK website.

As the need for new schools progress, there will be opportunities for sponsors to apply to run proposed new schools through this process.