Groups wanting to set up new voluntary-aided schools with government funding will be expected to own their own site or have access to free land, it has emerged.

The Department for Education is backing the creation of new VA schools, which can select all pupils on the basis of faith, with money diverted from the free-schools budget.

New guidance says the department will expect bidders to own their site or have access to one free of charge.

The DfE has published criteria that VA school proposers will need to fulfil if they are to submit bids.

Bids will not go ahead unless a site has been identified and bidders will also need to demonstrate a basic need for school places and capacity in education, finance and governance.

Bidders will have to fund 10 per cent of the VA school.

The criteria are:

• A basic need for a high proportion of the school places that the new school will provide to prevent the creation of an oversupply of places in the area.
• Parental demand for the type of school proposed, and that it would bring added diversity and choice to the area.
• The school will be welcoming and address the needs of pupils from all faiths, and from different backgrounds and communities.
• The proposers have the appropriate education, finance and governance capacity and capability to set up and run a successful and viable school.
• The proposed site represents good value for money and “can be delivered in a timely manner with an acceptable level of risk”.

In May, the DfE revealed that it was set to spend some of its £270 million free-school budget to help groups set up new voluntary-aided schools that can select all pupils according to faith. 

The faith cap on new free schools, which means they can only select 50 per cent of pupils on the grounds of faith, has remained in place.

The cap had been a source of controversy with the Roman Catholic Church saying it prevented it from opening new schools. Earlier this year, education secretary Damian Hinds indicated that he wanted to scrap it.

The announcement from the DfE today says it will accept applications for VA schools from religious and non-religious groups.

However, groups cannot submit a bid for a VA school if they have submitted a similar bid for the latest wave of the free-school programme.

Bidders need to express an interest by 4 January next year and submit bids by February.

If bids are submitted without a site they will be put on hold and the DfE may work with proposers to secure a suitable site.

A list of approved new VA schools will be announced in the spring.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Voluntary-aided schools are an important part of our diverse school system. This scheme will enable faith and other groups to open new schools where there is a need and a parental demand, and give more children - regardless of their background - access to the best possible education.

“By the end of this decade, this government is on track to have created a million new school places since 2010 - the largest increase for at least two generations - to ensure every child has access to a good school place. The voluntary aided scheme will play a part in that by helping communities create the schools they want.”

I