Guidance

Free schools: pre-opening guide

The processes proposer groups will need to follow and the resources they can use to open successfully.

• From: Department for Education
• Published: 30 September 2014
• Last updated: 28 September 2026
  Show all updates

  1. 28 September 2026

     In the ‘Free schools: pre-opening guide’, added a link to the ‘Opening new schools’ guidance for information about opening a new school from 1 September 2026.

  2. 10 September 2026

     Updated 'Annexes A to F: checklists and briefs' to remove references to the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) and education experts, and to reflect the new academic year.

  3. 12 June 2026

     Updated 'Free schools: pre-opening guide' to remove references to ESFA, update academic year references and remove duplicated content.

  4. 31 October 2023

     Updated information about school food in the 'Free schools: pre-opening guide' and admissions checklist (Table 7) in 'Annexes A to F: checklists and briefs'.

  5. 8 September 2023

     Updated the 'Free schools: pre-opening guide' and 'Annexes A to F: checklists and briefs' to reflect the new academic year, updates to school admissions and changes to grant assurance processes for the project development grant.

  6. 22 September 2022

     The 'Free schools: pre-opening guide' and 'Annexes A to F: checklists and briefs' have been updated.

  7. 4 August 2022

     Removed references to DfE coronavirus (COVID-19) guidance.

  8. 18 May 2021

     Updated 'Free school pre-opening guide' and 'Annexes A to F: checklists and briefs'.

  9. 15 September 2020

     Converted PDF file to HTML and added Annexes A to F as a separate document. The guide contains updates to some processes following the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

  10. 14 June 2019

      Updated guidance for June 2019.

  11. 11 May 2018

      Updated guidance as of May 2018.

  12. 21 April 2017

      Updated guidance to reflect our current policies on funding, governance, admissions and other important areas that projects must comply with during pre-opening.

  13. 13 October 2016

      Updated guide for groups who got approval in September 2016 to open a free school (wave 11).

  14. 5 February 2016

      Updated document with changes to information on safeguarding, inclusivity and religious character, funding and financial governance.

  15. 27 August 2015

      Document updated with changes to the admissions, procurement and governance sections.

  16. 19 March 2015

      Updated document. Revised sections include: governance, funding, site and buildings, admissions and religious character. Added information on inclusivity, school food, and proposer groups.

  17. 30 September 2014

      First published.

Applies to England

Documents

Free schools: pre-opening guide

HTML

Annexes A to F: checklists and briefs

PDF, 432 KB, 38 pages

Details

The guide sets out the legal requirements that proposer groups will need to follow.

The annex contains resources such as checklists and briefs that can help proposer groups organise effectively and open on time.