THE National Union of Teachers (NUT) has condemned the news that all new academies and free schools, including those that have opened since September 2014, will now be inspected by Ofsted only during the third year of operation, rather than the second.

Deputy general secretary Kevin Courtney said the announcement amounted to free schools and converter academies being given “a free pass.”

He said: “Extending this grace period from two to three years of operation underlines the extent to which these categories of school are being given special treatment.

“One can only assume that this is an attempt to shield the academies and free schools programmes from the sort of scrutiny that has resulted in the high-profile controversies we have seen over the past five years.”

“If passed, the Education and Adoption Bill will mean even more schools being forced into academy status, in some cases because of an Ofsted judgement.

“Yet Ofsted is effectively saying that new free schools and academies will not be subject to the same treatment as maintained schools.”