Nearly 40 free schools that opened between three and eight years ago are still waiting for a permanent home, figures reveal.

The figures, provided by the Department for Education in a Freedom of Information request, reveal that 38 of the free schools that opened between 2011-12 and 2016-17 are in temporary accommodation.

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The FOI, submitted by Janet Downs of Local Schools Network, asked which schools that had opened in that period were still without permanent buildings.

As well as the 38 schools that were still in temporary accommodation, a further two had started in a permanent home but had since expanded into buildings that were only temporary. 

Concerns have previously been raised about the number of free schools operating from temporary sites, with the chair of the Public Accounts Committee, Meg Hillier, calling it “the next scandal”.

In a response to the FOI, the DfE stated that, at present, there are “507 free schools, 48 university technical colleges and 24 studio schools, which will provide over 320,000 places when at capacity”.

It added: “The timescales for the free schools process and the length of time it takes to identify, acquire and adapt the right site can mean that it is necessary for a school to open in temporary accommodation.”

The DfE noted that when schools did open in temporary accommodation, it ensured they provided value for money and were “safe and suitable” for educational purposes.

“We always endeavour to minimise the amount of time that any project spends in temporary accommodation,” the department said.

Tes has previously reported on how the DfE could waste £75 million on temporary school sites for free schools - information that the department tried to suppress.

The free schools that remain in temporary accommodation are:

1.            Abacus Belsize Primary School
2.            Big Creative Academy
3.            Bray wick Court School
4.            Canary Wharf College 3
5.            Compass School Southwark
6.            Deer Park School
7.            Ealing Fields High School
8.            Earl’s Court Free School Primary
9.            East London Science School
10.          Forest Bridge School
11.          INSPIRE Free Special School
12.          International Academy of Greenwich
13.          Kingston Community School
14.          Nanaskar Primary School
15.          Oasis Academy Silvertown
16.          Olive School, Preston
17.          One Degree Academy
18.          Paxton Academy Sports and Science
19.          Rugby Free Secondary School
20.          Seva School
21.          St Andrew the Apostle Greek Orthodox School
22.          TBAP 16-19 Academic AP Academy
23.          The Charter School East Dulwich
24.          The Fulham Boys School
25.          The Gatwick School
26.          The Heights Primary School
27.          The Olive School Hackney
28.          The Olive School, Birmingham
29.          The Olive School, Bolton
30.          The Orchards
31.          The Royal School, Wolverhampton
32.          The Spires Academy
33.          The St Marylebone Church of England Bridge             School
34.          Turing House School
35.          Ventures’ Academy
36.          Wac Arts College
37.          Walsall Studio School
38.          Wootton Park School