Groups of “ambitious” classroom teachers will be encouraged to set up their own state-funded schools in England if the Conservatives win power in next year’s general election. The Tories have concentrated so far on persuading groups of parents to open schools in their own communities to broaden the supply. Their latest blueprint is inspired by the Knowledge is Power Programme (KIPP) in the United States, which boasts 82 schools in 19 states; it was founded by two teachers who wanted to improve the system in deprived areas of New York.
