Campaigners supporting Waltham Forest’s state schools have criticised the approval process behind free schools in the wake of the announcement of four new free schools this morning.

Jonathan White, 39, campaigner and father of two, has previously opposed the opening of both the Oasis Community Learning school and Tauheedul Free Schools, listed as Waltham Forest Leadership Academy for Girls.

Mr White learned this morning, however, that two additional free schools were granted approval and said the lack of public consultation to this point is ‘crazy’.

The father of two, whose daughter attends Henry Maynard School and who lives on Cromwell Road, added that two of the schools which have now been approved were unknown to him before today, which flies in the face of the usual consultation and approval processes.

He said: “It’s crazy there’s no transparent process for consultation to this point.

“Any other major body would have to submit a proposal and have a consultation, but these rules don’t apply when opening a school.”

He notes on the group’s website that if full details of applications are not made public until after the Department of Education gives approval it cannot be said that their decision took account of local concerns in any meaningful sense.

A spokeswoman from Oasis Community Living, the group who was this morning granted approval to open Oasis Community School Walthamstow, said that the DofE does not require statutory consultation in the free school submission process.

She added that the ‘pre-opening’ stage, which the 102 schools announced this morning now enter, includes a statutory consultation, which they will undertake in the autumn.

Prior to this stage the DofE only requires that candidate free schools have the signatures of at least 75% of parents of children in the first two years of intake.

The spokeswoman said Oasis Community School had 100% of relevant signatures, and despite not being legally obliged to consult prior to the pre-opening stage they had undertaken significant public consultation.