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CentrePiece Winter 2009/10 in brief... A Swedish model for UK schools? Educational reforms in Sweden have been held up as a potential model for improving the performance of UK schools. Helena Holmlund and Sandra McNally examine the evidence. In Sweden, reforms enacted in the early 1990s allowed literally go bust). Closing down schools can be slow, new schools to be set up that are independent of political and unpopular. The reality that governments will government control. A variety of educational providers have to support simultaneously the new schools and the stepped in, ranging from non-profit co-operatives and older ‘bad’ ones, and that the latter will not exit at an faith groups to for-profit corporations. These organisations efficient rate, needs to be factored into the expected cost- are now running schools funded with public money effectiveness of a ‘school creation’ policy. through a voucher system. Creating new schools can also be an expensive The Swedish system has been strongly praised by policy if large capital outlays are required. This is the Conservative politicians, whose ‘Advancing Opportunity’ case with academies in the UK, although not for the agenda proposes ‘freeing up the system whereby new new independent schools in Sweden. The latter are schools are established, to allow charities, livery usually small and often use empty office buildings or companies, existing school federations, not-for-profit former schools. This raises several big questions for all trusts, co-operatives and groups of parents to set up new political parties. schools in the state sector’. It has been suggested that an extended and reformed academies programme (initially introduced by the Blair g