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 week.

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 after the announcement, however, that two additional, unheard of, free schools were granted approval and said the lack of public consultation to this point is ‘crazy’.

The father of two, who lives on Cromwell Road, Walthamstow, and whose daughter attends Henry Maynard School, added that the fact two of the approved schools were unknown to him before today 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.

Another father, Tom Davies, 42, of Brookfield Avenue, Walthamstow, said: “Given that we don’t even know where the schools are going to be the announcement cuts across the fact that the schools are there to help local demand.”

His 17-month-old daughter was central to his concerns about a shortage of primary school places, especially now that only one new school is to be primary.

He added: “This process of quasi-consultation does nothing before the schools get approval and it’s only after approval that the real consultation begins.”

A spokeswoman from Oasis Community Living, the group who was 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 approved schools now enter, includes a statutory consultation which Oasis 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, which Oasis has.

Education Secretary Michael Gove said: “There are many innovators in local communities set on raising standards of education for their children.

“I am delighted to approve so many of their high-quality plans to open a free school.

“Free schools are extremely popular with parents and are delivering strong discipline and teaching excellence across the country.”

The groups behind the schools can now move to secure their sites.

Free schools are state-funded schools independent of local authority control.