[10] They were planned to be involved in the Conservative Party's first wave of new free schools should it be elected in favour of the incumbent Labour government in May 2010.

[12][13] Michael Gove, who had become Secretary of State for Education, held a bid to determine who would be in receipt of a £500,000 government grant which would be used to advise him on the programme and help parents establish new free schools.

[17] On 21 June 2010, Gove announced that the network had received over 700 expressions of interest in establishing a free school for the programme's first wave.

[28] In 2013, then-current chief operating officer Natalie Evans assumed the role of Director of NSN on the departure of Rachel Wolf.

[33] He welcomed the May government's support for the programme,[34] but was wary with NSN founder Rachel Wolf of its planned creation of new grammar free schools.

It ultimately chose to drop any future grants for the network while also refusing to support its attempted expansion, including in the activity of encouraging non-academy schools to academize.

[43] Following Young's resignation, the NSN fell under the interim directorship of Mark Lehain, the director of the Parents and Teachers for Excellence (PTE) organisation.

[46] In October 2018, he resigned to prioritise his service at PTE and was succeeded in November at the NSN by Sigrun Olafsdottir,[47] who also served on an interim term until permanent director Luke Tryl took over in March 2019.

[48][49] Tryl would leave the network shortly after in July 2019 to retain his previous role as special adviser to cabinet minister Nicky Morgan.

[51] In January 2022, the Department for Education held another bid to determine which organisation would have a supportive role in the free schools programme, with a contract of £1,485,000 on the table.

Academy trusts and free schools which intend to deal with inequality in education will be able to apply for the Innovation Fund from Autumn 2022.

[57][58] In September 2010, MP Lisa Nandy lodged a formal complaint with the Charity Commission over concerns about the impartiality of the New Schools Network.

[59] Rachel Wolf responded that the complaints were politically motivated; saying "the Charity Commission was asked to look into us by activists who are ideologically opposed to free schools and who dislike what we do”.

[60] Schools Minister Nick Gibb responded to questions over the tendering of the contract saying "The formal grant agreement between the Department and NSN has not yet been finalised but it will include appropriate clauses on conflicts of interest and clear reporting requirements.