Justine Greening announces new Bill
Justine Greening announced last week that plans to convert all schools in “underforming and unviable” council areas into academies will be axed.
In a Written Ministerial Statement made on October 27, the Education Secretary announced a new Technical and Further Education Bill, stating: “my department has renewed its focus on ensuring everything we do drives towards improving social mobility with an emphasis on not just the most disadvantaged families but also on those that are just about managing.
“Our ambition remains that all schools should benefit from the freedom and autonomy that academy status brings. Our focus, however, is on building capacity in the system and encouraging schools to convert voluntarily.
Ms Greening also mentioned that no changes to legislation are required in this parliamentary session to “make progress on our ambitious education agenda”.
Schools Week expects that the Government willshelve the Education for All Bill altogether, with others suggesting elements from the bill could still be used in new legislation to do with grammar school proposals.
The Bill was first outlined by former Chancellor George Osborne in his March Budget and later included in the Queen’s Speech.