Failing Schools Will Be Turned Into Academies

Around 1,000 failing schools will be turned into academies under a new education bill being published in Parliament later.

Every school in England rated inadequate by Ofsted will be turned into an academy.

Academies are schools that are directly funded by central government but are run independently of the local authority. They may receive additional support from personal or corporate sponsors.

Education secretary Nicky Morgan claims the bill closes legal loopholes "exploited by those who put ideological objections above the best interests of children".

However, critics of the Education and Adoption Bill say it is a "crude attack on state comprehensive education" and claimed it was irrational and impractical.

Ms Morgan said: "Today's landmark Bill will allow the best education experts to intervene in poor schools from the first day we spot failure.

"At the heart of our commitment to delivering real social justice is our belief that every pupil deserves an excellent education and that no parent should have to be content with their child spending a single day in a failing school.

"Hundreds of schools, often in disadvantaged areas, are already being turned around thanks to the help of strong academy sponsors - education experts who know exactly what they have to do to make a failing school outstanding.

"This Bill will allow them to do their job faster and more effectively, ensuring that thousands more pupils from across the country get the world class education they deserve."

The Department for Education said a number of leading head teachers and education experts have backed the reforms.

But Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said the Bill was intended to "silence critics, including parents and teachers".

"A pledge to convert 'up to 1,000' schools is as irrational as it is impractical," she said.

"Head teachers are already in short supply, so the promise to sack more of them will simply exacerbate the problem.

"Where does Nicky Morgan imagine that new teachers and heads will come from?"

Shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt said: "Labour continues to support the principle of schools that are failing - be they academies or maintained schools - facing new leadership.

"But these measures do not meet the challenges we face in education, such as preventing educational inequality setting in during the early years and ensuring high-quality teachers are attracted into poorly performing areas.

"It is very depressing to see the Government's partisan and divisive education policy continuing into this parliament."