Catherine West – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Catherine West on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the press notice entitled Next Steps to spread educational excellence everywhere announced, published on 6 May 2016, how long before she made the announcement of her decision to change her policy on schools becoming academies that decision was made.

Edward Timpson

When our White Paper Educational Excellence Everywhere was published, we were clear that we would be listening and reflecting on discussions with MPs and the education sector about all of the proposals in the White Paper. Following these discussions, we have decided it is not necessary to take blanket powers to convert good schools in strong local authorities to academies at this time.

We remain committed to the vision of a dynamic high-performing education system where every school is an academy. We believe that this is the best way to tackle underperformance and ensure the best schools expand their reach.