National Education Union joint general secretary Kevin Courtney said Education Secretary Gillian Keegan’s announcement this week that the bill will not progress to a third reading in parliament “is a relief as it has been widely discredited” and had “focused on the wrong priorities”.
“The urgent challenges are recruitment and retention of teachers, school funding, pay, and the unequal learning gaps created by Covid,” he said.
“The bill missed the opportunity to resolve the problems created through the fragmentation of the system, such as the lack of voice and choice for schools after they have joined a trust.”
He added: “The government must recognise that structural change is not what schools and communities want and should also back away from the counter-productive pressure which it is putting on schools, predominantly those in poorer communities.
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