According to research by education data firm SchoolDash, schools which convert to academies have shown mixed results, in regard to performance.

Members of the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) has announced that teachers are due to step up industrial action against reforms to the Curriculum for Excellence, by boycotting any work associated with the changes.

Thousands of parents in England are set to keep their children off school for a day, as part of the ‘Let Our Kids Be Kids’ campaign protesting the introduction of tougher new Sats.

The County Councils Network (CCN), which represents 37 largely Conservative local authorities, has warned that government plans to force all schools in England to convert into academies pose a ‘grave risk’ to schools.

According to leaders of 80 of Northern Ireland’s (NI) largest schools, fewer teachers and larger classes are a result of rising costs.

In an interview with BBC Radio 5, Education Secretary Nicky Morgan agreed that critics had raised ‘important issues’ regarding academy plans.

The ‘Memorandums of Understanding’ have set out guidelines for the way church run schools will work in the new academy landscape.