EXPANDING ACADEMIES AND REFORMING OFSTED

Michael Gove, the Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, has announced that a Conservative Government will legislate immediately to expand rapidly the Academies programme.
He pledged to introduce a new Educational Bill within days of taking office, with the intention of it becoming law by the end of July 2010.
The Bill will sweep away restrictions on the creations of new Academies and radically reform Ofsted to put a new focus on saving failing school, radically reform OFSTED, and struggling primaries will be identified faster and turned around more quickly.
The announcement comes as the Conservative Party holds a conference for more than 150 heads of outstanding schools to outline their plans to spread lessons from the best schools to those that are struggling.
"Unless we act now our children will lose out in the global race for knowledge", Gove said. "We cannot afford another five years of Gordon Brown. We need a new generation of independent state schools run by teachers who know your child’s name, not by politicians."
He said that if the Conservatives win the election, we will act "within days" to raise standards:
"We will immediately change the law so we can set hundreds of good schools free from political interference and enable them to help struggling schools. We will enable them to re-open as Academies this September. And we will empower them to take over failing primaries or other schools which need their leadership."