Commenting on the number of schools opting for Academy status, Christine Blower General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union, said;

“For a policy that was supposed to be a flagship change for education, it is something of a failure to have so few schools opening at this stage.

“It was a great mistake to rush through legislation enabling schools to change for the new term and the Government is paying the price for their indecent haste.

“The Academies programme has simply not caught the imagination of school leaders, teachers and parents. This large scale rejection of Academies indicates that schools do not see the benefits of such an unnecessary upheaval and wish to remain within the local, democratic family of schools.

“While there is no conclusive evidence that Academies improve education, what we do know is that their lack of accountability and their draining of local authority education funding will have a dramatic impact on children and young people receiving the same standard of education regardless of the school’s status.

“The Government has been given a clear message; the breakup of the state education system in England is not wanted. They now need to re-focus their divisive education policies and return to the aim of achieving a good local school for every child operating within the local authority family of schools.”