Plans to force schools to become academies initially featured in a white paper in March of this year.
This was followed two months later by a climb-down on the compulsory aspect when the Education For All bill was unveiled in the Queen's speech.
Also withdrawn were plans to end statutory places for parents on boards of governors.
Yesterday, in a statement to Parliament, education secretary Justine Greening finally drew a line under the bill, announcing, ‘no changes to legislation’ are needed for ‘building capacity in the system and encouraging schools to convert voluntarily’.
She said, ‘Our ambition remains that all schools should benefit from the freedom and autonomy that academy status brings.
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