He is to outline further details of his plans to grant state schools more independence
Education Secretary Michael Gove is to outline further details of his plans to grant state schools more independence.
The newly named Department for Education says it wants to "cut red tape" and allow primary and secondary schools the same freedoms as academies.
It comes the day after two education Bills, which will pave the way for "free schools" - a key plank of the Tories plans for education reform, were announced in the Queen's Speech.
The first of those, the Academies Bill, will allow schools to opt out of local authority control and apply directly to the Education Secretary for academy status.
Schools rated as "outstanding" by Ofsted - around 600 secondaries and about 2,000 primaries - will be "pre-approved", effectively meaning their applications are fast-tracked.
It means that outstanding schools who apply immediately could be re-opened as academies this September.
It is the first time that primary schools will be allowed to apply for academy status.
A second Education and Children's Bill, set to be published in the autumn, contains measures to reform Ofsted and to ensure that heads are held accountable for two core educational "goals" - attainment and closing the gap between rich and poor pupils. It will introduce a slimmed-down curriculum, a reading test for 11-year-olds and give teachers and heads more powers to tackle bullying and bad behaviour.
The Bill also mentions plans to bring in a "pupil premium", which will see money follow poorer children from school to school.
Together, the two Bills remove many of the barriers to the introduction of "free schools" which will see parents, teachers, charities, trusts and voluntary groups given state funding to set up and operate schools on the Swedish model, which would be taxpayer-funded and non-fee-paying but independent from state control.
By The Press Association
