New education bill to give government 'sweeping powers'

A new education bill passing through parliament would provide ministers with many more powers to intervene in the way teachers undertake their roles, it has been suggested.

According to the Guardian, there are 153 new powers for education secretary Ed Balls and his counterpart at the Department for Universities, Innovation and Skills, John Denham.

In a move that could significantly change the way teaching jobs are carried out and regulated, the bill provides a range of new powers that will allow ministers to intervene in local authority decisions over the provision of local education.

The government is keen to centralise the way in which teaching is provided to children across the country, so that education can become more uniform regardless of background.

Among the changes proposed in the bill is the ability for the schools secretary to stipulate which courses apart from maths, English and ICT, students aged 16 to 19 should be entitled to study.

Earlier this year, the Department for Children, Schools and Families launched a new schools recruitment service to provide a standardised approach to applying for teaching jobs across the country.

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