Responding to news on Tuesday that the Government is to announce plans to convert all schools in England into academies, Co-operative Party General Secretary Claire McCarthy said:

The details of this latest shake up of school governance are yet to be revealed, with the Education Secretary due to address Parliament on Thursday. However, the Co-operative Party is clear that robust local accountability and school collaboration are vital. Co-operative schools around the country have a good record of delivering this, with high levels of educational attainment and a strong values-based governance model. In any shake-up we will be working with the sector and our political representatives to ensure that the needs and concerns of co-operative schools are heard by Government