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Ministers finally define what a 'coasting' school is – but more details are still to come

Legislation and guidance Government policy
The Department for Education has finally set out what it means by ‘coasting’. However, a lack of detail means school leaders are still in the dark about what they will need to achieve to avoid intervention. Pete Henshaw reports

Secondary schools have at last been given a definition of what “coasting" will mean under the government's new intervention proposals.

However, the definition issued by education secretary Nicky Morgan on Tuesday (June 30) is still not complete and will leave school leaders unsure as to what they need to achieve come 2016 – the first year when “coasting" schools will be named – to avoid intervention.

School leaders have said the policy is “muddled" and “arbitrary", while teachers have pointed out that many schools judged “good" by Ofsted could soon be at risk of losing their headteachers and top staff.

The Department for Education (DfE) has confirmed that academisation is to be the ultimate sanction for “coasting" schools that fail to improve results. Ministers believe that hundreds of schools will fall into the new category come 2016.

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