EDUCATION leaders in Bury have expressed their relief after the Government abandoned plans to force all schools to become academies.

The U-turn by Education Secretary Nicky Morgan came after a backlash to the proposal to take schools out of local authority control by 2022.

Ministers still hope that a large number of schools will choose to convert to academies, but the plan is now an "aspiration" rather than a compulsory policy, the Department for Education said.

Bury currently has four academies - Elton Primary, Radcliffe Primary, Gorsefield Primary, and Yesoiday Hatorah School.

Helen Chadwick, chairman of Bury Association of Primary Heads and headteacher of Millwood Primary Special School, said: "Bury has a long tradition of being an independent and resolute borough and Bury's primary schools - 81 per cent of which are judged by OFSTED to be good or outstanding - are at the heart of the communities they serve.

"The decision by the Secretary of State for Education not to enforce all schools to become academies by 2022 has been very well received by the vast majority of primary headteachers in Bury.

"There was no need for us to be compelled to become academies or, worse, to be taken over by distant academy chains, losing our independence and links with our local communities.

"Bury primaries already work together successfully within the Bury Primary Learning Collaborative and we look forward to continuing to work in partnership with parents, with governors and with the local authority to ensure that all Bury children achieve their full potential."

The Government announced plans in its Budget to force around 17,000 mainstream schools in England to be taken out of the control of local education authorities.

But the plans came under intense criticism, including from council chiefs, and ministers faced a potential revolt from backbench MPs.

With the Government's slender majority in the Commons, there was a chance Mrs Morgan could have faced a humiliating defeat if she pushed ahead with the plans.

Mrs Morgan said: "Making every school an academy is the best way to ensure every child, regardless of birth or background, has access to a world-class education.

"I am today reaffirming our determination to see all schools become academies. However, having listened to the feedback from Parliamentary colleagues and the education sector we will now change the path to reaching that goal.

"By focusing our efforts on those schools most at risk of failing young people, and encouraging 'good' and 'outstanding' schools to seize the opportunities of conversion, we will ensure the continued growth of the academy programme, empowering frontline heads and school leads, and transforming even more children's education."

NASUWT general secretary Chris Keates said: "This is another humiliating failure for the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

"Teachers, school leaders and schools have been subjected to an unnecessary period of anxiety and panic as a result of his ill-conceived and politically motivated statement, which did not even command the support of the Tory rank and file, particularly in local councils, and caused rebellion in his own ranks.

"It is disgraceful that teachers and school leaders, already under enormous pressure and stress, were ever subjected to this."