Schools that fall into a new category as 'coasting' could be turned into academies by the government, which says it is determined to improve standards.

The government is to introduce an Education and Adoption Bill with new powers to speed up the process of changing a failing school's leadership and turning it into an academy.

Those considered to be 'coasting' – not performing as well as they could be – will also face being taken over as part of a fresh Government bid to raise standards.

The Bill will also give the secretary of state for education Nicky Morgan new powers to force local councils to hand over their responsibilities for adoption to another authority or agency.

This could mean a number of councils see their adoption services merged into regional adoption agencies.

Suffolk County Council was still waiting for confirmation of exactly what the new bill would mean for local schools.

Lisa Chambers, the council's cabinet member for education, said: 'I want every child in Suffolk to attend a good or outstanding school, regardless of whether it is a local authority-maintained school, a free school or an academy.

'The local authority has a clear role in supporting and challenging the performance of all schools to ensure we fulfil our role as champions for every child's education in the county.

'I await further clarity on what is being inferred through the use of the word coasting.'