Following the recent Education Bill consultation, the Department of Education, Sport and Culture has announced that it will postpone the date it expected to take forward the Education Bill.

The Education Bill will now be put to Tynwald later this year.

Graham Cregeen MHK, Minister for Education, Sport and Culture, said: ’We would to thank everyone who took the time to respond to the Education Bill consultation. We received almost 600 responses.

’The department had hoped we would be able to bring forward the Education Bill in April, however we now expect this to be later in the year, following the summer recess.

’This will enable us the time to collate all the feedback and make the necessary amends to the draft Bill.

’This is a vital piece of work and we want to ensure it’s effective for as many stakeholders as possible, but also helps to make continuous improvements to our island’s education system.’

’During the consultation the department met with various stakeholders, including teaching unions, which also provided feedback on the draft Education Bill, and we are continuing this dialogue with teaching staff and the unions.’

Home schooling was one of the issues that caused controversy.

Last month, Mr Cregeen revealed that, so far, the bill has cost £15,800 to draft.

The Education Bill updates the current 2001 Education Act and concentrates on regulation and the curriculum.

It includes new rules to combat bullying on social media and aims to boost inclusivity in education and ban selection on the grounds of ability.