The Department for Education (DfE) has rejected claims it is centralising the education system by setting up a 'middle tier' of civil servants to supervise academy and local authority maintained schools.

According to a leaked internal newsletter sent to the DfE's Infrastructure and Funding Division, the department will take over school intervention work – traditionally a task of local authorities. Last month, the DfE set up a network of officials to look at schools' performance across nine English regions – mirroring Ofsted's new regional inspectorate – to intervene in 'failing schools'.