Alasdair Macdonald says the last 14 years were not a success for the schools system, while Michael Pyke thinks the government is right to rein in academies. Plus, a letter by Paul McGilchrist

Your editorial (The Guardian view on the children’s bill: academy freedoms are beside the point, 30 January) is a welcome riposte to the academy lobby’s attempt to hijack debate on the children’s wellbeing and schools bill. We must focus on what we need to do to improve our school system and challenge the view that the past 14 years were a great success.

Doubtful claims, without robust supporting evidence, that the bill will “destroy the huge gains made over the last decade and a half” have been widely repeated. Attention is often drawn to the opinions of CEOs of large academy chains. Evidenced comparisons between academies and maintained schools are rare, and reference is seldom heard, for example, of the fact that UK 15-year-olds have the lowest life satisfaction score in Europe.