John Swinney has firmly rejected the "ideological dogma" of the grammar school system as he pledged to give schools more power over the education students receive.

While UK Prime Minister Theresa May is to lift the long-standing ban on new selective schools in England, Holyrood's Education Secretary said Scotland "will never allow children to be labelled as failures at the age of 11".

He vowed there would be "no policy of selection or grammar schools in Scotland" as he announced new educational regions are to be set up in a major shake-up of the schools system north of the border.

The introduction of these will allow authorities to "share good practice, ensure best value" and also to "deliver the best outcomes for children and young people," Mr Swinney said.

A review will now be carried out to determine what decisions can be made at school level, and which have to be taken at national level, such as exams.

But Mr Swinney insisted: "Our guiding principle for the way our schools are run is simple. Decisions should be taken at school level.

"That will be our presumption and we will place it at the heart of this review."

In a statement to Holyrood, he told MSPs: "I do not want to run every school in the country. That's not the purpose of this review.

"This is about discussing what are the right powers and responsibilities to be exercised at school level, to ensure that our teaching leadership, in whom we are investing our hopes as a country in educating our young people, are able to take the decisions that best suit the needs of their children in that individual school."

The Education Secretary said: "This is a vision of empowerment and devolution. Devolution from local authorities to schools - teachers, headteachers, parents and communities.

"Devolution from a national to a local or regional level. Let us ensure that decisions about a child's learning are taken as close to a child as possible."

Teachers' leaders at the EIS union welcomed Mr Swinney's confirmation that the Scottish Government does not "intend to mimic the disasters of UK policy".

General secretary Larry Flanagan said: "At a time when the UK Government seems determined to embed division - largely based around socio-economic factors - within its school system, it is important that we take a different approach here in Scotland."

He also stressed the review must focus on how "teaching and learning can be supported more effectively" instead of becoming a "turf war" between the ministers and local authorities, who run Scotland's schools.

However, councils have voiced concerns that the review will be "as open as we would hope and that we are not facing a set of pre-decided outcomes".

A spokesman for the local government body Cosla called on Mr Swinney to "proceed with caution"

He stated: "There is plenty to be celebrated within the Scottish education system and to proceed in a hasty manner could do irreparable damage for future generations."

Schools are already being given new power under Scottish Government plans to hand the £100 million to be raised from Council Tax reforms directly to head teachers.

But Mr Swinney said that minsters are committed to going "much further" than this, pledging to bring in a "fair and transparent needs-based funding formula for schools".

He said: "This Government is committed to a publicly-funded comprehensive education system which enables every child and young person to achieve.

"We will not - we will never - go down the divisive academy model.

"And, we will never allow children to be labelled as failures at the age of 11. There will be no policy of selection or grammar schools in Scotland.

"Our reform will be based on evidence of what works, not right-wing ideological dogma."

On the issue of education regions, he said: "School clusters are a way in which schools can work together and we want to hear how this type of collaboration and others can be encouraged, so that it is supported and sustained."

Mr Swinney argued: "By working together we can achieve more. We will not set school against school, parent against parent and pupil against pupil. We will bring people together to pursue the world-class education that every child deserves."

Conservative education spokeswoman Liz Smith said: "We have been calling on the Scottish Government for years to drive more control and power down to schools.

"If this is what is going to happen under this review, then that is to be welcomed.

"But as ever with this SNP government, it will need to be watched carefully to make sure it delivers on its promises."

The Tory insisted: "New educational regions must not be a Trojan Horse for yet more centralisation."

She also said the Education Secretary should back parents who want to "save their school by opting out of local authority control".

But Labour's Ian Gray said Mr Swinney had "refused to rule out a return to the discredited Tory policy of letting schools opt out of local authority control".

Mr Gray hit out: "Schools opting out of local authorities would risk the gap between the richest and the rest growing.

"If Mr Swinney is serious about cutting the attainment gap then he should pledge a world class education for every young person, rather than allow the possibility that some schools could opt out.

"The Education Secretary even left the door open to ending national pay and conditions for teachers.

"Above all, he refused yet again to protect education budgets, even as we were told that councils could face cuts of £1 billion by the end of the parliament.

"The SNP Government in Edinburgh is slashing the funding for our schools - now it is introducing new levels of uncertainty in their future."

Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat Tavish Scott raised concerns about whether the new education regions would be "imposed" as he raised the "human and financial cost" of merging regional police forces to create Police Scotland.