Opposition parties have accused the Scottish Government of "stalling" and kicking education reform "into the long grass".

Nicola Sturgeon was grilled on a delay to the Government's Education Bill during First Minister's Questions at Holyrood.

The proposed legislation had been promised early this year but this week Education Secretary John Swinney said it would be published "sometime during 2017".

Mr Swinney said he needs time to "chew over" some 1,100 responses to the Government's review of school governance which will feed into the Bill.

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said education reform is on a "slow train", while Labour leader Kezia Dugdale said it had been "kicked into the long grass".

Ms Davidson said: "A year-and-a-half ago, the First Minister staked her reputation on reforming Scotland's schools and what have we seen since then?

"We've seen literacy standards slipping, we've seen numeracy standards sliding, we've seen Curriculum for Excellence failing, and now we've seen her Education Secretary stalling.

"She keeps putting their referendum on the front foot but she's putting everyone else's child's education on the back burner.

"Hasn't her Government got their priorities all wrong on this?"

Ms Sturgeon said: "Every time Ruth Davidson stands up in this chamber all she manages to do is shoot herself in the foot. I want to talk about education and she just continually tries to shoe-horn in the mentions of independence and a referendum.

"We have had the consultation on governance reform. We have received over 1,000 responses to that consultation and it's right and proper that the Education Secretary considers all of those responses and then comes forward to Parliament with our proposals on the way forward."

The First Minister said the governance review was just one element of education reform, citing the Government's attainment challenge, pupil equity funding and national improvement framework.

She said: "When you have a consultation with the potential for some far-reaching reforms in education, I think it is absolutely right that we take time to consider the responses and to consider the way forward. As we are doing that the other strands of our reform programme are well under way."

Ms Dugdale said: "It has been 10 months since the election, yet parents and teachers still remain in the dark about the SNP's plans for our schools.

"As we've just heard, the Education Secretary has kicked the consultation on how schools are run into the long grass.

"The First Minister said that's just one part of her education reforms, and she's right. There's also the Education Bill, the very symbol of this Government's apparent number one priority - it has been kicked into the long grass too.

"The SNP's power grab to centralise every school budget in the country, kicked into the long grass as well. And the roll out of national testing, which she also mentioned, has been delayed as well.

"Education was the First Minister's defining mission. Isn't it the case that education is defining this Government as indecisive and distracted?"

Ms Sturgeon said the question revealed Ms Dugdale as a "pound shop Ruth Davidson", adding "maybe more like buy one get one free".

She said: "We're giving £120 million direct to head teachers in almost every single one of our schools across the country. Giving resources and the power to use those resources direct to head teachers.

"Only in the world of Scottish Labour could that be described as centralising education budgets. It is the exact opposition of centralising education budgets."

Ms Dugdale responded: "The SNP Government have failed for 10 years on education, no wonder she has to resort to personal attacks.

"I wouldn't want the First Minister to think that John Swinney hasn't been busy. He has launched an improvement framework, a governance review and an advertising campaign. He's just not done anything to improve our schools.

"Since May, this Government has launched more than 120 consultations and reviews. That's three a week.

"The enterprise review alone has three reviews within it. The health and social care delivery plan another four reviews within it. There is even a review into the review of fracking.

"I know the First Minister has only one thing on her mind but when is she going to stop talking about governing and actually start doing some?"

Ms Sturgeon responded: "This Government will never stop talking to and engaging with and consulting with the people of Scotland.

"Labour stopped doing that and they went from first place to second place in Scottish politics and then they went from second place to third place, and who knows right now where they're going to end up."

Other opposition parties also questioned Ms Sturgeon on education.

Green co-convener Patrick Harvie spoke of "shocking" evidence given to Holyrood's Education Committee this week over provisions for school pupils with additional support needs.

He spoke of a one-in-seven reduction in additional support needs teachers since 2010, at a time when a quarter of young people are now recognised as having extra needs.

Ms Sturgeon said: "I do think there is quite a fundamental point here. Something like 95% of all children with additional support needs are taught in mainstream schools.

"We must not see the support that they need as just being support that they get from additional support teachers. Every single teacher working in our schools has a responsibility to provide the support that those young people need."

Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie asked the First Minister to "think again about national testing two".

Ms Sturgeon told him: "No I won't change my mind on national testing, I don't support national testing and we're not going to introduce national testing.

"What we are introducing is standardised assessments to... inform the judgments teachers make right now about whether or not a young person is meeting the required level of Curriculum for Excellence."