Labour’s plan for schools can be summarised as follows:
- Deliver high and rising standards in early education
- With childcare that delivers life chances for children as well as work choices for parents
- Boosting early language skills and spotting children who need support sooner
- Support all our children to achieve and thrive
- With free breakfast clubs in every primary school, driving up attendance and standards
- Mental health support in schools & communities for all our young people
- Improving how data is shared to pick up special educational needs and disabilities earlier
- Create a better system for inspecting and improving our schools
- End single word Ofsted judgements and bring in report cards with annual checks on safeguarding and attendance
- Inspect multi-academy trusts as well as schools themselves
- Introduce a new focus on improving schools with new regional teams to drive better outcomes for children
- Enable school staff to help our children to succeed
- With over 6,500 more teachers in schools
- All new teachers to be qualified
- A new national voice for school support staff
- A Teacher Training Entitlement for all our teachers
- Everyone in our schools treated with the respect they deserve.
- Prepare young people for their futures
- With a broader and richer curriculum and a full review of how it’s assessed
- A strong core of literacy and numeracy alongside access to sports and arts subjects
- A new focus on speaking and listening skills
- Ensuring all our children have the digital skills they need
- Equip young people with experiences to get them ready for work and ready for life
- With professional careers guidance in all our schools & colleges
- Two weeks’ worth of work experience for all students
(Source: https://labour.org.uk/updates/stories/labours-plan-for-schools/)
Their full manifesto for education, Breaking Down the Barriers to Opportunity, can be downloaded here. It sets out five main goals:
- Make security the foundation of opportunity
Britain’s success relies on everyone having the chance to get on, but currently too many people are held back by the lack of a secure job, secure home, a safe community and public services that aren’t there when you need them. Labour’s missions will tackle these barriers, giving everyone security. - Reform childcare and early years support so children have the best start in life
Children’s earliest years are crucial to their development and their life chances. By the time they start school, children eligible for free school meals are already five months behind their peers. By ensuring families have the early support they need, we can provide every child a firm foundation that sets them up for life. - Deliver a broader education and the highest standards in schools
Too many children are being let down, leaving school without essential reading, writing or maths skills. Too many are denied the opportunity to participate in arts, digital and sports subjects that develop life skills, like communication, teamwork, and digital skills, which are essential for their futures. Labour will raise school standards for all our children. We’ll ensure every child has the core knowledge and skills they need as part of a broad curriculum, delivered by recruiting and training thousands more expert teachers. - Provide pathways to good prospects for all
Right now, too many young people leave education without the qualifications they need and without high quality pathways onto apprenticeships, higher level education, or into good secure jobs. By pushing decisions on skills spending out of Westminster we’ll ensure local communities are able to join up training and job opportunities, with training routes coordinated between colleges and universities. - Spread opportunity beyond education
Conservative governments have been content to lock people out of too many spheres by cultural and social capital, allowing a class ceiling to remain intact for internships, prestigious jobs and in some cases, to getting on. Housing and job insecurity are barriers for too many people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Labour will turn this tide, delivering the opportunities everyone deserves.
You can read some summaries of and responses to Labour’s plans here:
dsga.org.uk 