On Thursday 4th July, the UK went to the polls, and by the time of the Exit Poll at 10 pm, it was clear that 14 years of Conservative governments were coming to an end.
On Friday 5th July, the UK awoke to a Labour majority and Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister. The new government, focused on national renewal, has quickly begun outlining its agenda, prompting significant interest in its potential impact on key sectors, including education.
The question is: what does and could this mean for education and schools?
What is Labour’s Plan for Schools?
ReadingWise provides reading and literacy solutions to schools, and as such, we’ve always worked with the Department for Education (DfE) and the government’s schools inspection body Ofsted.
It is widely recognised that schools, teachers, headteachers, teaching assistants (TAs), SENDcos, and other staff have faced challenges in recent years. There is anticipation about how education policy may evolve under a Labour government.
Labour’s Key Educational Policies
Labour campaigned on breaking down barriers to opportunity, and this is what it means when it comes to schools and education:
Deliver high and rising standards in early education
- With childcare that delivers life chances for children as well as work choices for parents (3,000 new school-based nurseries)
- 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
Labour’s Education Pledges
The new Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson MP, has already made a start on one of Labour’s biggest pledges: the recruitment of 6,500 new teachers. There’s a new website for this: “Every Lesson Shapes a Life,” directing potential candidates to the Get into Teaching website, where they can access support and advice.
Phillipson has made impressive appointments, including Sir Kevan Collins and Sir David Bell. As reported in Tes Magazine, she told school leaders that she needs their help to deliver on Labour’s education pledges.
These pledges were announced by King Charles III at the state opening of Parliament, with many included in a Children’s Wellbeing Bill, such as free breakfast clubs in every primary school and pulling multi-academy trusts (MATs) back into the national curriculum.
Labour’s Plans for Reading & Literacy
Labour’s manifesto highlights specific policies aimed at improving literacy and reading skills:
- A new focus on speaking and listening skills
- A strong core of literacy and numeracy
- Inspect multi-academy trusts as well as schools themselves
- Boosting early language skills and spotting children who need support sooner
- Improving how data is shared to pick up special educational needs and disabilities earlier
While we don’t yet know if there will be specific changes to teaching English, reading, writing, and phonics, the government is planning a curriculum and assessment review. Once completed by the DfE, we may see changes across specific subject areas and key stage groups.
What challenges does Labour face in creating and implementing a new education plan?
The challenges Labour faces in creating and implementing a new education plan primarily stem from the “tight funding environment” they’ve inherited, as noted by the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS). Schools are currently “in the dark” about education budgets, and there was no “commitment to protect school funding” in Labour’s manifesto.
At present, Labour is assessing the state of public finances before preparing its first budget, which will determine how the new education policy is implemented. According to Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, schools still face challenges such as a £4.4 billion black hole in the high-needs budget for SEND pupils.
Hope for the Future
One of the biggest challenges the new government faces is the extreme levels of child poverty. Glyn Potts, headteacher at Newman RC College, highlights that parents are making more demands on schools for issues that extend beyond education, such as housing. Until we see what the budget brings, there is a sense of waiting.
For the first time in years, however, we are seeing hope—hope that the education system can recover and thrive, that teachers and children will have access to more resources, and that those who struggle with reading will receive the help they need.
ReadingWise: Supporting Literacy in Schools
Over 300,000 pupils in UK schools have completed a ReadingWise programme. We aim to help even more children and schools improve their literacy outcomes.
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