Speech by , Shadow Secretary of State for Education, to the
Labour Party Conference
Conference, I’m delighted to be here to debate how the next
Labour government will overcome the challenges of the pandemic to
deliver an education system that equips children for the future.
For, as I have heard on visits to nurseries, schools, colleges
and universities, the challenges we have to overcome are severe.
Children out of school for 115 days, isolated from their friends
and teachers. Exams chaos, with students suffering 2 years of
uncertainty and last-minute decisions disrupting their futures.
Children with SEND experiencing huge disruption from school
closures, and the shutdown of vital services. And hundreds of
thousands of children left struggling to access remote learning,
while this callous Conservative government had to be dragged
kicking and screaming to provide free meals for children during
the holidays.
We know, it’s not just during the pandemic that our children have
been let down. For a decade we have seen the effects of the
Tories’ neglect and underfunding of education: Class sizes
soaring to their highest in decades, reversing the progress the
last Labour government made; a SEND crisis as children have been
left without the support they need and parent’s left feeling
abandoned and a teacher retention crisis, with a third of
teachers leaving our schools within five years.
But despite being overworked and undervalued, despite the chaos
of the pandemic, our brilliant education workforce - teachers,
leaders, lecturers and early years staff – have stepped-up. And I
want to say, on behalf of the Labour party, you have inspired us,
and we extend our deepest thanks for all that you have done.
But the Conservatives’ handling of the pandemic? Their handling
of education over the last decade? Children held back, a
workforce exhausted, and a widening attainment gap. Yet children
themselves remain excited about their futures. They have high
aspirations, high hopes and dreams.
And Labour is right there with them. We want every child,
regardless of background, to achieve their ambitions. And that is
why Labour wants to build on the positive changes we have seen:
parents involved in their children’s learning, local schools
working together for local communities, the phenomenal dedication
of our education workforce.
So we deliver an enriching, enjoyable, world-class education that
enables children to make the most of their childhoods and equips
them with the skills they need for life. We’ve already shown
Labour’s commitment with our Children’s Recovery Plan. A plan
that recognises that children’s learning and wellbeing go hand in
hand. A plan that would set children up for life with
communication, teamwork, problem solving, social skills.
That’s why our plan would extend the school day for additional
activities – breakfast clubs giving children the fuel to learn,
art, sport, cooking, coding, book clubs - so that opportunities
to develop life skills and enjoy new experiences become the norm
for every child. It’s why we would invest in training world class
teachers, and give schools the resources to expand small group
tutoring, unlocking all the advantages it brings. Why we would
support the early years sector, schools and colleges with an
Education Recovery Premium, delivering additional learning
support including for children with SEND, and engage with
families around the SEND review and it’s why we are prioritising
young people’s mental health, with access to a professional
mental health counsellor for every school.
Conference, our children’s futures, life chances and aspirations
must not be limited by the Conservatives treating them as an
afterthought. They must not be limited by a recovery plan that
the Government’s own catch-up expert described as “feeble” and
they must not be limited by a weak Prime Minister who took months
to sack a failing Secretary of State.
That is why today, Conference, I am challenging the new Education
Secretary to deliver a recovery guarantee. To ensure that every
single child who has been let down, ignored and undervalued by
this government not only recovers from the pandemic, but thrives
on new opportunities to learn, play and develop - just as
Labour’s plan would enable them to do.
But Conference, we must go further to give every young person a
brighter future. That’s why Labour will end tax breaks for
private schools as Keir announced at the weekend, and use that
funding to equip young people with the skills they need for work
and for life.
By providing every young person with work experience and careers
advice, ensuring every child has digital access, getting young
people who have fallen out of the system back into education,
training or employment.
Labour in government transformed education and we can do it
again.
Delivering enriching, enjoyable childhoods
The opportunity for every child to reach their potential
The skills young people need for the future, and the skills our
country needs
Conference, that’s my guarantee and how the next Labour
government will make Britain the best place to grow-up.
