Party conferences are curious affairs – part a pitch to the electorate and part a gathering of tribal clans. The stakes are always high, but there was an extra frisson to this year’s events because they may be the last before the next General Election.
What then have this year’s gathering told us about what may be in store for those working in our schools and colleges depending on who wins at the polls?
Below I give you my 10 education takeaways from the Conservative and Labour conferences. But before I begin, here are three quick context-setters. Read my reflections below with these in mind.
First, ASCL is an independent trade union. We don’t have affiliations with any political party. But we are in favour of sound policy-making which produces great results for children and young people, and which supports our superb education workforce. The list below is delivered in that spirit.
Second, the fact that I have ended up with six takeaways from Labour and four from the Conservatives is simply because the Conservatives didn’t say very much about education. And to be honest, four takeaways was a stretch (and included one on higher education which isn’t strictly my remit).
Third, the Conservatives might say that this is because they have already put a lot of reforms in place and feel they are working. I will leave you to judge…
So, here we go:
Conservative Party Conference
Mobile phone ‘ban’
- Takeaway 1: Will introduce new guidance for all schools to “ban” mobile phones.
- Verdict: Pointless. It isn’t actually a “ban” as the guidance will be non-statutory and most schools already have robust policies on mobile phones.
The ABS
- Takeaway 2: Will develop a new baccalaureate-style qualification – the Advanced British Standard – for 16 to 19-year-olds, bringing A levels and T levels into a single qualification with students taking at least five subjects.
- Verdict: Some good principles – greater subject breadth, parity between academic and vocational subjects – but major problems (in no particular order): nowhere near enough teachers, a decade to deliver, announcing plans to replace T levels before they have even been fully rolled out, a name that is both leaden and inaccurate (the reform only applies to England), no consultation with sector prior to announcement…
RSHE & transgender issues
- Takeaway 3: Education secretary Gillian Keegan said: “It’s common sense to say that parents should be able to see what their children are being taught in schools. It’s common sense that girls should have separate toilets from boys.”
- Verdict: More of an insinuation than a policy, and a bit rich to boot. Schools have been promised new guidance on RSHE and on transgender issues. Neither have yet emerged. The government has dithered over transgender guidance for years.
Higher education
- Takeaway 4: Prime minister Rishi Sunak promised “no more rip-off degrees”. The government will stop universities from “enrolling students on courses that do nothing for their life chances”. Labour, he said, had pursued a “false dream” of 50% of children going to university and “abandoned apprenticeships”.
- Verdict: Raising participation in higher education actually seems like a pretty noble aim to me, and if they don’t go to university where are all the high-quality apprenticeships going to come from?
Labour Party Conference
Primary maths
- Takeaway 5: Will upskill primary school teachers to teach “real world” maths, applying numeracy to things like household budgets and sports league tables.
- Verdict: Focus on numeracy is great but let’s build on the excellent work that already takes place rather than reinventing the wheel.
Early years review
- Takeaway 6: Former chief inspector Sir David Bell will lead a review of early years looking at widening childcare eligibility, boosting primary school-based nursery provision and major reform of the early years workforce.
- Verdict: Very welcome. Early years is key to closing the disadvantage gap.
A policy promise
- Takeaway 7: Will “reset” the relationship between government and the profession, doing things on the basis of partnership and mutual respect (in other words this is the “how” of policy-making rather than the “what”).
- Verdict: Also very welcome. For too long we’ve had policies landed on the profession without dialogue and often via stories placed in newspapers.
Ofsted reform
- Takeaway 8: Will look to reform the Ofsted inspection system – including replacing graded judgements with a new “report card” – in the “shortest time possible”.
- Verdict: Cannot come some soon enough. Graded judgements are brutal and counterproductive.
A private question
- Takeaway 9: Shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson, embracing the description of “chippy” (it’s a long story), said “chippy people make the change that matters” and that she will “end the tax breaks that private schools enjoy”.
- Verdict: What if that simply displaces lots of private school children into the state system with the resulting extra costs to the state?
Teacher recruitment
- Takeaway 10: Will recruit 6,500 more teachers – but it isn’t clear how. Ms Phillipson said Labour was working on how to fulfil the plan and make teaching more attractive.
- Verdict: Boosting teacher numbers is a huge task requiring action on pay and workload – 44,000 teachers left the state-funded sector in 2021/22. That is 1 in 10 of all qualified teachers.
Final thoughts
You may or may not agree with my verdicts. But ultimately and being frank what I think is immaterial. It is what you decide, as teachers, leaders, and electors, that will help to determine who will lead the country after the next General Election. And in this slipstream of the party conferences, it certainly feels as if the time is fast approaching for you to deliver your verdict.
Geoff Barton is general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders.