“Just as we are putting our economy back in the service of working people, we are putting our schools back in the service of working people”
Trade unionists are currently meeting in Brighton for the annual Trades Union Congress (TUC). On September 9, the education secretary Bridget Phillipson gave a keynote address to the event.
In her speech, Phillipson said that Labour was putting schools ‘back in the service of working people’.
Phillipson, who has announced she’s standing to be the next deputy leader, told delegates: “When we deny our working class kids the opportunity their talent demands, we deny the country the chance of a brighter future. Wages lower, work less secure, growth on the floor. That breeds resentment Congress – dark clouds hanging over our towns and cities.
“So when I say that I’m determined to build a school system that works for every child, that delivers excellence and opportunity for every child, I mean it, the chancellor means it, the prime minister means it.”
She then added: “This government will drive high and rising standards in every school in this country – no compromise, no exception: strong on standards for our working class kids. That means strong accountability and strong support for our schools.”
Later, Phillipson went on to say: “Just as we are putting our economy back in the service of working people, we are putting our schools back in the service of working people. A good education is the only way that working people can get the best from our economy.”
She concluded her address by setting out what she sees as the key planks of the government’s education policy which has delivered this. She told delegates: “8 billion pounds of investment in early years, free breakfast clubs reaching almost 80,000 children in our most deprived communities, free school meals for half a million more children, higher standards in our schools, stronger rights for workers, better choice for parents, a new wave of opportunity. Congress, this is what real change looks like – the kind that both feeds off and fuels our belief in better, building a cycle of hope not hostility, and the chance to work with you to deliver that change is the greatest privilege of my life.”
Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward
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