Labour's Electoral Programme (Part 6)

Education, Education, Education 

1. Ensure that all teachers in state funded schools have, or are working towards, a Qualified Teacher Status and remain up to date with subject and pedagogical skills; and receive disability equality training (pages 75, 76, 88)

2. See that teachers have a fair, consistent national pay system, whilst reinstating the School Staff Negotiating Body set up by the last Labour Government to develop consistency in pay, conditions and job roles for school support staff in publically funded schools (76)

3. Empower local communities to have a greater say about education in their area, with Local Authorities appointing and holding to account Directors of School Standards, thus ending the fragmentation of the school system (78)

4.  We will not continue with the Free Schools programme, such existing schools will be held to the same high standards as other schools, working with the local family of schools and with the Director of School Standards (80)

5. Ensure that the Charity Commission rigorously assesses private schools to see they meet their charitable status and work with their local communities and state schools in their area (80)

6. Local Authorities will be able to open new community schools once more, with decisions on school places being taken locally (81)

7. Increase the number of young people studying science, including young women. Whilst providing access to other high quality education; including in the areas of sex and relationships, civic responsibilities, plus social and moral awareness (82)

8. Support health and well-being in schools; with a stress upon physical education, school nursing, continuing free school meals for all infants and the development of breakfast schools (82, 83)

9. Ensure there are retraining and lifelong learning options (85)

10. Provide targeted early intervention, with Sure Start playing a key role; whilst expanding free childcare from 15 to 25 hours for working parents of three and four year-olds; for families who require childcare, we will introduce a legal guarantee to wraparound care from 8am to 6pm through their local school (87)

11. We will not allow any new grammar schools to open (87)

12. Ensure equal access to educational opportunities with a fair admission's policy under a Schools Admission Code, the removal of financial barriers on young people, provide periods of face-to-face tuition on full time courses in further education and operate a child protection system (87, 88) 

 The above are a selection of  proposals made in the Labour Party policy document "Education and Children". Other items from this document appeared in Part 4 as part of "A Charter For Young People".