Labour leader pledges education reforms to break class barriers

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer will pledge to break down class barriers to opportunity, in a speech outlining his party's plans for education reform.

Sir Keir is expected to warn the "class ceiling" is stifling opportunity for too many children across the country.

He is due to unveil a new goal of half a million more children reaching their early learning targets by 2030.

The target is part of the party's education shake-up and the last of Sir Keir's five missions.

Labour is to pledge to offer more chances for young people to engage in vocational learning and for adults to retrain in new areas.

Sir Keir will also commit to ensuring every child has a specialist teacher in their classroom, and promise to modernise the national curriculum to end the "academic/vocational divide".

In a speech in Gillingham, he is expected to say "snobbery" about vocational careers has "no place in modern society" and "no connection to the jobs of the future".

The Labour leader will say: "There's also something more pernicious. A pervasive idea, a barrier in our collective minds, that narrows our ambitions for working class children and says, sometimes with subtlety, sometimes to your face: this isn't for you.

"Some people call it the 'class ceiling' - and that's a good name for it. It's about economic insecurity, structural and racial injustice - of course it is. But it's also about a fundamental lack of respect.

"A snobbery that too often extends into adulthood. Raising its ugly head when it comes to inequalities at work - in pay, promotions, opportunities to progress."

Sir Keir's speech on Thursday will set out the party's plans, should they win the next general election, including pledges to build more houses so that 1.5 million people can become homeowners, and give £2,400 to new teachers in England.

The National Association of Headteachers union welcomed Labour's proposals but warned they must be matched by "significant additional investment", not only in education but in community support and social care.

"There is no doubt that schools can play a vital role in helping children to thrive no matter what their background, but they need the appropriate resources to do so," Paul Whiteman, NAHT general secretary, said.

"Fixing the current recruitment and retention crisis has to be an urgent priority and it is essential that the next government makes teaching and school leadership an attractive proposition once again and gets to grips with the factors driving so many out of the profession."

The chief executive of the Education Endowment Foundation, Prof Becky Francis, said Labour was "right to focus on education as a class leveller".

She said the proposal to recruit more specialist teachers "should be a central focus for any government".

"It's also encouraging to see a commitment to strengthening early years provision, which we know has the potential to profoundly impact children's life chances by addressing gaps before they grow," Prof Francis said.

But Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said there was "no guarantee" Labour would keep its promises on education reform, given several recent U-turns on policy proposals.

Sir Keir has scrapped a pledge to abolish university tuition fees, and last month it rowed back on its plan to invest £28bn a year in green industries if it wins power.

"Labour offers nothing but flip flop after flip flop, from tax hikes to tuition fees - showing there is no guarantee that they will even stick to their word," Ms Keegan said.