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Key pledges: Labour’s main promise on education was to reduce class sizes and clarify school funding plans, partially through the introduction of free nursery places for three and four-year-olds. The party also promised to make university “more accessible for all” and to “end Conservative plans for VAT on school fees”.
Status: The government is on track to meet its target of breaking down all infant class sizes over 30 pupils, but the chief immediate issue is whether to continue the extra funding. A rethink on this and other education policies was expected in the new year after Labour announced in December a shift of focus from the curriculum to mental health in schools.
The promise of free nursery placements foundered after experts warned that any additional investment couldn’t be justified in the mixed economy of nurseries, even with funding redirected from fee-paying families.
The government dropped plans for VAT on school fees as part of a major policy reversal affecting private schools, with education secretary Angela Rayner saying: “Education is a public good, not a private commodity. We will oppose anything that restricts access or brings privilege to the marketplace.” But it has been disappointing to some to see a subsequent rise in the number of schools becoming fee-paying academies.
Analysis: Despite maintaining levels of state nursery funding, it increasingly appears that education reform will not come easily. Adjustments to No Child Left Behind-style measures and changes to religious school criteria raise related concerns such as eligibility of the free nursery placements.
Labour’s approach to swap data for resources to help its academic agenda came under criticism. So did plans to ban early years SATs tests. Instead, measures might be taken to postpone exams for a year. What’s more, efforts to raise standards and make A-Levels more employer-ready aside, the full constraints of new Ofsted inspections were only partially met in a consultation.
One of the most far-reaching changes has been the shift from free school meals for all key stage 1 children to a means-tested “free breakfast” programme. Critics argue this has been overshadowed by a conflicting promise to make school-based HIV testing compulsory.
The government is likely to have adhered more closely to its negative pledge that private schools should remain “profit-neutral”. A survey showed that barring “externality costs” such as fees for services like regular lessons, most still manage to break even without profits. The schools have opposed the proposals that schools making profits turn over a cash reserve.