Keir Starmer today promises a “zero-tolerance attitude toward low expectations” as he challenged hundreds of schools to improve.
The Prime Minister said 300,000 children currently attend schools in England that are “stuck” – with an alarming gap opening between London and the rest of the country. It comes as a long-awaited shakeup of watchdog Ofsted is unveiled, with new report cards replacing one-word verdicts.
But the Government faces a backlash from teaching unions who have voiced alarm about the plans. And the sister of tragic headteacher Ruth Perry – who took her own life after an Ofsted inspection – said the new system would still be “dangerous” for school staff.
Writing for The Mirror, Mr Starmer said one-word verdicts on how a school is performing “is part of why stuck schools fall between the cracks”. Today Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson will announce a new five-point grading system for schools across a number of different areas.
Mr Starmer said: “Right now there are more than 600 schools in England that are ‘stuck’. Not bad enough for inspectors at Ofsted to intervene. But not raising standards for their children.
Scroll down to see the Prime Minister’s words in full
“Three hundred thousand kids go to these schools. And many are in the poorest regions of our country.” He added: “Ignoring them would be the textbook definition of low expectations – and I won’t stand for it.”
And criticising one-word Ofsted verdicts, he said: “Nobody would buy a car or holiday with just a one-word recommendation. So why do we expect parents to do the same for their children’s school? This is part of why stuck schools fall between the cracks.”
The Government will announce a new Ofsted ‘report card’ system to evaluate success. But Professor Julia Walters, whose sister Mrs Perry died in January 2023, claims lessons have not been learned from the tragedy.
Mrs Perry took her own life after discovering Caversham Primary School in Reading was set to be downgraded to ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted. Prof Walters warned the planned new grading system “retains many of the dangerous features of the previous system, while introducing a series of changes with potential new risks to the wellbeing of teachers and headteachers”.
She said: “Ofsted says it has listened, but it still does not appear to have adequately learned. I am worried that this proposal is a rehash of the discredited and dangerous system it is meant to replace.”
Under the Government’s proposals, at least eight areas will be evaluated and graded in a report card for parents. These areas will include leadership and governance, curriculum, developing teaching, achievement, behaviour and attitudes, attendance, personal development and wellbeing, and inclusion.
In a key speech Ms Phillipson will say: “Never will we go back to the dark days of weak accountability. Because it was the children from disadvantaged backgrounds who suffered the most.
“So today I am taking us into a new era on school standards. Our searchlight on poor performance must now become brighter, to see the problems of today and tomorrow quickly and clearly.”
Teaching unions have voiced concerns about the plans. Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said they “suggest an inspectorate determined to hold on to a model of inspection that is long past its sell-by date”.
And Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said the proposed school report cards “appear to be even worse than the single-word judgments they replace”.
Ofsted chief Sir Martyn Oliver said “beauty” of a report card – which he claimed is “a bit like a child’s school report card” – is “fairer” and “more proportionate” than the previous system. He said: “It highlights all the things that schools excel at as well as those where they could improve.
“And our report card will give a far better balanced, more realistic and a fairer picture of all of a school’s strengths and areas for improvement.”
The Prime Minister’s message to Mirror readers in full
London wasn’t always the by-word for prosperity it is now. When I first moved here in the late 1980s it could be an intimidating place. Crime was rife. Train stations were to be avoided at night. Schools were places you worried about sending your children.
Don’t get me wrong – the city still has its problems. My Camden constituency contains some of the toughest inner-city estates in Britain. But what most parents in London can bank upon now is an excellent state education.
This has been long journey. It began back in those same 1980s, when Tory education secretary Ken Baker brought in a much-needed national curriculum. But the big transformation came in the New Labour years.
Record public investment. Crumbling schools rebuilt. A London Challenge programme which brought together the best heads and teachers. But most of all, a zero-tolerance attitude towards low expectations. The principle was simple. Working class children should not be written off. Background should not be destiny. The best of Labour values.
It was this determination that led to the academies programme. Inner city schools that were failing were simply replaced by schools that could do better. And, to be fair, this was built upon by the previous Tory government. The results are crystal clear. English schools have climbed the international league tables.
This is something to celebrate. It is a testament to decades of hard work from teachers, teaching assistants and parents. But I want to go further – and it comes back to London. Because the truth is schools in the capital have pulled away from the rest of the country. That can’t be right. I want parents everywhere to feel the same confidence in state education that they do in London.
In fact, right now there are more than 600 schools in England that are “stuck”. Not bad enough for inspectors at Ofsted to intervene. But not raising standards for their children. Three hundred thousand kids go to these schools.
And many are in the poorest regions of our country. We need to shine a light on these schools. Challenge them to do better. Ignoring them would be the textbook definition of low expectations – and I won’t stand for it.
This begins of course with great teaching. With our Plan for Change, we will make sure every classroom teacher is properly qualified. And we will use the money raised from stopping private school tax breaks to hire 6,500 teachers. There is a teacher recruitment crisis in our schools at the moment and that directly harms children’s learning. We will end it.
But when it comes to stuck schools, the first step is reforming the inspection agency Ofsted. Nobody would buy a car or holiday with just a one-word recommendation. So why do we expect parents to do the same for their children’s school? This is part of why stuck schools fall between the cracks. Parents are the best force for holding schools to account. They deserve better information about their children’s education. We will make sure they get it.
Great teaching. Parent power. Strong accountability for schools. These are the ingredients that raise standards.
When I look across the Cabinet table, I am greeted by faces that know the value of a good state education. Our Plan for Change will make sure every child in this country can get one.
