Writing for The Mirror, Keir Starmer says Ofsted inspection reforms will drive up standards in hundreds of schools across England as he warns of a gap between London and the rest of the country
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.
