2024 election update: what are the parties promising for education?

While we at Edurio aim to remain politically impartial, we understand the concerns and worries of those in the sector as the UK General Election 2024 quickly approaches. Therefore, we’ve prepared a clear update on what parties are promising for the education sector.

The CST recently published their manifesto summaries for Labour, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. In this blog, we also include the Green Party and Reform UK. We will examine the key themes emerging in the party manifestos and consider what that means for the education sector.

Workforce

We recently launched our Staff Wellbeing in Academies and Staff Retention in Academies reports, which identify some of the challenges and eye-opening experiences of staff in English schools.

Our data shows a clear need to focus on the workforce in the education sector. Around 44% of staff are considering resigning from their roles—the highest it has been since we started collecting data on this topic.

While staff retention and flexible working are often discussed in the sector, to aid school improvement and retention, staff wellbeing must also become part of these conversations.

Here are some of the promises made by parties in their manifestos that specifically relate to the workforce in education.

Conservatives

• Expanded recruitment and retention premium, with bonuses for new teachers in priority areas, such as STEM and technical subjects, over five years (expanded to FE colleges).

Labour

• Recruit 6,500 new expert teachers in key subjects and review bursaries/retention payments;
• Teacher Training Entitlement for continuing professional development;
• Reinstate the School Support Staff Negotiating Body;
• Specialist mental health professionals in every school;
• ‘Excellence in Leadership Programme’, a mentoring framework to expand leadership capacity to improve schools.

Liberal Democrats

• A workforce strategy to ensure every secondary school child is taught by a subject specialist;
• Reform of STRB to be ‘properly independent’;
• Funding teacher training ‘properly so that all trainee posts in school are paid’;
• A funded programme of professional development.

The Green Party

• £2bn for a pay uplift for teachers.

Reform UK

• Not outlined in their Manifesto.

Curriculum

Last September, we brought CST’s Building Strong Trusts guidance and DfE’s High-Quality Trusts framework to life with feedback from 175,000 staff, parents, pupils, and trust leaders across English schools. One of the topics we explored in this report was curriculum and learning, which, unsurprisingly, is also one of the main themes in party manifestos.

Some pledges include reviews of assessment methods and strategies, topics to be included or removed from the curriculum, or promises to improve the fundamental skills that pupils leave school with.

Here are the key commitments parties made in their manifestos related to the curriculum.

Conservatives

• Introduce the Advanced British Standard;
• Mandate two hours of PE every week in primary and secondary.

Labour

• Expert-led review of curriculum and assessment;
• Early-language interventions in primary school;
• Support children to study a creative or vocational subject until they are 16, ensuring accountability measures reflect it;
• Protected time for PE;
• National Music Education Network;
• Guarantee two weeks of work experience and improve career advice in schools.

Liberal Democrats

• Standing commission to build consensus across ‘parties and teachers’ to broaden the curriculum and ’make qualifications at 16 and 18 for the 21st century’ (to look at IB and ensure skills like critical thinking and creativity);
• Improve the quality of vocational education;
• Strengthen career advice and links with employers;
• Include arts subjects in the English Baccalaureate and give power to Ofsted to monitor the curriculum;
• Expand the provision of extracurricular activities and introduce a free entitlement for disadvantaged children.

The Green Party

• Review assessment targets in schools so that arts and vocational subjects are treated equally within the curriculum, children are supported to play and learn outdoors, and every child can learn about the climate and biodiversity crisis to equip them for the challenges ahead;
• Ensure effective delivery of the new Natural History GCSE;
• Retain a full, evidence-based and age-appropriate programme of Relationships, Sex and Health Education, including LGBTIQA+ content and resources.

Reform UK

• Ban Transgender Ideology in Primary and Secondary Schools;
• Ban Critical Race Theory in Primary and Secondary Schools;
• A Patriotic Curriculum in Primary and Secondary School;
• Increase Technical Courses and Apprenticeships. Value young people with vocational talents. Britain needs skilled workers in engineering, construction, IT, and other high-demand sectors;
• Life Skills Classes at School. Subjects such as home economics and social media risk should be part of the school curriculum.

Supporting Services and Additional Pledges

In addition to some specific themes in the party manifestos, such as workforce and curriculum, parties have also promised additional support for wider services that benefit education and young people.

Our Pupil Wellbeing in Schools report highlights that in 2022/23, just 38% of pupils reported feeling well physically and mentally. This number has declined significantly over the last three years. It is not surprising that some of the party promises aim to combat such a challenging statistic.

In addition to pupil wellbeing, parties have also emphasised pupil behaviour. Many have pledged to improve services that support pupils with challenging behaviour. Our Behaviour and Safety: Key Trends and Challenges report shows that around 40% of staff and pupils report regular lesson disruptions. Within the party manifestos, behaviour and pupil safety feature multiple times and are considered a priority for some parties in this year’s election.

Here are some of the party promises that specifically relate to supporting wider services in education.

Conservatives

• Banning the use of mobile phones during the school day;
• A Family Hub in every local authority;
• Fund School Games Organisers to encourage more competitive sport between schools and create UK-wide competitions;
• Compulsory National Service (either year-long, full-time military placement, or ‘civic service’ – one weekend a month, or 25 days, volunteering in the community);
• 30 hours of free childcare per week from 9 months to school start.

Labour

• Community-wide approach to SEND to improve inclusivity in mainstream and ensure special schools for most complex needs;
• 3,000 new primary school-based nurseries through upgrading space in primary schools;
• Free breakfast clubs in every primary school;
• Limitation on branded items of uniform and PE kit;
• A single unique identifier to improve data sharing across services;
• Strategy to reduce child poverty, working with the voluntary sector, faith organisations, trade unions, businesses, local government and communities;
• Network of Young Futures Hubs, with youth workers, mental health support workers, and careers advisers to support mental health and avoid young people engaging in knife crime;
• Youth workers in every PRU.

Liberal Democrats

• Five additional hours of early years provision per week for children aged three and four (expanded to aged two when public finances allow);
• Tackle bullying by promoting pastoral leadership in schools and delivering high-quality relationships and sex education;
• Pupil Premium Plus funding to children in kinship care and a guarantee of any child to be taken into care at a school place within three weeks if required to move schools;
• Extend FSM to all children in poverty and expand to all primary children when public finances allow;
• Tackle child poverty by removing the two-child limit and benefit cap;
• Independent commission to recommend increases in Universal Credit to ensure it covers ‘life’s essentials’;
• Mental health hubs for young people in every community and regular mental health checkups;
• Extend young people’s mental health services to age 25 and introduce a statutory Student Mental Health Charter for universities.

The Green Party

• £1.4bn per year to be invested by local authorities in Sure Start Centres;
• Protect provision of free school breakfast clubs for all primary school pupils;
• Fully restore the role of the school nurse, ensuring that all schools have access to an on-site medical professional;
• Give children and students at all state-funded schools and colleges access to a qualified counsellor.

Reform UK

• Double the number of Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) so schools can function safely and ensure that best practice is spread across PRUs;
• Schools must have single-sex facilities.

Funding

A key feature of most party manifestos, and one that is often discussed in the media, is education funding. With a continuing cost-of-living crisis, staff pay increases, building repair costs, and other increased running costs for schools, funding is a topic of deep interest to school and trust leaders.

In March 2022, 77% of CEOs surveyed in our Annual CST National School Trust Survey were very or quite confident about the financial sustainability of their trust. However, in June 2023, only 46% said the same. It’s clear that finances and budgeting are an area of concern when it comes to party promises in the 2024 election.

Here are some of the pledges made by parties related to education funding.

Conservatives

• Per pupil funding is protected in real terms over the next parliament;
• PE and Sports Premium expanded to secondary schools.

Labour

• Not outlined in their Manifesto

Liberal Democrats

• Per pupil funding above the rate of inflation every year and investment in new buildings/repairs;
• Tutoring guarantee for disadvantaged pupils needing extra support;
• Early Years Premium tripled to £1,000 per year;
• Young People’s Premium, extending Pupil Premium to 16-18 year-olds;
• Commitment to funding STRB recommendations every year;
• Redirect capital funding for ‘unnecessary new free schools to clear the backlog of school repairs;
• A new National Body for SEND to fund support for children with very high needs;
• Extra funding for LAs to reduce the amount schools pay towards EHCP.

The Green Party

• A £3bn increase in funding for sixth-form education over the next parliamentary term and a £12bn investment in skills and lifelong learning for further education;
• Advocate for an increase in school funding, with an £8bn investment in schools;
• Ensure every school building is safe for children by investing £2.5bn a year to tackle the RAAC concrete scandal and provide the funding needed for schools to be well maintained and fit for purpose.

Reform UK

• Tax relief of 20% on all Independent Education. No VAT on Fees: If parents can afford to pay more, they should be incentivised to choose independent schools.

Commissioning Accountability and Regulation

Ofsted has featured heavily in the national media over the last few years. Therefore, some parties have promised to reform commissioning accountability and regulation in their manifestos. Some have also highlighted the need for new or reformed inspection frameworks or authorities that can ensure high-quality education within the UK.

Here are some of the pledges regarding this topic.

Conservatives

• Legislate to introduce a register of children not in school;
• New legislation to make clear parents have a right to see what their child is being taught and all materials should be shared;
• Expand strong academy trusts;
• 60,000 more SEND places and 15 additional special free schools;

Labour

• All schools to cooperate with LAs on admissions, SEND inclusion and place planning;
• Replace single grade judgements with a report card system, trust-level inspection, and annual review of safeguarding, attendance and off-rolling;
• Regional Improvement Teams to enhance school-to-school support and spread best practice.

Liberal Democrats

• Reform Ofsted and end single-word judgements;
• New parental engagement strategy including regular parent surveys and guidance for schools on providing accessible information to parents;
• Register of children not in school;
• Give Local Authorities with responsibility for education the powers and resources to act as Strategic Education Authorities – responsible for place planning, exclusions, and admissions, including in-year and SEND functions.

The Green Party

• Reduce stress in education system by ending high-stakes, formal testing at primary and secondary schools and by abolishing Ofsted.

Reform UK

• Not outlined in their Manifesto.

What's Next?

Although we have attempted to cover as much of the party manifestos as possible in this blog, there may be aspects that we haven’t mentioned. So, we advise you to explore the manifestos in greater detail before making a final decision.

Here are the documents discussed in this blog:

Conservative’s manifesto

The Green Party’s manifesto

Labour’s manifesto

LibDem’s manifesto

Reform UK’s manifesto