Sir Keir Starmer pledges speaking lessons for children as he promises education overhaul under Labour
A Labour government would provide speaking lessons for children, with its leader saying an “inability to articulate your thoughts fluently is a key barrier to getting on and thriving in life”.
Sir Keir Starmer made the pledge in an article in The Times, promising to put oracy at the centre of his party’s plans to overhaul the education system.
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“The ability to speak well and express yourself should be something that every child is entitled to and should master,” he wrote.
“But the curriculum doesn’t allow us to provide this. This is short-sighted. An inability to articulate your thoughts fluently is a key barrier to getting on and thriving in life.
“It’s key to doing well in a job interview, persuading a business to give you a refund, telling your friend something awkward. Oracy is a skill that can and must be taught.”
The article comes ahead of the Labour leader’s launch of his fifth and final mission for government, due to take place in Kent later today.
Sir Keir will promise to break the “class ceiling” with a goal of half a million more children reaching their early learning targets by 2030 and with a target to recruit 6,500 more teachers into shortage subjects.
To help reach the 2030 target, the party will double the number of health visitors, provide further mental health support for parents, as well as early years speech and language therapy – which would be funded by scrapping the VAT exemption on private schools.
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Starmer sets out Labour’s five missions
Labour will also set out plans for annual Ofsted inspections and an alternative grading system as part of its mission to overhaul education, Sky News has been told.
Inspections will move from happening every four years to every year and will also assess the wellbeing of the school.
And instead of a one-word rating – such as outstanding, good or inadequate – there will be a more complex dashboard in which different aspects of the school are graded to give a fuller picture.
The reforms will also see Labour carry out a review of the curriculum to include more music, art and creative subjects. There are not expected to be any changes to GCSEs as part of the review.
In his speech, Sir Keir is expected to say the “pernicious” class ceiling acts as 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”.
“It’s about economic insecurity, structural and racial injustice – of course it is. But it’s also about a fundamental lack of respect,” he will say.
“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.”
The Labour leader will add that children must be prepared for a future of artificial intelligence, genomics, and further advanced technology.
The National Association of Headteachers (NAHT) 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.
Paul Whiteman, NAHT general secretary, said: “A child’s background should never determine their opportunities in life, but inequalities have been exacerbated over the last decade by funding cuts to schools and other public services, the pandemic, and now the cost of living crisis. It is therefore positive to see that Labour will put tackling inequality at the heart of their education policy.
“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.
“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.”
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The role of Ofsted has faced renewed scrutiny after Ruth Perry, the headteacher of Caversham Primary School in Reading, took her own life in January while waiting for the body’s assessment of her school.
Campaigners have called for Ofsted to abolish one-word assessments, which have been defended by Education Secretary Gillian Keegan as clear and easy for parents to understand.
Caversham Primary School was found to be “good” in every category apart from leadership and management, where it was judged to be “inadequate”.
Following Ms Perry’s death, Ofsted introduced its own set of reforms but stopped short of banning the single-word ratings.
Ruth Perry died in January
The reforms include the launch of a formal consultation on changes to the complaints system, which the watchdog believes could help resolve complaints more quickly.
Schools will also be given more information about the timing of their inspections. Although the watchdog will still turn up with only a day’s notice, there will be “more clarity” about the year schools are likely to be inspected.
Inspection reports will also refer to the school, rather than individuals, when discussing areas of weakness from September onwards.
Of Labour’s planned proposals, current education secretary Ms Keegan said: “Labour’s empty words are easy – delivery is difficult. Under Labour we had worse standards in schools, poorer outcomes for kids, and skills training that promoted pole fitness and balloon artistry.
“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.
“Keir Starmer’s track record shows he will have probably changed his mind by the start of the summer holidays. So there’s no way parents and teachers can rely on anything he says.”
Banned from Eurovision after its invasion of Ukraine, Russia will hold a rival international song contest on Saturday, with an emphasis on “traditional values”.
Instead of camp, think conservative – patriotic pop with a PG-rating.
“Intervision” was launched under the order of Vladimir Putin, with the hope it would serve as an expression of Moscow’s international pulling power.
Intervision decorations in Red Square, Moscow, ahead of the contest
There are contestants from 23 countries, which are a mixture of Russia’s allies old and new, including Belarus, Cuba and Tajikistan as well as China, India and Saudi Arabia.
The odd one out is the United States, who’ll be represented by an artist called “Vassy”. She’s not part of an official delegation, but an American voice is still a coup for the Kremlin, which will seek to use this contest as proof of the West’s failure to isolate Russia on the global stage.
‘War whitewash’
Intervision is not entirely new. It was originally launched in the 1960s as an instrument of Soviet soft power, before largely fading from view in the 1980s.
According to Moscow, its revival has nothing to do with politics. But Ukraine has condemned it as propaganda, and an attempt to whitewash Russia’s war.
It was a point I put to some contestants after their final press conferences, but it didn’t go down well.
“We don’t think like that, we are here to spread peace,” India’s Rauhan Malik told me, when I asked if his participation was a show of support for Russia’s invasion.
Malik, one of the contestants
“Are you not turning a blind eye to Russia’s aggression?” I countered.
“I have no idea about it,” he said. “I have no idea about the current situation that’s happening. I don’t want to speak about that as well.”
Eurovision legends Abba would almost certainly not make the Russian contest guest list. Pic: AP
Really? He had no idea? But before I could go on, I felt a forceful hand on my shoulder and a minder stepped in.
The intervention was even quicker when it came to speaking to Brazil’s act. As soon as I mentioned the word Ukraine, I was drowned out by shouts of “no, no, no, no” and the duo were ushered away.
Brazilian contestants, duo Luciano Calazans and Thais Nader
Where’s the glitter?
Intervision is not just a reaction to Russia’s recent exclusion from Eurosivion, however, it’s also a reaction to the contest’s values and what it’s come to represent.
Its celebration of sexual diversity and LGBTQ+ rights are seen as a symbol of what the Kremlin calls the West’s moral decline. In contrast, Intervision organisers say their contest will promote “traditional, family values.”
Judging by the costumes on show ahead of last week’s draw, that translates to less glitter, more embroidery, with a thematic emphasis on national heritage.
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So what do Russians think of Intervision’s resurrection? Can it replace Eurovision?
“We don’t miss Eurovision,” Galina and Tatiana say, underneath a collection of purple and pink ‘Intervision’ flags near Red Square.
“It was so horrible, especially lately. We didn’t like watching it at all.”
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Why are countries boycotting Eurovision?
Polina agrees, believing Russia’s version will be “more interesting”.
“Many countries that participated in Eurovision want to boycott it, so it’s interesting to see a more peaceful event now,” she says.
Igor is more circumspect. “I’d like to believe that this isn’t a political event,” he says, “but rather an event that unites nations and people.”
Intervision will succeed in uniting some nations. But at the same time, it may only deepen divisions with others – further evidence that Russia and the West are singing very different tunes.
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