Pepe Di’Iasio calls on the government to work constructively and positively with ASCL so, together, we can build a brighter future for all children and young people.

Towards a Brighter Future

First, the good news. There is a remarkable degree of synchronicity between the ambitions of school and college leaders for the future of education and those of the Labour government.

Labour has declared its intention to break down the barriers to opportunity. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson states that her goal is high and rising standards.

And this chimes with what the profession has been saying for many years. Six years ago, ASCL published a landmark report about how we could improve the fortunes of the ‘forgotten third’ of students who struggle in English and maths – and whose opportunities in life are hampered as a result (see www.ascl.org.uk/forgottenthird).

Two years later, we published our blueprint for a fairer education system, noting in the introduction that efforts to close the attainment gap between disadvantaged students and their non-disadvantaged peers had stalled (see www.ascl.org.uk/blueprint).

So, the election of the Labour government and its mission to achieve greater equity felt like a watershed moment. As a politically neutral, non-partisan trade union we would have felt the same about any party that came to power with this agenda. It is the shared sense of ambition that inspires optimism.

The theme of our 2025 Annual Conference – A Brighter Future – encapsulates this spirit. However, nine months on since the General Election, it is a phrase that probably needs a question mark.

After all, slogans such as high and rising standards, and breaking down the barriers to opportunity, are motherhood and apple pie. Nobody is going to disagree with those sentiments. The important questions are how are we going to achieve that brighter future and what does success look like?

So far, Labour has not answered those questions. Its policy agenda has felt piecemeal at best and, in the case of accountability reforms, actually counterproductive. There is no clear vision of where we are going or how we are going to get there.

Broad parameters

I am not going to try to provide detailed answers in the space of this article either, even if I had them. But let me attempt to set out some broad parameters.

Ours is a good education system. Most of our students do well in our schools and colleges and go on to higher education, apprenticeships, and fulfilling careers. But a significant number do not do so well and very often these young people are from disadvantaged backgrounds or have special educational needs. This is pernicious. It embeds a cycle of generational disadvantage that exacerbates social division and poverty.

So, when we talk about breaking the barriers to opportunity, or the forgotten third, or creating a fairer education system, we are referring to this group of students. High and rising standards really means improving their outcomes. If we are able to do that, it would be genuinely transformational – an important step in achieving a happier, wealthier and more cohesive society.

And while this is not easy, neither is it impossible. In fact, the evidence is pretty clear about what we need to do.

High-quality early years education is the first building block. We know that attainment gaps start early and then become progressively wider as children grow up. Improving early years education is not only a matter of expanding free childcare. It is about targeted investment in great provision in disadvantaged communities.

We also know that the biggest difference we can then make is in the quality of teaching. We have many great teachers in our schools and colleges. The problem is that we often don’t have enough of them, particularly in certain subject areas, and these shortfalls are often most acute in schools with high levels of disadvantage.

Teacher shortages are not just a problem here but in many other countries too. It is a very difficult issue to solve. Improved pay and conditions are essential prerequisites, but there is something else needed too. As a society, we should do more to prize and praise our teachers. That isn’t just an empty sentiment but a call for an accountability system that is more supportive and less critical, which stops applying damaging labels to schools and colleges, and that recognises, in particular, the work that is done in challenging circumstances. It should encourage people to work in areas of high deprivation rather than deterring them from doing so.

We know also that the system for supporting children and young people with special educational needs is just not good enough with long waits for assessment, shortages of specialist support staff, lack of places in special schools, and huge deficits in local authority high needs budgets. It will be very difficult to close attainment gaps and improve opportunities for these young people without the reform and investment required to provide support as early and as effectively as possible.

Then there is curriculum and assessment. The system works pretty well for high achievers who emerge from school and college with a collection of top grades. However, we also know from experience that the heavy academic focus of the current system leads to a loss of engagement among students who struggle the most. This contributes to poor attendance and poor behaviour. At the time of writing, we have yet to see what will emerge from the government’s Curriculum and Assessment Review. However, we must achieve options that engage all learners, which better champion vocational education, and that ensure that the vast majority of students achieve well in English and maths.

Finally, there are the wider social issues that affect the outcomes of children and young people, but that happen beyond the school gates – the starkest of which is the extent and depth of child poverty in the UK. Lack of decent food, warmth, clothing and accommodation have both a physical and mental toll on these young people, which impacts on their ability to learn. It will be impossible to break down the barriers to opportunity while this persists.

These then are some broad brushstrokes about what steps might help us achieve the ambition that we share with the Labour government for a brighter future. None of these are easy to achieve, and a great deal of detail will need to be filled in. But if we work together – positively and constructively – everything is possible.

As the saying goes, if not now then when, if not us then who? It is time to make a difference.

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Pepe Di’Iasio
ASCL General Secretary
@pepediiasio.bsky.social

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