At this year’s Labour Conference, the Education Policy Institute (EPI) has partnered with ASCL to host an open fringe panel discussion: Are the Schools Bill and White Paper fit for the future?
The Schools White Paper, published in March 2022, provided a highly anticipated opportunity for the current government to set out its education policy, presenting it within the context of its levelling up agenda. The White Paper laid out plans to improve education standards and ensure every child can fulfil their potential. Yet, there has been much discussion surrounding some of the White Paper’s more controversial proposals including the minimum school week, the transition for all schools into a MAT by 2030 and ultimately how schools can achieve the ambitious achievement targets without the provision of additional funding.
Given great amounts of time, resources and effort from teachers and the wider sector will be used in implementing the White Paper proposals, it is worth discussing the short- and long-term impacts of the measures, and which of those have cross-party consensus.
This event will bring together policy makers, school leaders and education unions to discuss this key question. The panel will consider what the school system could look like over the next parliament and beyond, whether key parts of the Schools White Paper will be retained and if not, what the alternative should be.
We are delighted to welcome a fantastic panel of Dr Mary Bousted, NEU; Geoff Barton, ASCL; Jonathan Jones, Liverpool City Council; Stephen Morgan MP; Natalie Perera, EPI and Sarah Rostron, St Bede Multi Academy Trust.
** Note: This event will take place in the conference secure zone. To access the secure zone you will need to obtain a pass directly from the Labour Party.**
