We’re going to go out on a limb here and suggest that most of you aren’t pining for the days when Education Secretaries would characterise the teaching profession as a ‘Blob’, and take apparent glee in giving off strong ‘My way or the highway’ vibes with every policy announcement.
Nearly two years into Keir Starmer’s Labour administration, the relationship between the profession and the government seems nowhere near as adversarial as it once was, though that’s not to say there haven’t been tensions.
At the time of writing, the NEU is balloting its members on potential strike action over teacher pay, school funding and workload concerns, the rollout of Ofsted’s report cards could certainly have gone a bit more smoothly, and the DfE’s pronouncements on AI have raised a few eyebrows – but on balance, things at least seem a bit more civil than in years gone by.
How long that remains the case will be interesting to see. Thanks to last year’s drop of the Curriculum and Assessment Review’s final report, we know that there are some big changes on the horizon, but the precise nature of those changes remains somewhat murky.
In fairness, we know the process still has a way to go yet, having been told to expect the unveiling of Labour’s new schools curriculum in spring 2027 – but a couple of developments in recent weeks may have given some educators pause for thought.
“The government’s SEND White Paper seems to have been met with a mix of both cautious optimism and wariness.”
The publication of the government’s SEND White Paper seems to have been met with a mix of both cautious optimism and wariness, as Terri Bottriell-Wyse notes over on page 38.
Then there’s the ambiguity over Labour’s long-term intentions for MATs, with the White Paper itself containing talk of “…moving to all schools being part of school trusts, including new trusts established by local authorities or area partnerships”. Which seems somewhat at odds with previous messaging from this government around the passage of its Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which seemed to suggest that the days of forced academisation were at an end.
Also, lest we forget, all this ongoing policy development and consultation is taking place at a time when the financial pressures bearing down on schools and trusts are steadily ratcheting up (for more on which, see page 45). One could say of Labour that we should ‘Let them cook’, as the young people might put it.
But when the leader of the Green Party is getting a standing ovation at an education union conference for saying the kind of things the gathered attendees really want to hear – including a proposal to abolish Ofsted, and a clear-eyed opposition to further academisation – they might want to start being a little clearer as to their true intentions.
Enjoy the issue,
Callum Fauser – Editor
callum.fauser@theteachco.com
