The Conservative Party has announced in its manifesto that it will put a school mobile phone ban on a statutory footing and protect “day-to-day” per pupil school funding.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said last week that freezing per pupil funding in real terms could generate £3.5 billion in savings for the next government.
However, researchers warned that this would likely leave schools needing to cut staff or close because of increasing costs.
The manifesto also includes a pledge to mandate two hours of PE every week for both primary and secondary schools, and the party’s previous commitment to introduce the Advanced British Standard as a new post-16 qualification.
The Conservatives, who currently have Gillian Keegan as education secretary (pictured), have also promised to legislate to create a register of children not in school and expand strong academy trusts.
The Conservative Party manifesto: education policies
Here are the party’s education policies in full:
Funding, academisation and mobile phones
- Putting guidance on banning mobile phones during the school day on a statutory footing. Funding will be provided for schools to help them ban phones “where they need it”.
- Protecting “day-to-day” school spending in real terms per pupil.
- Expanding “strong academy trusts”. This will include further protecting parents’ choices on where to send their child to school, and lifting the cap on faith schools.
Recruitment and retention
- Attracting more talented teachers by “expanding the recruitment and retention premium and reducing workload”.
- This includes teachers in priority areas and key Stem (science, technology, engineering and maths) and technical subjects receiving bonuses of up to £30,000 tax-free over five years. These payments will be extended to eligible teachers in further education policies.
Curriculum
- Introducing the Advanced British Standard to replace A levels and T levels. This will mean “every young person will spend more time in the classroom, learning more subjects”, including maths and English to 18.
- Mandating two hours of PE every week in primary and secondary schools, supported by extending the PE and sport premium to secondary schools.
- Increasing funding for school game organisers to get more competitive sport into and between schools, and working with sporting bodies to create more UK-wide school competitions like national finals.
- Supporting teachers to use “tried and tested techniques”, such as the existing phonics programme, the mastery approach to maths and music hubs.
- Delivering new legislation to make it clear that “parents have a right to see what their child is being taught in school”. This builds on the already updated relationships, sex and health education guidance, which introduced age limits on what children should be taught.
Absence and SEND
- Continuing to work with schools and local authorities to improve school attendance, “including through more mental health support”.
- Legislating to create a register of children not in school.
- Delivering 60,000 more school places and a further 15 new free schools for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Ofsted and school buildings
- A commitment to “back Ofsted to provide clear judgements to parents on the quality and safety of schools”.
- Rebuilding 500 schools through the existing School Rebuilding Programme.
Cost of the Conservatives’ manifesto pledges
The Conservatives have also today published costings of the party’s manifesto policies. The party sets out that the total net increase in spending up to 2029-20 will be approximately £1 billion.
Prime minister Rishi Sunak announced plans for the Advanced British Standard last year at the Conservative Party conference.
The qualification would replace A levels and T levels through a new single qualification for school leavers. It would involve all students studying some form of maths and English up to the age of 18.
Earlier this year the government announced a fresh crackdown on mobile phones in schools, with new guidance saying that schools should prohibit their use throughout the school day, including at break times and lunch.
More recently it has published updated sex education guidance, which now sets out age limits for when children can be taught certain topics and tells schools that they should not teach pupils about the “concept of gender identity”.
Sector reaction to the Conservatives’ manifesto pledges
Responding to the manifesto launch, Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “This is a collection of recycled policies with nothing new to say about how the Conservatives would deal with the shortage of funding and teachers and the crisis in special educational needs provision. The pledge to protect day-to-day school spending in real terms per pupil is the bare minimum.”
Mr Di’Iasio added that the manifesto is “completely out of touch with reality” in terms of priorities for school leaders.
Carl Cullinane, director of research and policy at the Sutton Trust social mobility charity, welcomed the bonuses for teachers in priority areas and Stem subjects being extended to colleges. This “could have a real impact in addressing shortages and retaining teachers in areas where they are most needed”, he said.
However, he added that the payments should be accompanied by a wider teacher workforce review.
IFS director Paul Johnson said the manifesto “remains silent on the wider problems facing core public services”.
Professor Becky Francis, chief executive of the Education Endowment Foundation, welcomed the commitment to maintain per pupil spending, along with the continued support for phonics and maths mastery, but said that maintaining pupil premium spending in real terms is necessary to help make progress on the disadvantage-related attainment gap.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union, called the manifesto “disappointing”, saying it was “filled with pledges to carry on with a status quo that is pushing schools to breaking point”.
“The recruitment and retention crisis is hitting all parts of teaching, including the leadership pipeline. Differential bonuses won’t solve the problem,” he added.
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