Labour pledges free school breakfasts in primary schools to tackle poverty

The party said that investing in healthy, free school breakfasts for primary school children was a proven way to improve educational outcomes, child health, and save money for families. It said that the policy would also be piloted in secondary schools.

In other education plans unveiled today, Labour said it would also introduce a new programme of ‘extended schools’ after-school and in the school holidays to help children access activities.

Labour also plans to recruit 20,000 more teachers to cap class sizes at 30. According to the teaching unions, there are now

Department for Education statistics published last year show that there are more than 24,000 unqualified teachers in schools in England.

Alongside the recruitment of more teachers to meet growing demand for pupil numbers, Labour said its plans would mean that there would be around 50,000 more qualified teachers in schools in 2023-24 compared to now.

Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner said that Labour would also bring in a new fund of over £7bn on repairs to tackle the backlog of vital but overdue repairs to school buildings and install safety measures such as sprinklers.

Other plans announced today include:

• Guaranteeing that every child is taught by a qualified teacher, ensuring around 25,000 currently unqualified staff are fully trained during Labour’s first term.
• Ensuring teachers will have more time for lesson planning and professional development.
• Close the gap in funding for pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, with extra funding to reverse deficits in the High Needs Budget.
  
• Fully reverse cuts to the Pupil Premium, and increase spending on it above inflation to support the most disadvantaged pupils.

Labour has said it would invest £25 billion in schools over three years by tax increases, including restoring corporation tax to 26 per cent.

Referencing research from the Resolution Foundation think tank last week, that found that if the Conservative manifesto were implemented, child poverty would rise to a 60-year high, shadow education secretary Angela Rayner, said, ‘Rising child poverty under the Tories is an absolute scandal, and it is a disgrace that their plans will push it to a 60-year high if they win this election.

‘Labour will tackle child poverty while driving up standards in schools by providing extra support to the children who need it most.

‘Labour will invest in both our schools and the children in them, to transform the life chances of a generation being failed by the Tories.’

Commenting on Labour’s plans, Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said that Labour’s plan would ‘address the years of underfunding and allow schools to heal and to plan improvements’.

‘The increases in class sizes, the lack of qualified teachers in many classes, the cuts in support for SEND pupils and the growing teacher recruitment and retention crisis, shows the current Government is failing in its basic educational job.

‘At the same time our school buildings have been falling into disrepair - all these problems are a direct result of the current Government’s decision to cut real-terms funding to our schools and colleges. 

‘This is exactly the support and vision for education that teachers, headteachers, support staff and parents have been crying out for.’

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, ‘All the political parties now acknowledge that school budgets are at breaking point and that more money is urgently needed.

‘As the School Cuts website shows, Labour are pledging the most, the Conservatives the least. This is just a fact. Labour’s additional £7bn to tackle repairs is very welcome and is equivalent to National Audit Office’s estimate of what it would cost to return all school buildings to satisfactory or better condition.

‘However, on recruitment, Labour are well short of the 47,000 secondary teachers and 8,000 primary teachers that are needed by 2024 in order to keep pace with growing pupil numbers. We need significantly more recruits than Labour are suggesting just to meet rising demand never mind reduce current class sizes.

‘The new recruits we need will not magically appear, and nor will they stay if we don’t also address the stress and unnecessary workload that is widespread in the system.’