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General Election 2024: The proposed plans for education

Topics: Education Insights
Jen Murphy
Jen Murphy Copywriter & Sustainability Lead 25 June 2024

With the 2024 General Election coming up, you may be wondering what the education sector will look like under a new government, and how the proposed plans for education might impact your business strategy.

To help you learn more about the proposed changes, we’ve listed some of the key commitments for primary and secondary education from the five main party manifestos: Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Reform UK and the Green Party.

Let’s take a look at some of the proposed plans for education!

conservative party blue sumbol
  • Protect day-to-day schools spending in real terms per pupil.
  • Ban mobile phone use during the school day.
  • Expand the recruitment and retention premium, and reduce teacher workloads.
  • Provide up to £30,000 in tax-free bonuses across five years for new STEM teachers and teachers in priority areas.
  • Require all primary and secondary schools to teach two hours of PE every week and make the PE and Sport Premium available for secondary schools too.
  • Introduce the Advanced British Standard, a new qualification framework combining A Levels and T Levels.
  • Ensure learners study maths and English up to the age of 18.
  • Deliver new legislation to ensure parents have a right to see what their child is being taught.
  • Deliver 60,000 more school places and an additional 15 new free schools for SEND children.
labour party red symbol
  • Recruit 6,500 new key subject teachers.
  • Add 3,000 new nurseries in primary-school settings.
  • Provide free breakfast clubs in all primary schools.
  • Develop a broad and modern school curriculum that prepares young people for work and life.
  • Develop high-quality apprenticeships and specialist technical colleges.
  • Remove the VAT exemption and business rates relief for private schools.
  • Bring into effect a new Teacher Training Entitlement to support teachers’ continuing professional development.
  • Improve the quality of maths teaching in nurseries and primary schools, and fund evidence-informed early language interventions in primary schools.
  • Change the current single headline grading system by introducing a new report card system to communicate how the school is performing to parents and ensure multi-academy trusts are included in this grading system too. And bring into effect a new annual review of safeguarding, attendance, and off-rolling.
  • Improve inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools and ensure special schools cater to those with the most complex needs.
  • Support children to study a creative or vocational subject until they reach 16 and increase children’s physical activity with protected time for PE.
liberal democrats party yellow symbol
  • Ensure every primary and secondary school has a qualified mental health professional.
  • Increase per pupil funding in schools and colleges above the inflation rate every year.
  • Invest in new school buildings and repair those in need of maintenance work.
  • Introduce a new ‘Tutoring Guarantee’ for all disadvantaged pupils who need additional support.
  • Triple the Early Years Pupil Premium to £1,000 a year and allocate an additional five free hours of education a week for disadvantaged 3-4 year olds.
  • Develop a teacher workforce strategy to ensure all secondary school children are taught by teachers who are specialists in their subject.
  • Expand the provision of extracurricular activities, for example, sport, music, and drama, starting with a new free entitlement for disadvantaged children.
  • Set up a register of children who are absent from school and work to understand and remove underlying barriers to attendance.
  • Tackle the SEND provision crisis and help to end the postcode lottery in provision by: providing local authorities with extra funding to reduce the amount schools pay towards children’s Education, Health and Care plans, and developing a new National Body for SEND to fund support for children with very high needs.
  • Introduce a Young People’s Premium, extending Pupil Premium funding to disadvantaged young people aged 16-18.
reform uk party teal symbol
  • Develop a patriotic, balanced curriculum in primary and secondary schools.
  • Ban transgender ideology in primary and secondary schools and inform parents of children aged under 16 about their life decisions.
  • Introduce a 20% tax relief for independent education.
  • Introduce permanent exclusions for violent and disruptive students.
  • Double the number of Pupil Referral Units and make sure that best practice is spread across the Pupil Referral Units.
The Green Party green symbol
  • Increase school funding by £8bn, with £2bn allocated for teacher pay rises.
  • Restore grants for higher education and remove tuition fees.
  • Remove high-stakes testing in primary and secondary schools.
  • Remove Ofsted.
  • Invest £2.5bn a year to tackle the RAAC school buildings scandal and provide the funding needed to ensure schools are well-maintained and fit for purpose.
  • Review assessment targets in schools to ensure the arts and vocational subjects are treated with equal weight within the curriculum, children are supported to play and learn outdoors and can learn about the climate change and biodiversity crisis.
  • Ensure the new Natural History GCSE is delivered effectively.
  • Move academies and free schools into local authority control, remove charitable status from private schools and charge full VAT on fees (with private school places for SEND children exempt).

Want to know more about the proposed plans for education?

For the full deep dive into the manifestos and the proposed plans for education, head over to the political party websites.

In the meantime, we’ll be closely following the general election to keep you up to date with all the latest education sector news and updates.

Watch this space!

Party Manifestos
The Conservative Party
The Labour Party
The Liberal Democrats
The Green Party
Reform UK