In a speech to the North of England Education Conference, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary Tristram Hunt MP will today declare that a future Labour government would put an end to David Cameron’s watering down of teaching standards by:

· Ensuring all teachers in all state schools become qualified, ending David Cameron’s policy to allow unqualified teachers to be taken on in academies and Free Schools on a permanent basis;
· Providing teachers with more opportunities to undertake ongoing, high-quality continued professional development and get revalidated on a rolling basis so their skills are up to date; and
· Creating new career pathways for teachers, with routes for specialism in subject knowledge and teaching skills.

He will say that reform of teaching is part of a wider story about creating a One Nation economy that enables us to earn our way out of David Cameron’s cost-of-living crisis.

In contrast to David Cameron’s watering-down of teaching standards, Tristram Hunt will draw a clear dividing line with the Tory-led Government.

He will argue that teacher quality is the most important mechanism – rejecting Cameron’s ideological obsession with school structures – to improve education for all children in all schools and to equip young people with the skills, knowledge and attributes that they need to succeed in the future economy.

Tristram Hunt will today say:

“Reform of teaching is part of a wider story about how Labour will build a One Nation economy so that we can earn our way out of the cost-of-living crisis. We can only do that if we raise standards so our teaching is world class in every school - rejecting David Cameron’s policy of allowing unqualified teachers into our classrooms.

“We have the best generation of teachers ever in our schools. But too many children are still denied the high-quality teaching they deserve. We need to keep improving if we are to deliver for every child and to keep pace. My priority as Education Secretary in the next Labour Government would be to make sure we have the best generation of teachers in the world - a highly qualified, inspiring, self-motivating and dedicated professional workforce.

“International evidence is clear: the quality of teaching – not an obsessive focus on the type of school – is what drives up standards. David Cameron and Michael Gove have watered down standards, allowing unqualified teachers into schools on a permanent basis.

“Under Labour, all teachers will have to become qualified, teachers will be given greater opportunities to further their career progression and development and, as in other high status professions, teachers will be regularly revalidated.”

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