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Tristram Hunt MP, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, in a speech at Microsoft, said:

It is a great pleasure to be here at Microsoft’s magnificent UK headquarters once again and to hear about its continued investment in our children’s future.

Just over a year ago I was here as a judge of the ‘Innovate for Good’ programme Microsoft held in partnership with London Youth.

And there I saw first-hand the passion and desire our young people have to put technological innovation at the service of the greater social good.

From a smart phone app offering real-time peer-to-peer mental health support, to an internet TV channel determined to challenge the persistent negative stereotyping our young people so often endure, what I saw was a powerful demonstration of the values which define what the National Citizenship Service and others have called ‘Generation Citizen’.

For it seems that today’s young people - ‘Generation Z’ in the crass language of advertising - are growing up to be more creative, enquiring, ambitious, entrepreneurial and community spirited than ever before.

Now, one of the great perks of my job is being able to escape Westminster and meet the next generation face to face.

And I am never anything less than impressed by their boundless energy and optimism.

I saw it in when I visited St Marylebone School for Girls, with its remarkable mix of high-academic achievements in the hard sciences with a truly inspiring music and dance department.

I saw it when I met the young women studying hospitality and travel at Dudley College, knowing exactly what they wanted to achieve from their course and where they wanted to go with their lives.

And every week I see it in schools in Stoke-on-Trent: the young engineers working together to build a racing car at the Co-operative Academy, the drama groups at the Sir Stanley Matthews Academy, the youth clubs at Chesterton and those young people able to overcome extraordinary disadvantage to graduate from the REACH pupil referral unit.

The story is encouragingly universal - everywhere I go I meet young people who are confident, determined and resilient - young people who are bursting with ideas about how they contribute and make a difference.
So whilst the purpose of my speech today is to spell out the choice voters will face at the 2015 General Election.

I also want to make it very clear that this is about more than the nuts and bolts of education reform.

It is about listening to our young people, understanding who they are, and backing them to succeed as a generation that can change this country for the better.

And ladies and gentleman, the truth is there is only one party interested in doing that.

Only one party that understands that, for the first time in a century, the Promise of Britain - in which parents and children know that if they work hard the next generation will do better than the last - is a promise that risks being broken.

Only one party that is ready to make the big changes needed to allow our young people to flourish and achieve that promise.

And only one party that knows Britain is better off when we harness the talent, initiative and enterprise of ‘Generation Citizen’ and give them an equal chance to create and share in this country’s coming prosperity.

Ladies and Gentleman, that party is Ed Miliband’s Labour Party.

And we are here to back this country’s future.

Now like so many young people I too believe we should be supremely optimistic about the future.

In fact, I believe that the digital revolution being unleashed from buildings such as this could genuinely herald an era where the positive freedom individuals require truly to shape their destiny may finally be extended to the many.

Indeed, as my colleague Jon Cruddas recently said in his excellent speech to the Royal Society of Arts:

“The socialism of the future will be about creating power together for individual freedom.”

Which seems to me a perfect echo of how Generation Citizen seeks to harness the power of technology.

Nevertheless, we cannot shy away from the fact that this new era will be one of transformative social change.

And with that will also come profound economic upheaval.

Where and how we work is changing.

As are the jobs we do and the skills our economy requires.

Of course I completely understand that education’s purpose is far deeper than producing workers for the labour market.

Yes – it is the handmaiden of a competitive economy; but it is also the agent of a strong and vibrant society; an emancipatory force that the Labour movement has long harnessed – from William Lovett and the Chartist Schools through the Workers Education Association, William Morris and the Clarion clubs, the trade union movement up to the comprehensive and academy programmes - in our historic crusade for social justice and equal opportunity.

Furthermore, I would argue that it is also something valuable in and of itself; something that exerts a vast social value on the public realm.

That is why there are such important links between the values our education system embodies, the citizens it produces, and the broader fabric of our society; why we need a balanced education system that nurtures our children’s character, resilience and grit alongside their academic and vocational attainment.

Yet at a very basic level it must equip all our young people with the skills they require to succeed in the ever changing, ever more competitive global market-place.

Economic strength in the 21st century will be defined less and less by territorial endowments, natural resources or the sheer size of a nation’s labour force; and more and more by the quality of its human capital.

However, there are also compelling social justice reasons why we must focus on growing our skills base.

Because according to a 2012 report by McKinsey’s, come the 2020 general election there will be 100m low skill jobs that the global economy will simply no longer require.

In contrast, however, there will be a 40m global shortage of high skilled workers.

And we know that when there is an employment crisis it is the vulnerable, disadvantaged and low skilled members of our society who are so often hit the hardest.

Ed Miliband’s ‘race to the top’ vision - a high wage, hi-tech, high-innovation economy that works for all - is less a choice and more the only credible game in town.

So that was why, last week, I announced that the Labour Party would not proceed with the government’s reckless decision to abolish AS Levels in their current form.

The Tories are turning the clock back on social mobility. David Cameron’s regressive policy to end the current AS level qualification will close the window of opportunity for many young people wanting to go to university.

Having spoken to sixth formers across England, I know how valuable they find AS Levels in helping to shape their options and spur them on.

This decision stands as a cap on aspiration.

It will impact upon thousands of ‘late starter’ pupils from high-poverty communities who wish to go on to university.

Which is why our decision has been welcomed by the Association of School and College Leaders, academics at Cambridge University and across English schools and colleges.

However, we need to show the same resolve and rigour with regards to what Ed Miliband has called the ‘Forgotten 50 per cent’ of youngsters who do not go onto to study at University.

For young people who want to pursue an excellent vocational education face a bewildering array of options that are difficult to navigate and, if we are frank, often fail to offer progression to good jobs or further study.

Moreover, if a young person fails to get a good GCSE or equivalent pass in English and Maths at 16, they have only a one in seven likelihood of achieving it by 18.

The economic cost of such poor standards is staggering, but arguably it is the social cost - the poor health, low self-esteem, weak employment prospect, stunted life chances - that is the greatest burden.

My case today is that if we are to realise our aspirations for an education and economy that truly works for all, then we will have to exorcise the demons that have bedevilled 70 years of education reform in this country.

For this month marks the 70th anniversary of RAB Butler’s Education Act receiving its Royal Assent.

With the introduction of compulsory secondary schooling to 15, a massive expansion of education to the working classes, and the end of the dual system of religious and state education, there can be little doubt that it represents a pivotal progressive moment in our country’s educational history.

As the Liberal MP Sir Geoffrey Shakespeare remarked at the time, 1944 “gathers up the dreams of all educational reformers”.

And it began in true Churchillian style.

After a night at Chequers, Butler, as President of the Board of Education, was summoned to Churchill’s bedroom.

At a quarter to eleven in the morning.

‘I found him in bed, smoking a Corona, with a black cat curled up on his feet. He began aggressively by claiming that the cat did more for the war effort than I did since it provided him with a hot water bottle and saved fuel and power. Didn’t I agree? I said not really, but that it was a very beautiful cat.’

Butler explained that he was drafting an education bill – to which, ‘he said simply that I must show him my plans when they were ready and that he was sure they would be very interesting. I gladly left it at that.’

Although, famously, Churchill did have one other request: ‘tell the children that Wolfe won Quebec.’

And what beautiful ambitions the 1944 Act set out.

The government’s three purposes were ‘to secure for children a happier childhood and a better start in life; to ensure a fuller measure of education and opportunity for young people and to provide a means for all of developing the various talents with which they are endowed and so enriching the inheritance of the country whose citizens they are.’

Few could begrudge 1944’s laudable aims – but I would argue that the ‘One Nation’ ambition of Butler has never fully been realised in the post-war epoch.

Worse than that, we have learned the wrong lessons – in theory and in fact.

First – in theoretical terms. The dream of the tripartite system between grammar, technical and modern schools seemed to embed something deep within the reform psyche of English educationalists which placed a primacy on re-organising school structures at the expense of improving the quality of teaching.

Grammar schools; voluntary aided schools; direct grant schools; technical schools; secondary moderns; comprehensives; grant-maintained schools; sixth form colleges; city technology colleges; sponsored academies; converter academies; free schools…

…the victory of this structural impulse has been near total.

And whilst it would be wrong to say there have not been some successes, I would also argue that too often this compulsion has diverted attention from what we know really makes a difference: raising the quality of teaching.

Second – facts. Because the failure fully to realise the Technical School route led to systemic neglect when it came to vocational education.

Butler’s ambition was for equality between school types; transfer of pupils across different schools at 13; a multi-lateral school system.

Here is Butler speaking in the Commons debate in March 1944. ‘Compared to our competitors, friends and enemies, we shall be a small country when this war is over and we shall depend more than anything else on the skill of our people … we must concentrate upon producing the most highly-skilled technologists the world can show.’

But it never happened. The technical schools were never to cater for more than 2 per cent of students.

‘Thus the third leg of Butler’s tripod, the one with the most relevance to British industrial success and also the one which might have fostered a technological national culture in place of a literary one, was simply never to be built,’ as the historian Corelli Barnett put it in his brutal denunciation of the post-war New Jerusalem, The Audit of War.

And of course this in turn is the reason for our abject failure to deliver equal opportunity and educational excellence to ‘the forgotten fifty per cent’ down the generations and across the parties.

It is an historic failing that an Ed Miliband Labour Government is determined to put right.

Sadly, our opponents in the upcoming General Election have not learned the lessons of history.

Whether it is the falling number of youth apprenticeships; the falling number of STEM apprenticeships; the removal of the AS Level in its current form; the removal of practical work from examinations; the assault on FE funding – there is no appreciation here of the needs of technical and vocational education or for an inclusive, One Nation education policy.

Do not be fooled by recent personnel changes: just because David Cameron has locked the architect away in the attic (or, even worse, the Whips’ Office), be in no doubt that the aggressively free market experiment with our children’s education continues.

It will take a lot more than a change of face for parents at the Al-Madinah Free School in Derby or the IES Breckland Free School in Suffolk to forget the shocking standards to which their children were exposed.

It will take a lot more than an emollient tone to sort out the mess that a lack of local oversight has caused in Birmingham or the chaos that, despite David Cameron’s promise to the contrary, has led to a primary school places crisis.

Besides, Nicky Morgan has openly declared herself to be a continuity Gove Minister.

We have an auto-pilot Education Secretary determined to cement the damaging reforms of recent years.

The future she offers is five more years of failing free schools, unqualified teachers damaging standards, broken primary school promises and fewer opportunities for the forgotten fifty per cent.

Take primary class sizes.

In 2008 David Cameron said ‘the more we can get class sizes down the better,’ but as parents and pupils prepare to begin the new school year, there are real concerns about the number of children in classes of more than 30 infants under the Tories.

By diverting resources away from areas in desperate need of more primary school places in favour of pursuing his pet project of expensive Free Schools in areas where there is no shortage of places, David Cameron has created classes of more than 40, 50, 60, even 70 pupils.

Labour will end the Free School programme and instead focus spending on areas in need of extra school places.

The Choice on education is clear: the threat of ever more children crammed into large class sizes under the Tories or a Labour future where we transform standards with a qualified teacher in every classroom and action on class sizes.

A Tory choice in 2015 would by 2020 mean:

-An average of 2 unqualified teachers in every state school.

-450,000 primary school pupils taught in class sizes larger than 30.

-Less than half of all apprenticeship starts going to young people.

Yet perhaps even more insidious than all of this is the real threat to the public character of our education system.

Because you can rest assured that beyond 2015 the Tories will attempt to apply the totalising simplicity of their privatisation logic upon yet more of our public institutions.

And after the election this could easily mean for-profit schools.

There is almost no public policy, in my opinion, with more capacity to damage the fabric of our society – let alone the educational values we cherish.

However, should we need further convincing, then we only need to witness the truly staggering slump in standards that occurred in Sweden after they introduced vouchered for-profit schools in the early 1990s.

Remember, before the last election emulating Sweden was the Tory’s big idea.

“We have seen the future in Sweden - and it works” Michael Gove told the Daily Mail in 2008.

Yet in the latest round of the OECD’s respected PISA tests, no other nation recorded as big a drop from their 2009 score in reading or maths.

Make no mistake: for-profit schools would be disastrous for standards.

Nevertheless, the right-wing think-tanks are making all the right mood music.
The editorials are increasingly aligned.

Liberal Democrat cheer-leaders are advocating it.

Only Labour can stop it.

Ladies and Gentlemen, that is why the Choice on Education next May is so stark.

So, it is up to everyone who is passionate about a public education system, everyone who wants an education system that truly embodies the values of social justice and equal opportunity, to make sure voters are aware of the enormous choice they face.

A choice between a high quality, high aspiration education for all students versus a dramatic decline in youth apprenticeships.

A choice between a comprehensive reform programme to raise standards through the power and inspiration of world class teaching versus over 50,000 unqualified teachers.

And a choice between unleashing the unwavering dedication, professional integrity and moral mission of heads and teachers versus a structural obsession which would see every primary school an academy and the introduction of for-profit schooling.

So let me start first with teaching.

Because nowhere is the contrast between our progressive agenda and the Government’s regressive approach more stark.

Now as I have already said - our starting point is the indisputable evidence that better teaching is the surest way to boost the attainment of all children.

Indeed, the work of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation – funded by the wealth from Microsoft – has focused remarkable levels of research and enquiry on this very point.

Yet what makes improving teaching quality so crucial to us in the Labour Party is that it is also the surest way to deliver on our social mission.

Because its importance is even more pronounced when it comes to children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Research from the Sutton Trust has shown that without social capital or parental input to fall back upon, teacher quality can mean as much as a year’s difference to the learning progress of disadvantaged children.

And the Education Select Committee’s shocking report into the underperformance in white working class boys and girls only reinforces those findings.

So our first step has to be to end the policy of allowing unqualified teachers into the classroom on a permanent basis.

Indeed, it was Butler himself who, in 1944, demanded that ‘uncertified teachers … take a special one year course of training, the satisfactory teaching of which will entitle them to be graded as qualified teachers.’

But really to raise teaching quality then we have to do far more.

It cannot be right that a teacher can qualify and then face no more demands or incentives in order to support their continued professional development.

So as well as reversing the Government’s policy on unqualified teachers,
as well as making sure we are preparing high calibre graduates properly for the pressures of the classroom, as well as supporting the establishment of a Royal College of Teachers and as well as introducing new high-status career routes to make sure we retain the best teachers in the classroom - under a Labour Government teachers would be expected to undertake regular professional development throughout their careers and revalidate their expertise at regular intervals.

Our vision is of a profession-led; school-driven; community-focused education system.
Built on the principles of challenge; collaboration; and cohesion.

That is how we raise standards and give children – especially those from disadvantaged communities – the opportunity to fulfil their potential

But our aspiration to deliver an education system that works for all requires a particular focus when it comes to colleges and the ‘forgotten fifty per cent’.

We need to drive up the quality of apprenticeships by making them all level 3 and last a minimum of two years.

We need to build better links between colleges and local labour markets by ensuring all vocational teachers spend time in industry refreshing their skills.

And we need a rigorous new gold standard technical baccalaureate for 16-19 years olds that gives young people a clear and high quality route through the latter stages of their secondary education as well as ensuring that they continue to study English and Maths to 18 - which under Labour would be compulsory for all.

However, I think we need to be frank that if our aspiration is to have the best skilled workforce in the world then our further education system demands reform.

Two thirds of 16-18 year olds study in FE colleges - yet under this government we are seeing more inadequate Ofsted ratings and, as in schools, nonsensical deregulation when it comes to teaching qualifications.

If we are serious about the Tech Bacc being a gold standard then it must be seen that way by all - by parents, businesses, colleges and, most of all, by young people themselves.

It should only be delivered by highly qualified teachers who understand how to tailor curricula to the diverse needs of college students.

And it should only be delivered in colleges that have excellent links to local industry so that pupils have the access to all the rich specialist knowledge they will need to succeed in local businesses.

Therefore, a 2015 Labour government will transform the highest performing FE colleges into new ‘Institutes of Technical Education’ based upon a college demonstrating excellence in vocational teaching, strong links with local businesses, and high standards of English and Maths provision.

Our reform agenda will encompass much more – from Ofsted inspection of academy chains; to repurposing our Sure Start system; to compulsory sex and relationships education; to reintegrating the role of Higher Education into teacher training; to establishing Directors of School Standards to ensure accountability and oversight at a local level; to promoting the establishment of Parent-Led Academies in areas in need of new schools; to reviving Careers Guidance; to implementing a ‘broad and balanced curriculum’ as a criterion for Ofsted inspection.

More broadly, I am hopeful that we can build on the Tech Bacc and move towards a National Baccalaureate framework that binds all learning routes together within a rigorous common framework, whilst at the same time nurtures our young peoples’ character, resilience and broader wellbeing.

And I am hopeful that we can begin begin to chart a course away from the top-down, target-driven, exam-obsessed, managerial performance culture that has permeated our education system in recent years.

Which is why I am supportive of the recent comments by Tony Little of Eton College on the need for a broader recognition of what a fulfilling education entails; as well as plans to develop alternative League Tables by headteachers focussing on a broader metric of achievement.

Yet whilst we should place no caps upon our long-term vision, we must also be pragmatic in our promises.

And it is improving the quality of teaching and delivering vocational excellence that are the pressing priorities to create an education system that offers high standards and opportunity to all.

Because there is a final lesson I believe we can draw in reflecting on the 70th anniversary of the 1944 Act.

One that brings me full circle to my comments on Generation Citizen earlier and my experience at ‘Innovate for Good’ here last year.

Because as Corelli Barnett argued, the failure to implement the Technical School route was indicative of an entire educational and political establishment which collectively underestimated the underlying weakness of the British industrial machine.

They simply could not anticipate the coming skills demands of the Golden Age of Capitalism, preparing an entire generation for the industries of the past not the jobs of the future.

As such the words that Churchill used to define Butler’s task, that we needed “a state of society where the advantages and privileges which hitherto have been enjoyed only by the few, shall be far more widely shared by the man and youth of the nation as a whole”, rang hollow.

Now, it is not impossible, in these environs, to imagine how history could repeat itself again should we choose to embrace the status quo.

To imagine that the full potential of Generation Citizen to become masters of the digital age is never fully unleashed if we reject change.

Because if we stick with the narrow contours of the present; if we don’t embrace the possibilities of the digital ocean lapping around us.

If we don’t engage with the new capabilities of blended learning, flipped classroom, distinctions between formal and informal learning, and the kind of personalised curricula which Microsoft have been working on - alongside absolute rigour on academic and vocational learning - then we will be repeating the failings of Butler in the modern age.

So my final message this morning is that a Labour Government will be relentless in focusing its education reforms on the demands of the future – not the 1950s Grammar School nostalgia of Michael Gove and Nicky Morgan.

A vision of education which delivers for all of Generation Z; focuses relentlessly on teacher quality; values vocational as much as academic; believes deeper knowledge enhances skills, but appreciate the employment of the future requires a new epoch of learning; and thinks character, resilience and grit stands alongside the great exam results we saw last week.

Radical times will require radical reform.

And that can only mean one thing.

As in 1945 so in 2015.

Choosing Labour.

Ends