Keir Starmer vows to smash ‘class ceiling’ of education snobbery

Keir Starmer to make speech on education (Image: Getty) Sir Keir Starmer will vow to end the ‘class ceiling’ by overhauling the education system in new speech. The Labour leader is to set out plans to give state school children better speaking skills, improve early years education and boost teaching retention. In a speech in Gillingham, Kent, he will say: ‘There’s also something more pernicious. ‘A pervasive idea, a barrier in our collective minds, that narrows our ambitions for working-class children and says, sometimes with subtlety, sometimes to your face: this isn’t for you. Some people call it the ‘class ceiling’ – and that’s a good name for it. It’s about economic insecurity, structural and racial injustice – of course it is. But it’s also about a fundamental lack of respect. ‘A snobbery that too often extends into adulthood. Raising its ugly head when it comes to inequalities at work – in pay, promotions, opportunities to progress.’ The speech will focus on the last of the five missions set by the party with a pledge to ‘break down barriers to opportunity’. Sir Keir is due to set out plans to boost child development with an ambitious target of half a million more children hitting their early learning targets by 2030. Keir set out plans to boost child development (Image: Getty) He’ll talk about modernising the curriculum so that it prepares young people with the knowledge, skills and personal qualities needed to thrive in work and life. The party chief will also work towards ending the recruitment and retention crisis, and ensure every child has an ‘excellent’ specialist teacher in their classroom. His speech continues: ‘I’m serious – the sheep and goats mentality that’s always been there in English education. The ‘academic for my kids; vocational for your kids’ snobbery. This has no place in modern society. No connection to jobs of the future. ‘No – for our children to succeed, they need a grounding in both. Need skills and knowledge. Practical problem-solving and academic rigour.’ He will add: ‘We also need a greater emphasis on creativity, on resilience, on emotional intelligence and the ability to adapt. On all the attributes – to put it starkly – that make us human, that distinguish us from learning machines.’ The National Association of Headteachers union welcomed the proposals but warned they must be matched by ‘significant additional investment’ not only in education but in community support and social care. Paul Whiteman, NAHT general secretary, said: ‘There is no doubt that schools can play a vital role in helping children to thrive no matter what their background, but they need the appropriate resources to do so.’