The Liberal Democrats have published their education manifesto. Here is a full list of the party’s schools policies.
Stop the education cuts – fair funding for all schools
1. Reverse cuts to frontline school budgets, protecting per pupil funding in real terms
2. Introduce a fairer national funding system with a protection for all schools
3. Protect the pupil premium
Teachers – our biggest asset in education
4. End the 1 per cent cap on teachers’ pay rises
5. Guarantee all teachers in state-funded schools will be fully qualified or working towards QTS from January 2019
6. Introduce an entitlement to 25 hours per year of “high quality professional development” for all teachers by 2020, rising to 50 hours by 2025
7. Support “proper long-term planning of initial teacher training places”
8. Establish an independent “Education Standards Authority” to pilot, phase-in and resource future policy changes in consultation with professionals and experts
9. Reform Ofsted inspections so they include a focus on longer-term outcomes and sustainable improvement as well as teacher workload, sickness and retention
10. Support the establishment of a new, independent Foundation for Leadership in Education, working under the umbrella of the Chartered College of Teaching
11. Continue to work with the Education Endowment Foundation
Driving up school standards
12. Give democratically-accountable local authorities clear responsibility for local school places planning and repeal the rule that all new state funded schools must be free schools or academies
13. Scrap the planned expansion of grammar schools and devolve all capital money for new school spaces to local authorities
14. Allow Ofsted to inspect academy chains
15. Rule out state-funded profit-making schools, and ensure that new schools are built in areas where there is a need for new school places
16. Ensure identification and support for SEND takes place “as early as possible”
Curriculum and qualifications
17. Introduce a curriculum entitlement – a “slimmed down core national curriculum”, which will be taught in all state-funded schools, including PSHE and age-appropriate SRE
18. Make the curriculum the responsibility of an Educational Standards Authority
19. Prioritise primary progress measures instead of floor thresholds and work with the profession to reform tests at 11
20. Protect the availability of arts and creative subjects in the curriculum and remove barriers to pupils studying them
21. Improve links between employers and schools, encouraging all schools to participate in employment and enterprise schemes
22. Challenge gender stereotyping and early sexualisation, working with schools to promote positive body image and break down outdated perceptions of gender appropriateness of particular academic subjects
Getting children and families ready to learn
23. Ensure all teaching staff have the training to identify mental health issues and that schools provide immediate access for pupil support and counselling
24. Make promoting wellbeing a statutory duty of a school and include in the Ofsted inspection framework
25. Extend free school meals to all children in primary education and promote school breakfast clubs
26. Ensure collaboration between education and family organisations to “improve the flow of helpful information between home and school without increasing teacher workload”
27. Tackle bullying in schools including bullying on the basis of gender, sexuality, gender identity, or gender expression
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