Education Secretary speech at CST Conference
Source: gov.uk (2025-10-15)

In her speech, Bridget Phillipson set out core tenets of the upcoming schools white paper, which will lay the path for national renewal for schools.

Good morning, everyone.

It’s great to be back here with you, almost a year on.

And as I stand here again on this same stage, I’m struck by how much we have done together and achieved together in that time.

The school-based nurseries. The free breakfast clubs.

The record attendance gains. Free school meals.

More teachers recruited. More teachers on the way.

School report cards. RISE teams.

And the difference that’s already making. The young lives that we’re beginning to change, together.

So let me start with some thank yous.

Thank you, Leora, and the whole CST team. For bringing us together today. For partnering with us over the last year.

And thank you to all the leaders here.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart for your hard work, your expertise, and your passion for the children in your schools and trusts.

At your best there is no stronger force for good in our country. It was the wind at my back when I was growing up.

Fantastic teachers and great schools propelled me to where I am today. And now I’ve seen that force countless times as Secretary of State.

In classrooms across the country. Your classrooms. Stronger than when I was at school. Stronger than ever.

I came to you last year and said that I wanted to harness that strength. I told you I wanted to spread the excellence I see in our schools.

I said it then and I’ll say it again now – I want to see every child achieving and thriving.

Now that’s already true in some schools, and it’s true for some children. But it’s not true in all schools, and it’s not true for all children.

For too long the underachievement of so many children has been obscured by the successes of just one group of children.

The success of the system cannot, and will not, be measured in those terms any longer.

The health of our communities, of our wider society, demands so much more.

So, colleagues, let me tell you the change we need to see, the steps that we need to take, together, guided by the schools white paper.

How we get from where we are, to where we need to be.

And it starts with our children. The children we aren’t yet fully reaching.

Children with special educational needs and disabilities.

White working-class children.

The children who are bright, but just doing ‘just fine’, and could be doing so much more.

So the first step is to take them from being forgotten to feeling included, part of school life.

The next is the how – by shifting education from narrow to broad.

Broad in ambition. Broad in intake. And broad in scope for the value schools bring to our towns and cities.

Anchors in our communities. Civic institutions. Recognising that achieving and thriving are not opposites but partners.

Not a trade-off, but a pairing.

The final step brings the results we want to see. Engagement.

Parents at the centre of school life. Children attending every day, behaving well. Believing that they belong in school and that success belongs to them.

Colleagues, that’s what the white paper will guide us towards. Children – from forgotten to included.

Their learning, their schools – from narrow to broad.

The result – from withdrawn to engaged.

To restore opportunity to communities across our country. That is my moral mission. A school system that values richness. Just as much as it values rigour.

A system that values partnership. Just as it values excellence.

That builds communities. Just as it shapes individuals. That provides stretch. Just as it provides reward.

Where children leave not only with a world of opportunity ahead, but with experiences that will last a lifetime behind them.

And a generation of young people. The engineers, the artists, the doctors of tomorrow.

The parents, carers, and teachers of tomorrow. Each defined not simply by their learning, but by their wider experience. People, not just pupils. The proud result of our school system.

Colleagues, because I know of your passion and expertise, I know that’s possible. I’ve seen it.

And our school system works for many children. But we need change because it doesn’t work for all children.

It doesn’t work for the 4 in 5 children with SEND who don’t achieve a strong pass in their English and maths GCSEs.

It doesn’t work for the bright children – who aren’t yet being fully stretched to reach for the stars.

It doesn’t work for the children who still grow up at the sharp end of the disadvantage gap.

And it doesn’t work for the 4 in 5 white children on free school meals who don’t achieve a strong pass in their English and maths GCSEs.

And the latest data, out today, shows the dial isn’t shifting.

You will know better than me: this is not the ceiling for what these children can achieve.

But too many are adrift. Disconnected from success.

Disengaged from school.

So let me ask you a question.

How many young people in England today truly feel that they are part of something?

Something that looks out for them. To which they can contribute. To which they can belong.

Something to which they want to come back, day in and day out. Because it is exciting to feel part of something.

I fear that not enough of our young people feel that way about school.

Instead of their ambition to do their best, just the suspicion somehow that school isn’t for them.

They feel forgotten. You’ll know who I mean. The boy who skulks through your corridors, when he turns up for school at all.

You’ll recognise the slouching sense of dejection. He sees the path to a good life narrowing by the day.

He doubts that his school can provide a way up. Because it was the same for his parents.

Generation after generation growing up away from the light of a great education.

And now that boy’s spending night after night alone in his bedroom. Vulnerable to the darker forces that seek him out online, and whisper poison in his ear.

Turning him away from the free and fair society we seek to build. Video by video. Reel by reel. Meme by meme.

Colleagues, this is how the fabric of our communities begins to rip.

Bit by bit. Because when that young person is offered not opportunity but excuses.

He feels not supported but betrayed. He turns not to aspiration but to anger.

So ask me what I stand for as Secretary of State, and I’ll tell you. It’s not what, it’s who.

I stand for that boy. For his sisters, his cousins, his community.

I stand for the children with special educational needs whose needs aren’t being met as they should. I stand for every child held back by their background.

The decisions I make – for them. The actions I take – for them. Everything I do – is for them.

Because another path is possible – for them, for our communities, for our country.

So let’s broaden our horizons. Schools are here to teach maths and English and music and geography and so much more.

But not only that. And in our best schools it’s never only been that.

The best schools prepare children not just for work but for life. Not just achieving but thriving too.

The best schools understand their role in shaping not just the workers of tomorrow, but the citizens of tomorrow, the society of tomorrow.

These are mutual, reinforcing goals. The sports teams, the debate clubs, the visits to the museum, the trips to the theatre.

They don’t take away from academic achievement; they add to it. But they have been optional extras for too long.

Nice to haves for those lucky enough to get them. Now they must become a fundamental part of the education of every child.

So our children’s school experience must be broad. Broad in who we see in our classrooms too.

Who is supported to achieve and thrive there. Broad on inclusion.

Because every child deserves the opportunity to go to their local school.

And that includes children with special education needs and disabilities.

We know that outcomes for children with SEND have stagnated. They’re more likely to be suspended.

And then when they leave school, they’re more likely to end up out of employment, education or training. It’s a scandal, a stain on our society.

We must put this right – once and for all. I’ve been listening to parents, children, teachers, leaders, and experts.

And it’s clear we need to keep listening and building a consensus. To map out the future for how the whole system delivers for children with SEND.

Where every child’s needs are identified early. Where support is provided as standard, without the need for parents to fight tooth and nail.

But I know parents having fought so hard to win support for their child will feel anxious about the change ahead.

So I do want to reassure them. We will work with parents as partners to get this change right.

I know you’re all keen to hear more, and soon we’ll set out our plans.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t make improvements for children as we go.

We have, we are, and we will.

Like investing £740 million to create 10,000 more places for children with SEND in mainstream and specialist schools.

The right support for parents in our Best Start Family Hubs. And boosting SEND content for initial teacher training and throughout career progression.

We’ve got to turn it around, not just for the sake of children with SEND, but for all of our children. To show them a model of society that is broad and inclusive.

Every child achieving and thriving. That’s my challenge to you as leaders in your schools, and in your trusts.

Because the improvements we need in classrooms in Cornwall or schools in Sheffield. We cannot impose them from Whitehall.

It’s my job, it’s government’s job to set the standards, to hold you to account. Of course that’s right.

But it’s also our job to support you and to celebrate all that’s best in your schools and trusts.

That’s why we’re using our RISE programme to spread excellence.

For schools that need extra support, we’ll pair them with excellent schools, with advice from the best of the best.

And one of the best at delivering for disadvantaged children is Tanfield School, near me in the north east.

I spoke about Tanfield in a speech I gave earlier this year. About all the good work they are doing to break the link between background and success.

And now through our RISE teams we’re spreading that excellence. They’ve partnered with Duke’s Secondary School in Northumberland.

Duke’s serves similar communities. They’re on a similar journey to Tanfield. They’re part of a trust, but with other primaries, not secondaries.

So they hadn’t been able to reap all of the benefits of shared best practice.

But now they’ve partnered with Tanfield – they can draw on new ideas and expertise.

Subject leaders at Duke’s can share curriculum plans with Tanfield staff. And vice versa.

Creating a network of good ideas that they can bring into the classroom to raise standards and improve outcomes for pupils.

I want to unlock that relentless drive for better in our schools.

But not just relentless. Smarter, and better targeted too.

Because the new Ofsted framework will shine a light on excellence and pinpoint what needs to change.

Together we will end what doesn’t work by spreading what does.

And colleagues, the best examples of driving up standards through collaboration are in this hall today.

That’s why collaboration will be at the heart of everything we do. Putting the power of high-quality trusts in the service of disadvantaged children.

To provide for children an education packed with opportunity. Rooted in strong relationships.

Based on the best evidence. And filled with purpose and belonging.

A curriculum that is ambitious for every child.

That’s why I asked Professor Becky Francis to review the National Curriculum (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-launches-curriculum-and-assessment-review) – to make it fit the future.

And I’m confident that the recommendations are going to help us deliver a curriculum, an education that is rich and broad.

That’s what every child needs to achieve and thrive.

That’s how we take children from forgotten to included.

How we expand their learning from narrow to broad.

How we make sure they’re no longer withdrawn, but now engaged.

How we get them learning, achieving. How we raise their attainment.

And to those who say that it’s not possible for some children, I say rubbish.

It is possible. And it’s already happening.

Like at Five Acres School in the Forest of Dean.

Between a quarter and a third of their year 11 cohort comes from disadvantaged white backgrounds in any given year.

But at Five Acres the progress these children make is strong. Simon the head gets it.

He grew up in that community. He was a student at the school himself.

And now – together with colleagues at Greenshaw Learning Trust – he has returned to drive improvement for children just like him.

Like Jack, who arrived at Five Acres at 11 years old, not really sure if this was the place for him.

But a mix of academic challenge and deep engagement worked wonders. He thrived at the school and grew up to become Head Boy.

He aced his exams and now runs his own successful business. Jack is proof that education can be transformative for children like him.

The school has a relentless focus on engaging children in learning. And engaging parents too.

They run ‘School in Action’ tours, where they invite parents in during the school day.

Come and see what’s going on, they say to parents.

Come and see what your child is getting up to with school.

Come and see what education can do for them.

And there’s a bacon butty and a coffee in it if you want that too.

In every school we need to go from withdrawn to engaged. And the markers are clear.

Attendance is one. Thanks to our hard work together, thanks to all of your hard work, we’ve turned a corner in our fight to get children back in the classroom.

Last year children spent 5 million more days in school.

But there is still much more to do. On behaviour too, another marker of engagement.

Far too much time is lost on poor behaviour. 7 minutes for every 30 in the classroom.

That’s time children can’t afford. And suspensions have tripled.

We’ve got to turn it around. So through the white paper we’ll focus on setting early expectations on behaviour.

Children calm and focused. From withdrawn to engaged. And there is one barrier in particular I worry is locking out young people.

Because before a child can even begin to engage in everything their school has to offer, they must first be able to read.

When they can’t, the sense of dejection sets in. Engagement seeps away. Attendance follows. You know the rest.

Reading holds the key to so much. There is no foundation more important. Reading was the greatest gift my grandad ever gave to me. He understood how far it could take me, not just in my exams but right throughout my life.

So he made sure I was never without a book. Every child deserves that precious gift.

Their link to the wonders of the world, in the classroom and beyond.

Reading is the passport to the rest of their lives as engaged and active citizens.

So I am deeply troubled that around 1 in every 4 children leaves primary school not able to properly read.

For disadvantaged children it’s worse. It’s 1 in 3. And I’m sorry to say the huge majority of those children go on not to secure what they need in their English GCSE 5 summers later.

Between those staging posts at the end of year 6 and year 11 there is a gap.

A gap where drift can set in. A gap that we must now fill. With support and stretch. And with a proper check on progress, on engagement.

So we will introduce a statutory assessment in year 8 to assess reading fluency and comprehension.

We’ll test progress at this key point when too many children either spin their wheels or slip further behind.

Not to put our teachers under the microscope, but to support them.

Invaluable data for schools to make sure that the child who needs more, a helping hand, can slip through the cracks.

And we know the strongest foundations are built early.

That’s why we will introduce a new ambitious target for 90% of children to reach the expected standard in phonics by the end of year 1.

Together with our National Year of Reading, launching in just a few months’ time, hand in hand with the National Literacy Trust.

And our pledge for a library in every primary school that the Chancellor announced at our conference.

We are putting reading front and centre of the change that we want to bring.

And colleagues, let us never forget that progress is always possible.

Maisy arrived at Five Acres unable to read.

And up until that point, everything about learning was just so much harder.

But thanks to an intensive phonics programme and her dedicated teachers she turned it around.

She left school having passed her English and maths. And has now go onto further study.

These are the stories that keep me going when things get tough.

That push for better.

From forgotten to included.

From narrow to broad.

From withdrawn to engaged.

From too many children struggling with reading and maths, to every child building strong foundations for learning.

From behaviour eating up precious time, to every child calm, settled and ready to learn.

From an absence epidemic, to every child attending regularly.

From enrichment as the preserve of a lucky few, to every child enjoying sport, arts, culture, nature, and adventure.

Every child engaged. Every child achieving and thriving.

Schools returned to pride of place in our country.

Anchors in our communities. And, colleagues, don’t you ever doubt the power of that. Because, Leora, you were right to call this a pivotal moment.

The Prime Minister said it just a few weeks ago. We have a choice as a country. Hope or grievance. Renewal or decline.

The fight for the soul of our nation. It isn’t just about politics. It’s about all of us in here this room.

Setting our young people off on the right path in life.

Because if we want them to choose hope. First, they need to find opportunity. Not just some of them, but all of them.

That is our task. That is our responsibility. That is why the path to national renewal runs right through your schools.

So the excellence I talked about before. That force for good.

It’s up to us to take that and to spread it. To reject the falsehood that education just can’t reach some children.

To continue our journey of improvement as educators.

To engage this country’s next generation – and deliver national renewal.

So, colleagues, now is the time to look to the future. To lead our school system into the next decade.

In service of a generation of children who will lead our country into the next century.

Because those of you who have been in teaching long enough will know.

When you bump into ex-pupils out in the world.

You understand that the little girls and boys in your classrooms today are the inventors, artists, creators, engineers, scientists, partners and parents of tomorrow.

So our task is not just to prepare them for the world of work.

It’s to shape the engaged and thoughtful citizens our country will need as we head towards the 22nd century.

The Jacks, and the Maisies.

That’s not just our task, it’s our responsibility.

A responsibility that spreads beyond those of us in this room.

We need parents, schools, government, communities to work together as one.

Because the challenges we face demand nothing less than the creation of our common future.

The white paper will be our guide, but it’s up to all of us to answer the call.

Thank you.