Bridget Phillipson hasn鈥檛 had the easiest start in government. In part, this is a product of the tough political landscape she has inherited. After all, education is a domestic policy area the Conservatives regularly chalk up as a success, which has left her with very little space to manoeuvre.聽聽聽聽 This was starkly evident in her recent , which was inspiring and frustrating in equal measure.聽聽 Hearing her personal story and what it meant for her vision was the inspiring part. She referred to her own experience as 鈥減roof that the system can work, that a great education can be a transformational force鈥� and that 鈥渂ackground doesn鈥檛 have to determine destiny鈥�. But this optimistic vision wasn鈥檛 broadly reported in the press. Instead, and frustratingly for her, the media have focused on a standards policy that has landed badly with unions and the sector. This was most true in relation to Ofsted reform. Phillipson used the speech to launch a formal consultation on the report card model that will now likely replace the one-word judgments. This is聽delicate ground following the death of Ruth Perry and Phillipson鈥檚 speech聽was a great opportunity to take a conciliatory approach. She could have set out the advantages of a broader set of measures and encouraged the sector to participate in consultation. Instead, she leaned in heavily on the raising standards agenda and has given teachers and school leaders the jitters.聽 Reflecting an almost entirely critical response from the unions, ASCL general secretary Pepe Di鈥橧asio said: 鈥淥fsted and the Government appear to have learned nothing from the death of headteacher Ruth Perry and have instead devised an accountability system which will subject a beleaguered profession to yet more misery.鈥� Phillipson鈥檚 response was unhelpful as she doubled down, asserting that her priority is children and their life chances and suggesting this might not be the case for her critics. The secret is harnessing the sector鈥檚 own ambition Such rhetoric, from both sides, is needlessly divisive. As an ex-teacher and school leader, I know that teachers care deeply about children and their life chances. You can see this every day. We buy our students breakfast if we know they come to school hungry, put on unpaid afterschool and holiday clubs, organise trips and sit up late at night marking books after dinner. I have personally driven to collect a school refuser from my tutor group knowing the relationship I have with them is the thing that has the potential to make the change. I am privileged to have worked with many colleagues who routinely go the extra mile in a profession that has been undervalued for too long. As a former Ofsted inspector, I also recognise that the inspectorate has an important role to play in ensuring that schools don鈥檛 fall below floor standards. But while it will be interesting to see how the consultation develops, this alone will never be the thing that takes the system from good to great.聽聽 The real secret to making the shift to a world-class school system lies in harnessing the drive and commitment of teachers and school leaders. They stand ready to support the government in delivering on that ambition, and in turn expect to feel supported in doing so. In the end this won鈥檛 be about a conciliatory tone. Government must go further with tangible policy solutions that invest in teachers and school leaders, allowing them and the children in their care to flourish. This is exactly the type of policy that the new education policy unit at IPPR is working on. This kind of policy will land well with the sector and ultimately will help Phillipson achieve her goals. We all believe, as she does, that 鈥渁 great education can be a transformational force鈥�. Harnessing the sector鈥檚 commitment and ambition is the route to delivering that vision.