红桃影视

Schools will be 鈥渢asked with ensuring every pupil has a clear post-16 destination鈥�, Downing Street has said, after Sir Keir Starmer announced a new target for further and higher education participation.

The prime minister told the Labour conference in Liverpool he would scrap the last Labour government鈥檚 target of having 50 per cent of young people go to university, which he said was not 鈥渞ight for our times鈥�.

The government will 鈥渞eplace it with a new ambition, that two thirds of our children should go either to university or take a gold standard apprenticeship.

In , Downing Street said the target would be for 鈥渢wo-thirds of young people participating in higher-level learning 鈥� academic, technical or apprenticeships 鈥� by age 25, up from 50 per cent today鈥�.

A sub-target will 鈥渆nsure at least 10 per cent of young people pursue higher technical education or apprenticeships by age 25 by 2040, a near doubling of today鈥檚 figure – helping support our economic needs鈥�.

Lack of details on new policy

Downing Street went on to say that 鈥渟chools will be tasked with ensuring every pupil has a clear post-16 destination, supported by Ofsted, with a guaranteed college or FE provider place available as a safety net鈥�.

However, after publication of the press release and this story, the government updated its text, watering-down the language.

The release now states that schools will “play a greater role in ensuring every pupil has a clear post-16 destination, supported by Ofsted, with a new approach to a guaranteed college or FE provider place available as a safety net being tested”.

The Department for Education said schools would only be responsible for ensuring pupils’ immediate post-16 pathway, not their wider destinations up to age 25.

The department said it would “revise guidance so that schools routinely provide targeted support for those at risk of becoming NEET, helping them choose their next step and successfully transition into post-16 education and training”. It has not said whether this guidance will be statutory.

Those without a post-16 study plan will be “automatically allocated a place at a local college or further education provider. Those young people will be “contacted by the provider to be given a place and have the wraparound support provided to ensure they remain in education or training”.

Lack of detail on proposed new responsibilities

Schools already have a legal duty to provide careers advice to their pupils, but are not expected to guarantee them a post-16 pathway.

Local authorities on the other hand have a duty to find education and training places for 16- and 17-year-olds. It is not clear what additional duties will be placed on schools, and whether they will be statutory.

The government has also said that colleges 鈥渨ill be expected to deliver at least 100 hours of face-to-face English and maths teaching for those who haven鈥檛 passed those GCSEs, supported by targeted funding and training鈥�.

It has not said, however, whether schools will also face the same expectation for sixth formers who have not passed the qualifications.

Starmer vows to fight ‘deportation’ of school workers

Starmer also took aim in his speech at Reform UK鈥檚 recently-announced policy of ending indefinite leave to remain if it wins the next election, warning of potential ramifications for the school workforce.

鈥淚f you say or imply that people cannot be English or British because of the colour of their skin. That mixed heritage families owe you an explanation,鈥� he told a packed conference hall.

鈥淭hat people who have lived here for generations, raised their children here, built their lives here, working in our schools, our hospitals, running businesses, our neighbours.

鈥淚f you say they should now be deported, then mark my words, we will fight you with everything we have, because you are the enemy of national renewal.鈥�