School pupils need a “grounding” in both skills and knowledge to succeed, Sir Keir Starmer has said, as he pledged to 鈥渕odernise鈥 the school curriculum and 鈥渟trengthen” the teaching profession. In a major speech this morning, the leader also spoke of the need for a “greater emphasis on creativity, on resilience, on emotional intelligence and the ability to adapt”. The address in Gillingham, Kent, follows a series of policy announcements by the party over the past week. They have pledged to pay early career teachers 拢2,400 retention bonuses, require all teachers to have or work towards qualified status and create new 鈥渟chool improvement teams鈥 across England. Education is the fifth of Labour鈥檚 five big 鈥渕issions鈥 as it prepares to form a potential government, and Starmer used the speech to set out his broad vision for reducing equality. End ‘snobbery’ of academic vs vocational The opposition leader spoke of the need to end the 鈥渄ivide鈥 between academic and vocational education 鈥 a 鈥渟heep and goats mentality that鈥檚 always been there in English education鈥. 鈥淭he 鈥榓cademic for my kids; vocational for your kids鈥 snobbery. This has no place in modern society. No connection to the jobs of the future. 鈥淣o – for our children to succeed, they need a grounding in both. Need skills and knowledge. Practical problem-solving and academic rigour. Curiosity and a love of learning too 鈥 they鈥檝e always been critical. Revealed: The full details of Labour’s education ‘mission’ 鈥淏ut now 鈥 as the future rushes towards us. We also need a greater emphasis on creativity, on resilience, on emotional intelligence and the ability to adapt. On all the attributes 鈥 to put it starkly 鈥 that make us human, that distinguish us from learning machines.鈥 Starmer also warned that the “debate about the relative importance of knowledge and skills, people outside the education world are baffled by it 鈥 and they鈥檙e right”. “Everyone with their feet on the ground in the real world knows you need both, and these old arguments, old practices, old divides 鈥 they鈥檙e holding our children back.” Starmer wants to ‘modernise’ curriculum He set out plans to modernise the school curriculum 鈥渟o that it properly prepares young people with the knowledge, skills and personal qualities needed to thrive in work and life鈥. And he spoke of the need to 鈥渟trengthen the teaching profession 鈥 so that we end the recruitment and retention crisis that is doing so much damage to standards in schools and ensure every child has an excellent specialist teacher in their classroom鈥. Starmer also set Labour a goal of changing Britain so children鈥檚 future earnings are 鈥渘o longer limited by those of their parents鈥. The speech focused on the need to address inequality, and the Labour leader will pledge to fight the 鈥減ernicious idea that background equals destiny鈥. ‘The class ceiling’ Labour’s school policy blitz: What we know so far (and what we don’t) He warned of a “class ceiling” holding some children back, and say his mission to address it is his 鈥渃ore purpose and my personal cause鈥. 鈥淭o fight 鈥 at every stage, for every child 鈥 the pernicious idea that background equals destiny. 鈥淭hat your circumstances, who you are, where you come from, who you know, might shape your life more than your talent, effort and enterprise. No 鈥 breaking that link: that鈥檚 what Labour is for. I鈥檝e always felt that. It runs deep for me.鈥 The Labour leader also warned that 鈥渢he race is on for the jobs and industries of the future鈥 and Britain must 鈥済row the talents of every child鈥 to succeed. This is the 鈥渨orld of artificial intelligence, of genomics, of technologies that stretch the boundaries of our imagination鈥, he will say, and we must 鈥渙pen our minds to meet that. Turn our eyes towards our children鈥檚 future. Make sure – we are preparing them for life and work in their Britain.鈥 Inequality focus welcomed, but cash needed say unions Leadership unions welcomed Labour鈥檚 focus on inequality, but warned its goals would not be achieved without proper investment in education Paul Whiteman NAHT general secretary Paul Whiteman warned inequalities are 鈥渄eeply entrenched in society, and if these ambitions are to be fulfilled, significant additional investment will be needed not only in education, which has been neglected for too long, but also in community support for families鈥. Geoff Barton, general secretary of the ASCL leaders鈥 union, said education 鈥渉as been on the fringes of policy-making for too long and it is encouraging that Labour appears to recognise how central it should be鈥. 鈥淥ne thing is for sure, unless the issues of pay erosion, inadequate funding and unmanageable workloads are addressed then there are not going to be enough teachers and leaders working in schools and colleges to enact the positive changes we all want to see.鈥