When will Labour introduce its education policy?

Now that Labour has won the election, all the policy promises that looked great on paper or made an impression with slogans will have to become a reality – and that won’t be easy for the party to achieve.

How soon, realistically, could any of the new government’s big plans for education be realised – next month, next year, perhaps even within this term of Parliament?

This Tests The team selected seven key proposals and asked a range of experts to share their views on whether and when these principles could be implemented.

1. Ofsted Report Cards and MAT Inspections

Labour has announced it will replace Ofsted’s single-tier inspection grades with a new grading system, carry out inspections of multi-academy foundations and introduce a new annual review of safeguarding, attendance and exclusions.

With Ofsted currently in the midst of its ‘Big Listen’ consultation, the results of which are due in September, it seems unlikely there will be any significant immediate changes.

There should also be an independent review led by former Ofsted chief inspector Dame Christine Gilbert to the inspectorate response to death of school principal Ruth Perry. Again, the Labour Party is will likely wait to take action.

When the government if we move forward, there will also be legal obstacles to overcome – mainly changing the current control system, Katie Michelonpartner at law firm Browne Jacobson, noting that the Education Act 2005 would need to be changed if Labor’s changes meant “a move away from designating a school as requiring special measures or significant improvement”.

What’s more, because there is no law under which Ofsted can carry out mandatory inspections of multi-academy trusts, Michelon says, Labour will have to create new legislation. This will take time and will require creating a framework for MAT inspections, which itself is unlikely to happen any time soon.

2. Complete curriculum overview

Labour has pledged to introduce a “broader and richer curriculum” along with a “comprehensive review of how it is assessed” as part of plans to better prepare young people for their future.

While the curriculum overhaul could be seen as relatively inexpensive and quick (Labour has said it wants the review to be carried out “urgently”), the party will need to address concerns from teachers’ unions about the potential impact on workload.

Labour will also need to ensure that schools have enough specialist teachers and resources to teach a wide range of subjects.

Of course, any changes will have to be consistent with the remit that Labour decides to give Ofsted.

Finally, unlike now, all state schools – including academies – would have to deliver the core curriculum under Labour’s plan.

Some in the sector might object to this as an infringement on liberty and would require an amendment to the Act. As the Conservatives have discovered in their Schools Bill, this is no easy task.

3. End VAT exemptions for private schools

One of the most well-known promises of the Labour Party is to end the VAT and property tax exemptions for private schools. The party intends to use the money raised from this to spend on public schools.

Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves has suggested the tax will not be retroactive and does not expect it to be introduced before 2025.

To make this timeline a reality, tax expert Dan Neidle says: Tests would expect a consultation paper on the policy to be published some time after the election, before the Bill is published in January 2025. This would be followed by a Finance Bill in March 2025, which would come into force at the end of that year.

Neidle says implementing the policy will be relatively straightforward, but deciding on the details of the policy and their implications will be more technically challenging.

Some parents and schools may also try to avoid VAT on fees by paying several years of fees in advance before the policy is introduced, says Neidle. After the election, Labour will probably have to set a date from which this practice will no longer be allowed.

4. Free breakfast clubs in every primary school

Pete Whitehead, senior policy manager at Public First, says the promise of free breakfast clubs, estimated in the Labour manifesto to cost £315m, is a policy that Labour will implement quickly because it has been “repeatedly referred to by senior Labour management” and has been promoted for more than two years.

He says one of the early decisions will be what Labour wants to focus on in the policy: “(Is) it a hunger-focused provision to meet immediate needs? Or one that focuses on delivering secondary benefits around childcare?”

Given that the Institute for Fiscal Studies suggests that £315m would cover a “food only” model for all primary schools – but only around 60 per cent of schools offering food and childcare – Whitehead says the first option seems more likely.

Free school meals activist Andy Jolley believes that Labour could use the fact that many schools already have breakfast clubs and therefore there is a ““soft rollout” of the provision, “starting with schools in more disadvantaged areas” to help soften the policy.

Even if Labour does this, Whitehead says “large-scale delivery, particularly in rural areas” will be a key issue: “Will it use a central provider, such as the existing National School Breakfast Program (NSBP), or will it use grants to schools?”

Jolley adds that questions about finances will be as important as those about logistics.Different schools face different challenges and some flexibility will be needed when it comes to finances, especially for smaller schools that lack the economies of scale,” he says.

5. Mental health professionals for all schools

Labour has pledged to ensure “every school has access to a mental health professional” so that all pupils can get “early support” before problems get worse – a policy widely backed by headteachers’ and teachers’ unions, who warn that the sector is facing A “tsunami” of students’ mental health problems.

Work he said in his manifesto in which she announced that she would spend £175 million from VAT on private school fees to fund benefits that would be supported by recruitment of 8,500 additional mental health workerswhich cost an additional £410 million.

Policymakers will be under pressure to act quickly on this, especially as it is an extension of existing school rules rather than a completely new system. As such, it will not require consultation or new rules.

Anne Longfield, executive director of the Young People’s Centre and former Children’s Commissioner, who is known to be close to Labour Party decision-makers, says: Tes that the Government should “sharply increase” support in schools to help implement the policy as quickly as possible.

6. Employment of 6,500 more teachers

One of Labour’s six key manifesto commitments is to recruit 6,500 “new expert teachers” in key shortage subjects.

A total of £450 million a year has been promised for this purpose, but details of how the money will be used remain unclear. The situation has changed little since October last year, when Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillpson said Labour was still working on the plan.

However, Labour has announced it will review the way grants are awarded and the structure of retention payments.

For example, new teachers who complete the two-year Early Career Framework induction programme will receive £2,400. It is not clear when this payment might be implemented, butEven given the high rate of new teacher attrition, Labour may want to act on this sooner rather than later.

7. Creation of 3,000 nurseries in primary schools

Labour has promised 3,000 primary school nurseries, with £35 million earmarked in its manifesto, to help “extend government-funded childcare hours that families are entitled to”.

James Bowen, deputy general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, says: Tests that adapting the elementary school space in this way is something that “many members have gone through in the past,” so it’s a feasible plan.

However, this requires a lot of planning in each school, such as ensuring “adequate access to the building, toilets, outdoor learning space and food preparation area”. Plans will therefore need to be ““carefully thought out in each specific case.”

Meanwhile, Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, says it is estimated An additional 40,000 teachers will be needed, meaning “a comprehensive staffing plan, together with realistic funding levels, is crucial.”

Sally Hogg, senior policy officer at the University of Cambridge’s Research Centre for Play in Education, Development and Learning, warns that simply putting school staff in these settings may not deliver the results.

“Infants and toddlers are not just smaller versions of older students; they require special care that meets their unique needs,” she says.

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