The scrapping of single-phrase inspection headline grades for schools in England will be a relief for parents, the Prime Minister has said as he visited a primary school and chatted with students on their first day back.
Sir Keir Starmer spoke with pupils at Perry Hall Primary School in Orpington on Monday, telling one class that it is his Government’s job to “make sure that you get the best education you can”.
He, along with Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, sat and quizzed Year Ones on their summer holidays before Sir Keir was grilled by Year Fours on why he wanted to be prime minister, on his values and on what he is going to do to help the environment.
Sir Keir spoke to the media during the visit and started off by defending the decision to scrap Ofsted single-word headline grades.
He denied sacrificing simplicity for parents and insisted the move “is about driving up standards”.
“Making sure we’ve got a richer picture so parents can see in a more accountable way the real strength of a school and making sure we’ve got the improvements in to catch schools quickly,” he said.
Sir Keir added: “We’ll be absolutely pressing schools on standards and I don’t accept that parents will be confused.
“I’ve got two children in secondary education and so we have ourselves had to look at schools, and I have to say, from our point of view, the single grade didn’t work very well because we want to know what about the other areas, what about this aspect?”
He said he thinks a lot of parents “will be really relieved” to have a “richer picture, more accountability and that you’ve got a Government that is absolutely determined to drive up standards”.
The Prime Minister was also asked to respond to comments made by shadow communities secretary Kemi Badenoch who described the Labour government as dishonest and misleading the public over the state of public finances.
Sir Keir told reporters: “I’m not going to take lectures from anyone from the previous government who left the worst possible inheritance.”
He referenced a “£22 billion black hole” in the economy, citing the figure again when he defended his decision to cut winter fuel allowance.
“We’ve got to make tough choices,” he said.
“I don’t want to cut the winter fuel allowance … but we’ve got to fix the foundations of our economy and that’s what this is all about – making sure that we fix the foundations and then, having done that, that we can build a better future that pensioners and so many other people voted for in this election.”
Sir Keir was also questioned on why he has not taken action after tenants claimed they were living with black mould and ant infestations in some of Labour MP Jas Athwal’s rental properties.
He called it “unacceptable for any landlord”, but said Mr Athwal was “taking the necessary measures to put it right”.
Asked if he would remove the whip from the MP if it is not put right as quickly as possible for the tenants and questioned on why he has not taken action, Sir Keir said: “It has to be put right. He’s taking action to put it right, we need to do that as quickly as possible.”
The Prime Minister also addressed questions on allegations of cronyism following the announcement of a probe into Labour-era hires to the senior civil service by the Whitehall appointments watchdog.
He told reporters that he was “getting on with” a “government of service”.
“We want the best people in the best posts, for sure, but that government of service matters deeply to this government, matters deeply to me, because I came in to government to serve,” Sir Keir said.
Speaking to Year Four pupils, Sir Keir said he wanted to be prime minister to “make things better for lots of people across the country”.
He highlighted integrity as an important value, telling students that doing things “for the right reasons” is crucial.
He also told them he was going to “preserve and protect” the environment “to make sure that it’s there for you and your future children and children after that”.
The class also discussed with him their favourite sports, with some of them cheering when Sir Keir said he supported Arsenal Football Club.
