{"id":234259,"date":"2025-09-05T17:49:42","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T16:49:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/schoolsweek.co.uk\/?p=234259"},"modified":"2025-09-05T17:49:43","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T16:49:43","slug":"farage-lets-start-teaching-trades-and-services-at-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/schoolsweek.co.uk\/farage-lets-start-teaching-trades-and-services-at-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Farage: \u2018Let\u2019s start teaching trades and services at school\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has called for school children to be taught \u201ctrades and services\u201d as he laid out some of his party\u2019s hopes for the education system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reform is still in the process of drawing up a full slate of policies, including on education and other areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But speaking at Reform UK\u2019s party conference in Birmingham today, Farage began to lay out his vision as he said: \u201cLet\u2019s start teaching kids at school trades and services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne thing that AI will not replace is the local plumber,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re going to make a fortune in the years to come.\u201d \u201cPerhaps they already are,\u201d he added, joking about the expense of plumbing work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut most of all we need to make Britain proud again,\u201d he stressed, hinting at a desire to reshape the curriculum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage speaks during the party’s annual conference in Birmingham<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe’ve lost our sense of who we are,\u201d he said, addressing cheering crowds at Birmingham\u2019s National Exhibition Centre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe refuse to acknowledge publicly the Judeo-Christian culture and heritage that we have, and that unpderpins everything that we are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe refuse to have our kids minds poisoned in schools and universities with a twisted interpretation of the history of these amazing islands. We will not stand for it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reform’s 2024 manifesto pledged a \u201cpatriotic\u201d curriculum in schools<\/a>. This would mean lessons about an example of British or European imperialism or slavery \u201cmust be paired with the teaching of a non-European occurrence of the same to ensure balance\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also pledged to ban transgender ideology in schools, and for the history and social science curriculum to be reviewed and audited regularly to ensure balance as \u201cour children must be taught about their heritage\u201d., <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Farage had been due to speak on Friday afternoon, but took the stage earlier than planned after the resignation of Angela Rayner. He walked on stage amid blazing pyrotechnics and blaring music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said the party is still establishing its official policies. He described bringing \u201call these policies\u2026together under one roof\u201d as \u201ca massive workload\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He announced he is today inviting former Reform UK <\/a>chair Zia Yusuf to be the party\u2019s head of policy, \u201cto bring all of this together\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Farage also announced plans to open a new Preparing for Government department within the party, within the next few weeks. This department will \u201clean on all the experience\u201d of former MP Nadine Dorries \u201cso that when [Reform] win, we can hit the ground running\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also said Reform hopes to populate government with experts with hands-on experience “from all walks of life”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I do not believe that all governments have to be MPs in the House of Commons,” he said “That’s the convention. But it doesn’t work, does it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“You appoint people to be a rail minister, an education secretary, who have no knowledge of the department they’re supposed to run, and we will bring in a ministry of all the talents from all walks of life, and to hell with convention.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reform leader also says he \u2018will not stand for kids\u2019 minds being poisoned in schools with a twisted interpretation of the history of these amazing islands\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":314902,"featured_media":234233,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[3029,890,2609],"post-theme":[2398],"class_list":["post-234259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-ai","tag-schools","tag-skills","post-theme-schools"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t