{"id":234519,"date":"2025-09-11T21:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/schoolsweek.co.uk\/?p=234519"},"modified":"2025-09-12T10:59:46","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T09:59:46","slug":"reform-on-education-all-headlines-no-policy-lines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/schoolsweek.co.uk\/reform-on-education-all-headlines-no-policy-lines\/","title":{"rendered":"Reform on education: All headlines, no policy lines"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

From a jumpsuited Dame Andrea Jenkyns belting out a rock anthem to flag-draped supporters sipping pints in plastic cups at 10.30am, the atmosphere at Reform UK\u2019s annual conference was one of jubilation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The party may have just four MPs, but following huge success in May\u2019s local elections it now has almost 900 councillors and consistently tops opinion polls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what would a Reform <\/a>government mean for education? Schools Week<\/em><\/a> spent two days in Birmingham trying to find out\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reform policy holes<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAgain and again at elections, they talk the talk. They never walk the walk,\u201d Nigel Farage told supporters on Friday, after arriving in a blaze of pyrotechnics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the party leader did not respond when asked about Reform\u2019s education policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lee Anderson, MP for Ashfield and the party\u2019s chief whip, would say only: \u201cThat\u2019s being worked on as we speak.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Dame Andrea Jenkyns<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We asked to speak to education spokesperson Belinda de Lucy, but the Reform press office told us the role was now vacant. There was no further explanation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis time last year, we had eight local councillors,\u201d Gawain Towler, a Reform board member, told a fringe event. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe’ve now got over 900 … When you stretch so fast, there are holes, but we are rapidly trying to fill those holes,\u201d said the eccentrically tailored Towler.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Patriotism and plum<\/strong>bing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

But the conference certainly gave a flavour of what the party\u2019s education agenda could look like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet\u2019s start teaching kids at school trades and services,\u201d Farage told thousands of cheering supporters during his keynote address<\/a>. \u201cOne thing that AI will not replace is the local plumber.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Reform MP Lee Anderson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

He also hinted at a desire to reshape the curriculum, saying education must \u201cmake Britain proud again\u201d.<\/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\u2019s 2024 manifesto pledged a \u201cpatriotic\u201d curriculum in schools and for history and social science content to be reviewed to ensure children were \u201ctaught about their heritage\u201d. (The other manifesto pledges included banning transgender ideology in schools and doubling the number of pupil referral units).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

School <\/strong>\u2018<\/strong>indoctrination<\/strong> camps<\/strong>\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Zia Yusuf, Reform\u2019s new head of policy, also spoke of the need to \u201cstop schools from becoming indoctrination camps\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His inbox was \u201cfull\u201d, he claimed, from parents and school children complaining about being \u201cadmonished by teachers\u201d for supporting Farage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anderson told another fringe event<\/a>: \u201cThere are some teachers in our schools [who] are brainwashing our kids into their way of thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Zia Yusuf<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd when we get into power, we will root these teachers out and hold them to account.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elsewhere, George Finch, the 19-year-old Reform UK leader of Warwickshire County Council, described the nation\u2019s education system as \u201cbroken\u201d and dogged by a \u201cwave of wokeism\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At sixth forms, \u201cthe only thing you do develop is a woke mindset. [You\u2019re] not allowed to question what\u2019s going on\u2026You\u2019re just told to think a certain way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SEND issues hit <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Whether Reform wins the next election or not, the party is already having to deal with education at a local government level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Linden Kemkaran, the leader of England\u2019s largest council, Kent County Council (KCC), said the huge recent rise in SEND diagnoses<\/a> is \u201cnot normal\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s something going on,\u201d Kemkaran said, whether parents were \u201cpushing more for diagnoses\u201d or more was known about SEND so \u201cwe\u2019re diagnosing it more often\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The council has been given a \u00a3140 million government bailout after racking up a huge deficit on its SEND spending.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe need to be asking the honest questions that I think people are very afraid of talking about because they don\u2019t want to be seen to be mean or nasty,\u201d Kemkaran said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Reform council leader George Finch<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Jenkyns, a former Conservative skills minister and now Reform\u2019s mayor of Greater Lincolnshire, said she wanted \u201cevery teacher\u2026 [to] spend six months in a special school\u201d during their training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cChildren learn kinaesthetically, visually, auditorily, and I think we’ve got to get the basics right.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also echoed Farage, stressing the need to \u201cbring a parity of esteem between vocational, technical, academic and trades\u201d rather than \u201cpushing everyone down the university route\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does Reform care?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

But education scored lowly among Reform loyalists when asked to name the biggest problems facing the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teachers also came bottom among the groups the government should protect when making spending decisions, a More in Common poll found. \u201cRich people\u201d, \u201cbig businesses\u201d and immigrants all ranked more highly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teaching unions were notably absent in Birmingham.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matt Wrack, the general secretary of the NASUWT, said his union could not support the \u201cweaponisation\u201d of issues such as migration and asylum to sowunrest. \u201cThis unrest makes its way into classrooms, where it disrupts lessons and causes harm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He criticised Reform for \u201copenly deriding trade unions\u201d and making \u201cbogus claims about school curriculums and publicly undermining local teachers\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the union reviews the conferences it attends and remains \u201cready to liaise\u201d with those \u201ccommitted to making schools safe, inclusive spaces to work and learn\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pepe Di\u2019Iasio, the general secretary of the leaders\u2019 union ASCL, said\u00a0it tended to\u00a0\u201cfocus on the traditionally dominant parties\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But he added: \u201cThe political landscape is evolving, and we will keep our engagement activities under review to ensure that we are able to represent our members as effectively as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sparkly suits, pyrotechnics and a war on pupil ‘indoctrination’: Reform’s party conference and what a Farage victory could mean for schools policy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":314902,"featured_media":234513,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[239,54,454,890],"post-theme":[2396],"class_list":["post-234519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-education-policy","tag-politics","tag-reform","tag-schools","post-theme-politics"],"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