Education Secretary Lucy Powell has rejected accusations that the government is dumbing down England's schools with its push for more vocational routes, insisting she is a “tiger mum” for all young people. In an interview with the Guardian, she said it is a “false trade-off” to suggest schools cannot pursue academic excellence alongside high-quality technical training.
Ambition for every child
Powell, responding to critics including former Tory education secretary Michael Gove, said she does not have “lower ambition” for children following technical routes. “I absolutely don't want schools to dumb down. My kids might say I'm a tiger mum. You know, I'm a tiger mum for all our kids – every single child that's in our education system achieving excellence, achieving what they can do,” she said.
She argued that framing Labour's plans as a choice between knowledge and skills is a “false trade-off.” “What I'm not going to oversee is some kind of lower ambition for some kids. It's about ambition for everybody,” Powell added.
Criticism from Conservatives
Most criticism has come from Tory politicians who oversaw the system for years. Powell said they “have to take some responsibility for creating … a system that has left over a million young people now not in education, training or employment. The current approach has left too many behind.”
Her comments follow Andy Burnham's call for schools across England to adapt curriculums to local business needs, aiming to elevate technical and vocational skills to the same level as academic qualifications and address the youth jobs crisis.
Funding and teacher concerns
Powell acknowledged headteachers' concerns about extra budget pressures for vocational routes, saying she is “very conscious” of school funding, which suffered during austerity. She insisted any new proposals would be fully funded.
With teachers struggling and strikes potentially looming, Powell said she wants a constructive relationship with unions, adding: “What I'll say to teachers is 'work with me'.”
SEND reforms and teacher recruitment
Under pressure to row back on predecessor Bridget Phillipson's plans to overhaul the special educational needs and disabilities (Send) system, Powell signalled she would stick to the plans, despite parent anxiety. “We can reassure them, because this is about tilting the system so that you don't have to fight tooth and nail. That you get much earlier help,” she said.
On Labour's election pledge to recruit 6,500 teachers, which has been watered down, Powell suggested the government is doing well against a lower target, citing falling primary school rolls.
Private schools and Manchester base
Powell took a less adversarial stance on private schools than her predecessor, saying: “I'm not here to worry about private schools. I'm here to worry about state schools.”
She will spend significant time at the No 10 North outpost in her Manchester constituency, where the DfE's third biggest office, housing 1,100 civil servants, is based.
Cabinet and political direction
Powell dismissed suggestions she was unhappy not to be deputy prime minister, saying she and Burnham agreed she would play a central role in Labour's direction. She denied a purge of Starmerites, saying the cabinet represents all party traditions, unlike the last one, which was “too narrow.”
She criticised Starmer's government for focusing too much on the Reform threat rather than Labour's own plan. “What most people wanted to know was not what we thought about other political parties, but what were we doing? What were we about? What has been refreshing over the last week or two, is being on the front foot. Every day you're on the front foot is a day you're winning.”
She insisted all policy announcements are funded, with Burnham and Chancellor John Healey “quite prudent and careful” about spending.
