In a fit of enthusiasm, I decided to read all the main parties' education manifestos. \u00a0Someone has to do it. \u00a0The first to cross my desktop (sort of) was Labour's. \u00a0Alerted to its launch on Thursday, I dashed to the party's website and had to fight my way through endless opportunities to donate and join in. \u00a0I swear I only narrowly avoided pledging Labour\u00a0the entire contents of my bank account. \u00a0It\u00a0has to be the worst website I've been to for some time. \u00a0This is what it has to say:<\/p>\n
What will a Labour government do for young people in Britain? \u00a0Here are the seven things you need to know:<\/em><\/p>\n 1) We\u2019ll protect the entire education budget<\/strong><\/em> 2) We\u2019ll restore the role of Sure Start<\/strong><\/em> 3) We\u2019ll deliver smaller class sizes<\/strong><\/em> 4) We\u2019ll tackle failing schools<\/strong><\/em> 5) We\u2019ll make sure our children are taught by qualified teachers<\/strong><\/em> 6) We\u2019ll build a gold-standard vocational route through education<\/strong><\/em> 7) We\u2019ll guarantee all young people face-to-face careers advice<\/strong><\/em>
\nWe must invest in education if all young people are to have the chance to succeed. We\u2019ll ensure the whole budget - including early years, schools and post-16 education and skills - is protected.<\/p>\n
\nThere are now 763 fewer Sure Start centres than when David Cameron took office. \u00a0We\u2019ll put Sure Start Centres back at the centre of communities and obliged (sic) them to provide childcare.<\/p>\n
\nThe Tories have spent millions on their wasteful Free Schools programme. We\u2019ll put that money to better use to deliver smaller class sizes for five, six and seven-year olds to give children the best start.<\/p>\n
\nThe standard of education a child gets still depends on where they live. We\u2019ll change that. We\u2019ll create new Directors of School Standards to support local schools to improve and respond to the concerns of parents.<\/p>\n
\nDavid Cameron scrapped the requirement for teachers to be qualified. That can\u2019t be right. We\u2019ll require all teachers to get qualified and build their skills throughout their careers.<\/p>\n
\nFor decades, governments have ignored the 50 per cent of young people not going to university. We\u2019ll change that with a gold-standard Technical Baccalaureate and an apprenticeship for every school leaver who gets the grades.<\/p>\n
\nYoung people who haven\u2019t got the connections or the guidance to make the right choices are missing out. We\u2019ll guarantee all young people face-to-face careers advice and support young people from school to work.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n