A Labour government would “upskill” non-maths specialists in primary schools in a bid to create the “maths equivalent to phonics”, Bridget Phillipson will announce tomorrow.
The shadow education secretary will announce that some of the £210 million already committed by the party to provide an entitlement to training and professional development for all teachers will be targeted at a scheme to develop maths skills among primary teachers.
It marks a clear dividing line with the Conservatives, with Labour focused on the youngest schoolchildren, while prime minister Rishi Sunak wants to extend compulsory maths teaching to 18.
In fact, Labour has even said it would reform the PM’s maths to 18 working group, “so it focuses on primary maths as a first priority and investigates the maths equivalent to phonics”.
