Is the Autumn Statement a new dawn for education?

Besides the welcome news in yesterday’s Autumn Statement of an extra £4.6 billion for schools over the next two years, the Chancellor also made what felt like an important statement about the value of education.

He said: “Being pro-education is being pro-growth. But providing our children with a good education is not just an economic mission, it’s a moral mission.”

After the nonsense of the short-lived Truss era about a growth agenda underpinned by nothing more substantial than hot air – and several years in which education has often felt low down on the priority list – this seems like a significant step forward.

It’s important not to get too carried away of course. It’s one phrase, in one statement, on one day. But the accompanying increase in funding was a demonstration that it was more than mere rhetoric.