Rishi Sunak's maths-to-18 pledge is utterly out of touch

“Without vision, the people will perish.” That’s what scripture says. And so this week, two political leaders – Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer – supposedly set out their vision for our country. I’ll focus on the Prime Minister’s speech.

In a speech short on detail, we did have one: more maths for 16-18 year olds. One of the frustrations about Rishi Sunak’s plan to extend maths teaching for all students in England is that it came out of the blue with no discussion with school and college leaders.

This is poor political leadership because the policy lacks the input of the very people who are responsible for delivering education, and, perhaps even worse, the absence of consultation demonstrates a lack of respect for the expertise the profession can offer.