Sir Harris said the Conservatives were 'no longer the party of high standards' and Labour was now the party for people who 'value education'.
Sir Harris said the Conservatives were 'no longer the party of high standards' and Labour was now the party for people who 'value education'.
A Tory donor and academy trust founder described by Michael Gove as a “hero” who “saved our schools” has defected to Labour, saying the party is now “the party of people who care about education”.
Lord Harris, who set up the Harris Commonwealth Academies Trust which acted as a vanguard for Gove's reforms, said the Conservatives were “no longer a party of high, high standards” and were “running out of ideas”.
Writing in the Times newspaper, he said the academy had become a “central part” of the profession's focus on high standards, evidence-based practice and outcomes.
Philipson 'begins to teach'
But he said the Conservatives were “no longer the party of the highest order, and no longer put our children and our schools at the centre”. Ministers have been spinning around like a carousel in recent years, but they have no ideas.
“I have watched with admiration as Sir Keir Starmer and Labour's impressive education spokesperson, Bridget Phillipson, have laid out Labour's position.
“She knows that teaching is both important, expanding and improving the teacher workforce and addressing the mental health issues that are prevalent among our youth, and she will focus on making schools better places, not messing with how they are run.
“In this election, the party for people who value education is the same as it was 25 years ago: Labour. The torch of change has been lost.”
The comments will be a major blow to the Conservatives, who have regularly cited Britain's record on education and international standing in their national campaigns.
Conservative ministers also point to Harris as a success story for their reforms.
Gob's Academy Hero
In a 2014 Guardian article, Gove, then the Education Secretary, said Harris had “earned hero status” because “she had done more to help working class children than any Labour politician since Attlee and Bevan”.
Gove wrote that “strict discipline” and trust led by “traditionalist teachers” produced “almost miraculous” results.
Harris consistently ranks near the top of the list for performance among the large trusts that support failing schools.
All 54 schools inspected so far received a rating of 'good' or 'excellent', with most receiving the top rating.
In 2019, the school was rated below 'good' by Ofsted for the first time, after inspectors found pupils were enrolled in “inappropriate” qualifications.
Labor has said little about its plans for academics, but Harris has mentioned the party's pledge to hire 6,500 new teachers, along with a focus on mental health.
Sir Dan Moynihan, Harris's chief executive, said last year the government must tackle the “hell-bent” support services being provided to schools, which he said were leaving teachers “doing more and more of a service that is not our job”.
He estimated that half a million pounds of the budget was spent on supporting the most disadvantaged students, some of whom live in damp, cockroach-infested temporary accommodation.
Writing as part of Schools Week's Sector Manifesto series, Moynihan called for an “integrated poverty reduction strategy” alongside an “accelerated” programme to place mental health workers in every school.
Labour has previously faced criticism from Gove's reform supporters over promises to introduce more technology into the curriculum.
But the party's manifesto states that any curriculum changes will “build on the success of our knowledge-rich curriculum.”