The Prime Minister gave remarks this afternoon at a roundtable with Lewis Hamilton and a group of young people, in support of Lewis’ foundation Mission 44.
This focused on how we can work together to ensure young people are supported to attend and thrive in school.
As part of the discussion, the PM confirmed that government will develop a best practice framework to help schools increase pupil engagement, alongside our work to recruit and retain brilliant and inspiring teachers in every classroom.
Can I just welcome everyone to Downing Street and to this room in particular. This is the Cabinet Room. This is the room where the Prime Minister sits in this chair, opposite the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and all the Cabinet members—including Bridget, who’s obviously responsible for education—and we sit here and make the big decisions of the day.
We do it every week, on a Tuesday morning, but we also do it when we need to make big decisions.
This building, this room, this table, these chairs—they’ve been used by Prime Ministers for decades.
You’re sitting around the Cabinet table where decisions were made about the First World War, the Second World War, and many other world events in recent years.
It’s not just a piece of history—it’s a place where leaders for many, many decades have made big decisions for our country.
It’s because one of the things Lewis and I talked about when we thought about the idea of getting something together like this was having young people in a position where they could use their voices and be heard.
And I thought there’s no better place than around the Cabinet table.
You’re sitting where people have made big decisions about the country, you’re here to influence big decisions about the country.
Some of you will want to talk more than others, but it’s important that we hear the voices of young people and really listen to them.
Because the danger if we don’t is – particularly if you’re a politician – that you make assumptions about what people think. Making decisions based on what you think they’re feeling. And that’s why having this opportunity to hear from you is so important.
I want to thank Lewis—this was his idea, this is his legacy. He’s inspired generations and is now using that influence on this project and is designed to make a real difference in the lives of young people across the country.
I think we need to acknowledge we’re in a really challenging time for young people. A lot of children left school at the beginning of the COVID pandemic and haven’t gone back to school. The achievement gap between the richest and poorest is back to levels we haven’t seen since 2011. That’s shocking. Because I like to think we’re a country that always moves forwards. Always taking a step in the right direction. So when things start going backwards we know we have a real problem.
That’s why I’m really pleased we’re going to publish a best practice framework—to encourage students to enjoy learning, achieve their potential, and have confidence.
I’ve got a 16-year-old son and a 14-year-old daughter. My wife and I agreed the two things that matters most to instil in them are that they’re happy and confident. And the best schools and teachers believe in their students. They set high expectations but also give the support that people need.
We’ve got what’s called an ‘Opportunity Mission’ which is part of what we want to achieve in government. Bridget is leading on this. It includes things like rolling out free breakfast clubs which are really important in schools, so that all children can come in and start the day with the opportunity for something to eat. Better access to mental health support which is desperately needed in schools. Getting more teachers into classrooms, and teachers in key subjects, supporting students back into school. And a big increase in the schools budget which has been much overdue.
All of that really matters because I was genuinely shocked when Bridget and I were discussing how we took on this work to learn that how far people go in their lives is still more likely to be determined by the income or salary of their parents than their own talent. That’s terrible. We’ve got to turn that around.
To some extent this is personal for me because I was lucky, I went through school, went off to university, became a lawyer, Chief Prosecutor, a politician and now I sit here.
But my brother had a different story to tell. He really struggled at school—and had difficulties learning, not because of a learning difficulty, but because then in his time he was pushed to one side and treated as someone who would never learn.
He struggled a lot as a result of that. You might think someone who sits here as Prime Minister has no idea what it’s like to struggle at school but I know from my own brother what it was like, and how much resilience and personal courage he had to have.
That shaped his life, and shaped my life as well.
As I said to some of you earlier, sometimes politics is about big decisions, policies, data analysis, and speeches.
But most of the time, it’s about who do you have in your mind’s eye when you make a decision?
Do you really know who you’re talking about?
Do you know the impact you have on their lives?
Are you thinking about them when you make those decisions?
That’s why I think it’s so important we’re having this session now because I will take away from this what you’ve said around this table.
I will take away the work that Lewis is doing. The importance of your discussions—whether in this advisory or elsewhere—so that we have got you in our mind’s eye when we make decisions about what to do. So let’s get on with it.
The question we really want to discuss in this session is how can we make sure all young people are supported to succeed at school?
Thank you for the work you’re doing.
Thank you for using your influence to make this happen.
I’m really proud to be able to sit here and support you.
Thank you.
