The Commonwealth is a unique institution, built on deep, historic links that span the globe. This international network of countries is home to one third of the world’s population and brings together people from a diverse range of faiths and backgrounds. Over the years, we have worked towards common interests such as peace and democracy and, together, we can help meet the challenges we face both now and in the future.
The Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers is an international gathering which takes place every three years and brings together this global community to work to ensure every young person has the opportunity to make the most of their lives.
This is an ambition shared by this government. There are many examples of how international collaboration is already benefiting thousands of young people in the world. For example, the Millennium Development Goals – which were a set of ambitious targets across health, education and alleviating poverty which 191 countries signed up to between 2000 and 2015 - focused minds on universalising access to education, and now the Sustainable Development Goals are going even further. Up to 2030, governments, the private sector, and the public will come together to try to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all as part of a new sustainable development agenda.
However, globally, almost 131 million girls are not in school. And of those girls in school in developing countries, just one in ten are on track to master the basics of maths, reading and writing by the end of primary.
Commonwealth countries must ensure that each child has 12 years of quality education
The Commonwealth is a unique institution, built on deep, historic links that span the globe. This international network of countries is home to one third of the world’s population and brings together people from a diverse range of faiths and backgrounds. Over the years, we have worked towards common interests such as peace and democracy and, together, we can help meet the challenges we face both now and in the future.
The Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers is an international gathering which takes place every three years and brings together this global community to work to ensure every young person has the opportunity to make the most of their lives.
This is an ambition shared by this government. There are many examples of how international collaboration is already benefiting thousands of young people in the world. For example, the Millennium Development Goals – which were a set of ambitious targets across health, education and alleviating poverty which 191 countries signed up to between 2000 and 2015 - focused minds on universalising access to education, and now the Sustainable Development Goals are going even further. Up to 2030, governments, the private sector, and the public will come together to try to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all as part of a new sustainable development agenda.
However, globally, almost 131 million girls are not in school. And of those girls in school in developing countries, just one in ten are on track to master the basics of maths, reading and writing by the end of primary.
That’s why we want are encouraging all the countries in the Commonwealth to give a commitment to ensuring every child has at least 12 years of quality education. And our ambition is that this will be achieved by 2030.
Raising school standards for pupils from all backgrounds has been the driving force behind the government’s reforms in England since 2010. Our mission is to provide pupils with the knowledge-rich education that will prepare them for the rigours and opportunities of the 21st century.
This approach was desperately needed. Data from 2012 showed we were the only OECD country where the maths and reading abilities of our 16-24 year olds was worse than that of our 55 to 65 year olds.
To address this, we have returned core academic subjects to the heart of the secondary curriculum and pursued evidence-based approaches to teaching, raising standards for all. At the same time, the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their more affluent peers has narrowed since 2011 – by 10 per cent at secondary and more than 10 per cent at primary school.
We have also focused our efforts on ensuring all pupils are taught to read effectively. All primary schools are now required to use phonics as they teach pupils to read and the government introduced the Phonics Screening Check in 2012, a short test consisting of a list of 40 words that children read to their teacher.
The proportion of pupils passing the Phonics Check has increased every year since its introduction and this year 154,000 more 6 year olds were on track to be fluent readers than in 2012. The success of this policy has been confirmed by an international study of 9-year-olds’ reading ability in 50 countries, which showed that England has risen from joint 10th place in 2011 to joint 8th place in 2016.
This shows that much progress has been made since 2010 and the government – in step with teachers – is ambitious and determined to go further in the years to come. This includes through sharing our successes around the world and also by learning from best practice internationally, particularly from other Commonwealth countries.
We are discussing with Australian policy makers the success of phonics in teaching children to read, and we have already taken inspiration from Singapore to ensure our maths curriculum can compete with the best in the world. Over 2,500 primary schools in England are already benefitting from our £74m investment in the Teaching for Mastery programme, which is based on methods common in South East Asia.
We will build on this international collaboration further at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in April, where leaders, business, civil society and young people from around the world will gather in London to focus on a common future and helping ensure every young person can access a world-class education. To support this, the Department for Education launched a new resource for teachers last month, aimed at helping them to inform and explain the importance of the Commonwealth to their pupils.
Because it is only through partnerships and shared experiences that we can create opportunities for every child, regardless of where they are growing up. It will also ensure we can create a Britain that is fit for the future and a generation of young people prepared to compete in an increasingly global market.
Nick Gibb is Minister for Schools Standards