A war is being waged over the future of England’s schools. On one side, Katharine Birbalsingh, the woman dubbed Britain’s strictest headteacher; on the other, Bridget Phillipson, the Labour Education Secretary. Ever since her rabble-rousing speech at the 2010 Conservative Party conference, Birbalsingh has been a vocal (and divisive) figure in English education. She is adored by those who want to see a return to traditional teaching methods, underpinned by knowledge and discipline, and loathed by those who see her methods as dictatorial, lacking in creativity, and overly geared towards exam success. She is unafraid of conflict, whether on social media or in court (last year she won a legal battle over her school’s prayer ban). In 2025 she is leading the fight against the Children’s Well-Being and Schools Bill.
The government’s plans to toughen up children’s safeguarding are largely uncontroversial. Opposition stems from the legislation’s proposed “very significant and wide-ranging changes to academy schools and the rules they have to follow”. Academies are funded by the government, but not connected to a local authority. Introduced by the Blair government in 2000, the academy programme was expanded and accelerated by the Conservatives, particularly the former education secretary Michael Gove. By 2024, more than 80 per cent of secondary schools were academies, and nearly 43 per cent of primary schools.
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