Education and Skills Reform

Lauren Sullivan Excerpts

Wednesday 9th September 2026 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

The hon. Lady raises a really good point and I am happy to join her in praising the staff of Summerwood school, which her son attends. This is about ensuring that the mainstream offer is also more inclusive. If I had a pound for every parent or child who said to me that school just had not worked for them and that they had had to leave the school system because it was not designed for them, I would be very rich indeed. Sitting alongside our important SEN reforms are the curriculum and inclusion reforms that we will be bringing in. Of course, people will be able to help design those and she should not, hopefully, worry too much about some of the issues.

[Dr Lauren Sullivan (Gravesham) (Lab)]

I absolutely welcome the Secretary of State’s statement and welcome her to her place. She has laid out exactly what needs to be done: it is about knowledge and skills, a love of learning, and choice. When I was a science teacher, it was about the practical skills, and it was practical experience and application that brought science to life. Will she visit Gravesham so that we can discuss how we can ensure that no young person is left behind without opportunities?

[Lucy Powell]

Especially after my hon. Friend’s excellent question about Gravesham at Prime Minister’s questions today, I am really keen to visit. I thank her for her previous work as a science teacher. As someone with a science degree myself, I love science, and my hon. Friend is right that the core of science is about experimenting, getting things wrong and working out how things work in a practical, not just theoretical, way. I look forward to discussing that further with her.