Labour Party Conference: Youth voice and early childhood in focus
We’ve just returned from the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, and we’re feeling energised! It was wonderful to see so many of our members there, and to deliver our most ambitious LPC programme yet.
We kicked off with our Youth Town Hall: Nothing about us without us. The room was packed with a majority-young audience with palpable energy. This was the first event we’ve seen of this kind, but we hope it inspires others to put young people in the driving seat at party conferences and beyond.
Young panellists, Jayden, Zahra, and Huma, put their questions to Dr Marie Tidball MP (Education Select Committee) and Laura McInerney (Co-Founder of Teacher Tapp and Education Journalist)
We also ran two powerful events focused on early childhood, which brought together practitioners, parents and policymakers from the local, regional and national levels - including MPs Josh MacAlister, Maya Ellis and Darren Paffey - to explore how we work together to give every child the best start in life.
The resounding message? Stronger, more connected communities are essential to securing better outcomes for children and young people – a clear affirmation of why our Neighbourhood to National strategy is so needed. Our Early Childhood Thematic Collaboration will be taking this crucial cross-sector work forward; get in touch if you’d like to get involved.
Fair Education Alliance Early Childhood workshop at Labour Party Conference
Across the wider conference, we were encouraged to see these same themes, and others we’ve been calling for in our Fair Education Priorities, gaining momentum, including:
A stronger push to join up services around families
Renewed focus on youth voice and the National Youth Strategy
A growing emphasis on tackling child poverty
A spotlight on skills development, with more choice for young people
There were also concrete commitments, including the reintroduction of targeted maintenance grants, work placements for young people, and a pledge to put a library in every primary school.
These are encouraging announcements and we are looking forward to working together with members and government to ensure that the implementation drives their success.
Get involved! In the coming weeks, we’ll pick up the threads of these conversations we started in Liverpool and carry the work forward with you – our members:
Through our Thematic Collaboration on Early Childhood
At our Annual Summit on 8 December, which will be a key opportunity to continue the work - make sure your organisation has signed up here.
Janeen Hayat
Director of Collective Action, Fair Education Alliance