Saralnama
Bridget Phillipson, education secretary, plans a mandatory reading test for 13-year-olds in England to improve literacy among working-class children. She said many children fail to meet literacy standards, especially disadvantaged ones. Schools must also offer extracurricular activities in sports, arts, and life skills to help students feel connected to school. Only two-thirds of secondary pupils took part in such activities last year. Phillipson urged teaching unions to support these changes to avoid poor outcomes. She also wants to remove the two-child benefit cap to reduce child poverty. The government will check schools’ progress during inspections. Phillipson stressed education is key to better futures and wants Labour to focus on improving children’s lives in the next election. (Updated 1 Nov 2025, 16:12 IST; source: link)