Our ambition for every child an education that prepares them for Challenges of the 21st century.

We want every child to succeed, and we will never give up on any child. These convictions underpin our vision to make this the best place in the world to grow up. Ensuring every child enjoys their childhood, does well at school and turns 18 with the knowledge, skills and qualifications that will give them the best chance of success in adult life is not only right for each individual child and family, it is also what we must do to secure the future success of our country and society.

However, we also face new challenges. The demand for higher skills, including key skills in science, technology and mathematics, continues to rise. Projections of the future skills needs of our economy when today’s young people are adults show that there will be very few jobs available for people with low or no skills, and the current global economic downturn makes it even clearer that everyone needs good qualifications and skills. Tackling global environmental change will require enormous creativity and adaptability