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Andy Burnham has been appointed prime minister today after months of political turmoil that have catapulted him from metro mayor into Downing Street.

The country now waits to see how his Cabinet will take shape and whether schools will see a new education secretary at Sanctuary Buildings.

Mr Burnham’s first speech as prime minister talked of “changing the education system” and, separately, addressing the cost of living - an issue that is having a direct impact on schools.

But much of the government’s planned education reform - on curriculum, Ofsted and special educational needs and disabilities - has either already been delivered or is already in train.

So, how will the new prime minister approach education and schools policy?

His political career, including almost a decade spent as mayor of Greater Manchester, could provide some answers.

For example, he could seek to expand the Greater Manchester Baccalaureate (MBacc), which he pioneered during his time as mayor.

There are other areas that experts believe he is interested in, including devolving parts of the school system, broadening technical education and focusing on school admissions.

Andy Burnham’s own education

Mr Burnham attended St Aelred’s Catholic High School in Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside, later studying English literature at the University of Cambridge.

His children also went to a Catholic school, and he reportedly told the that he believed “in the values and the grounding it gives you”.

Although Mr Burnham only re-entered Parliament last month, his earlier voting record could provide insight into his vision for education.

From 2010-16, as shadow education secretary and later shadow health secretary, he voted three times against academy schools and five times against greater autonomy for schools.

Back in 2010, he was quoted in the as saying that, if Labour came to power, “there would be no more free schools”, and all parents in areas where selective education had been expanded would “have a say in whether they want that to continue”.

However, both the school system and the political landscape have shifted significantly since those comments. Mr Burnham has yet to ask any parliamentary questions since being elected as Makerfield MP on 18 June.

Balancing technical and academic education

Earlier today, Mr Burnham said his government will “help more young people into work by changing the education system and giving them more support, more mental health support, and we will build more council homes”.

This desire for closer links between education and work - and a focus on technical education - sits behind the MBacc, into which 91���� has already published a deep dive.

However, there are other ways the Labour leader could create a school system that offers a more blended version of academic and technical education.

“I think the government will look at strengthening employer engagement in the education system, so that young people see employment opportunities locally and understand the career paths they need to take to get there,” Joe Dromey, general secretary of the Fabian Society, told 91����.

Mr Dromey suggested that this could involve increasing the number of employers who are providing opportunities, such as industry placements and work experience.

“I expect that [the government] will also improve careers advice and guidance, which at the moment is not as effective as it needs to be for young people to understand the technical and vocational pathways,” he said.

The Milburn Review, which investigated why one million young people aged 16 to 24 in the UK are not in education, employment or training, warned that the school system does “too little” to prepare students for work and support those most at risk of unemployment.

Mr Dromey added: “The vast majority of careers advice for young people is provided by teachers who themselves came up through the academic route, and who often, not for lack of trying, don’t have the same understanding of the technical and vocational pathways.”

However, Mr Burnham may well face pushback if his policies are seen as carrying any suggestion of rolling back on academic rigour.

James Lauder, trust assistant principal for civic responsibility at Dixons Academies, which has three schools in Manchester, warned that he does not want technical education to be prioritised at the “detriment of rigorous academic education, where we have really progressed in the last 10 to 15 years”.

Could school funding be devolved?

Devolution - the transfer of power away from central government - is understood to be central to Mr Burnham’s political vision.

The prime minister previously expressed interest in devolving more education decisions to local authorities and regional mayors, telling 91���� in a 2024 interview that he wanted “an enhanced role for councils in relation to education again”.

Recently, the new prime minister said that he wanted to , without spelling out exactly what that would look like. Would this devolution of education powers need to extend to budgets, too?

Devolving 16-19 funding is widely viewed as achievable, Jonathan Simons, partner and head of the education practice at Public First, said. However, it may not be as simple for school funding.

“It would be an incredibly complex task, and even in combined authorities...you would need a lot of people to accurately allocate billions of pounds in funding,” he warned.

“Secondly, we have a national curriculum, we have a national labour market, we have a national system of exams. It would be odd if Manchester and Liverpool and London started making different decisions on funding allocations,” he added.

Mr Simons gave the example of a school on the borderline of Greater Manchester and wider Lancashire.

“Two schools that are 200 meters away from each other are competing for the same kids, competing for the same teachers, but one of them is being funded £2,000 a year more per pupil than the other one. It just ends up having very fiddly political consequences,” he continued.

School admissions

One area that some would like to see local authorities having more sway over is school admissions.

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act, which was made law in April, has already introduced some changes: councils now have greater powers to ensure that school admissions decisions reflect local needs.

Local authorities could already direct maintained schools to admit children, and the Act will extend this power to academies.

But Ellie Harris, head of children and young people’s policy at the IPPR think tank, said there are ways this could go further if wrapped up “as part of the devolution agenda”.

She added: “There are some specific bits of policy where schools and local authorities working together has failed, and I think admissions is one of those. It was a bit of a failed experiment.

“There is appetite from some trusts and local authorities, and admissions is a case where we could go further on.”

Manchester wellbeing survey

The government’s schools White Paper pledged to monitor every child’s sense of belonging and engagement by 2029.

Could Greater Manchester’s BeeWell survey - in operation since 2021 - be a model for this? It is an annual questionnaire designed to measure adolescent wellbeing and mental health.

Sam Gibbs, trust curriculum and development lead at Greater Manchester Education Trust, said that it “models an approach that we would want to see more of across the sector that encourages collaboration”.

“The principle of that with a different name is definitely replicable,” she added.

Could existing reforms be tweaked?

Mr Burnham has already said that he will stick to Labour’s 2024 election manifesto.

A significant departure from existing plans would not be welcomed by teachers and school leaders, who have already faced a slew of reforms from the current Labour government - including a new Ofsted framework, reforms to the SEND system and a major curriculum and assessment review.

One area which Mr Dromey does not think that a Burnham government will significantly change is the current overhaul of the SEND system.

The Department for Education has made a major push to make mainstream schools more inclusive for pupils with SEND while attempting to put the system on a more sustainable footing - after pledging to clear the majority of council high-needs deficits, at a cost of around £5 billion.

“With any transition, you need to think about continuity as well as change, and having everything stop and completely reassess the start from square one, I think would come with a lot of risks,” Mr Dromey said.

How has education sector received Burnham so far?

Although Mr Burnham has only just been appointed as prime minister, education unions have already had their say on what they think he should prioritise.

All union leaders welcomed Mr Burnham to his new role, but urged him to view education as a national priority.

Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said that education is “too often seen as a cost that can be cut when it should be seen as an investment in the young people of the country and in providing the knowledge and skills for a thriving economy”.

He added: “We will not be internationally competitive in the future if we do not commit now to long-term strategic funding to ensure the best possible support and opportunities for all our children and young people.”

Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the NEU teaching union, shared Mr Di’Iasio‘s optimism for the new administration, but put Mr Burnham on watch over funding.

“Delivering hope will require an end to unfunded pay awards that do not value educators and only serve to fuel the retention crisis in education,” Mr Kebede said.

His warning comes after 91���� revealed that the union will launch a formal industrial action ballot this autumn over school funding and teacher pay.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union, urged that any changes to vocational education be done in consultation with the school sector, to “build upon the changes being implemented as a result of the curriculum and assessment review”.

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