The Green party would abolish Ofsted because they view it as a “failed institution”, Zack Polanski, its leader, has told a teaching union conference.Polanski also said that the Greens were opposed to the academisation of schools and that they believe that Labour is not fixing the “failings” in the system by the Tories, but embedding them.In a speech to the National Education Union’s annual conference, Polanski said:double quotation markOfsted is a toxic, failed institution which is harming teachers and children – and it’s time to end it.Talking about school structures more generally, he said:double quotation markThis government’s reforms are simply tinkering around the edges.We need to end the Ofsted era entirely and move towards a genuinely collaborative model.

One that connects teachers on the frontline with local experts – specialists in pedagogy, child development and social care – we must make sure teachers have the support and guidance they need to meet the needs of their pupils,And then we need to talk about academies,Another failed model pushed on to teachers and children by previous governments’ ideological drive to marketise our children’s education,And the results have been stark: a fragmented system with poor accountability, allowing academy CEOs to be paid enormous salaries while pay and conditions for their staff worsen,Research into the impact of academisation on learning has found no positive impact on the attainment and progress of pupils in multi-academy trusts, compared to other schools.

And in fact, in larger multi-academy trusts, particularly secondary schools, the results were worse,Polanski may have been talking about research papers like this one, which has been cited by the NEU,Referring to Labour, Polanski said:double quotation markThis government came in promising to fix the failings in the system – but the new schools white paper would entrench them,Forcing every school to join a multi-academy trust when we know that this model weakens accountability to local authorities, parents and the local community,Polanski also said education needed a “serious cash injection”.

double quotation markThe UK currently invests approximately just 4,1% of GDP in education, below the OECD average of just under 5%,That puts us significantly behind top-performing countries like Iceland, investing 5,6%, and Norway at 6,2%.

He said the Greens could fund higher educational spending by taxing extreme wealth, saying that “the average wealth of a billionaire in the UK grew by more than £230m last year”.The May elections are taking place against a backdrop of “war on two fronts”, Keir Starmer has said, as he pledged action to tackle the resurgent cost of living crisis.The Green party would abolish Ofsted because they view it as a “failed institution”, Zack Polanski, its leader, has told a teaching union conference.(See 3.34pm.

)Families hardest hit by the looming energy crisis caused by the Iran war could be given funds dispensed by local councils, under plans being considered by UK ministers keen to keep a lid on costs.For a full list of all the stories covered on the blog today, do scroll through the list of key event headlines near the top of the blog.Sally Weale is the Guardian’s education correspondent.Green leader Zack Polanski has wooed teachers with a savage attack on the government’s education record, promising instead the abolition of Ofsted, “a serious cash injection” into schools and a halt to further academisation.(See 3.

34pm.)Making the first in a series of major speeches to trade unions as part of his party’s pitch to “replace Labour”, Polanski won a standing ovation from National Education Union (NEU) member attending their annual conference in Brighton.As the first Green leader to ever address the NEU, Polanski said education had been “pushed to the brink by the toxic twin pressures of ideologically-driven reorganisation, and an unforgivable squeeze in budgets”.At a time when there is growing frustration with Labour among teachers – many of whom helped vote the party into power – Polanski’s speech offered much that pleased NEU members.There were huge cheers at the Greens’ plan to tax “extreme” wealth to provide more money for schools.

His criticism of academies drew enthusiastic applause, and his call for the abolition of Ofsted didn’t quite bring the house down but was predictably well received.Teachers are deeply unhappy about Labour’s Ofsted reforms, which many feel only makes the inspection worse.Polanski’s speech was welcomed by NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede who said more than 60% of his members had voted Labour at the last election, adding: “I think our membership feels that Zach speaks more for schools and education than Labour do at the moment.”In an interview with the Times published today, Polanski said he was making a deliberate effort to court trade unions.He said:double quotation markWhen I became Green party leader I said I wasn’t here to be disappointed by Labour – I’m here to replace them.

And a crucial part of that is connecting with the organised labour movement,Historically, most trade unions have been very strongly linked to the Labour party but that link is starting to break as it becomes clear the Labour party is no longer the party of working people,Since becoming leader I’ve had lots of really fruitful conversations with key union figures, and it’s clear that many people in trade unions are feeling really let down by this Labour government and are ready to work more closely with the Green party,Libby Brooks is the Guardian’s Scotland correspondent,The first full week of campaigning for the Scottish parliament elections kicked off with a flurry of party events and a couple of running stories that could impact SNP support.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar was in the Western Isles, pledging more support for rural transport just as ferry operators CalMac warned island passengers of widespread disruption and “unprecedented” pressure, with eight of the operator’s vessels out of service at some point in the past week.Islanders have been describing shops empty of fresh produce, urgent hospital appointments missed and business lost because their transport is grounded, adding to an ongoing consensus that rural transport infrastructure – whether ferries or roads – has withered under the SNP.Further north, Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay was joined in Aberdeen by the UK Tory leader Kemi Badenoch who was promoting her party’s “cheap energy plan”.(See 10.24am.

) Around the same time, SNP leader John Swinney revealed he would draft a section 30 order to acquire the responsibilities over energy on the first day after he was re-elected as first minister,(An order that would require approval from the UK government – something they’d be highly unlikely to give,)Swinney said:double quotation markIf Westminster will not act to bring down bills, they should get out of the way for a government that will,It’s Scotland’s energy – and it should be in Scotland’s hands,And if the UK government refuse, it will only confirm that if we want to make Scotland’s energy wealth work for Scotland and bring down bills, that is only available through the fresh start of independence that I am offering at this election.

Swinney was also asked about Jordan Linden, the former SNP council leader who was convicted of sexual offences last week, prompting an investigation by the party into whether it brushed aside early warnings about his behaviour.Swinney has previously apologised to Linden’s victims.Here is the clip from Keir Starmer speaking on camera at the start of the No 10 roundtable on the economic impact of the Iran war.(See 4.48pm.

)BREAKING: "The government can't do it on its own, you can't do it on your own,"Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has told business chiefs in Downing Street the economic response to the Iran war must be 'a joint effort',https://t,co/2teP2G7sm8📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602 pic,twitter.

com/jK8kF4hHQOStarmer said:double quotation markIt’s not our war, but it is our duty to protect British citizens,Particularly their concern will be not just the escalation of the war, but this sense that it’s going to hit them and their families and their households,And I think probably uppermost in their minds at the moment is energy bills, petrol and also food prices,Address the business executives at the meeting, he said:double quotation markThe government can’t do it on its own,You can’t do it on your own.

We’re going to have to work together on thisRussell Findlay, the Scottish Conservative leader, has refused to rule out backing Anas Sarwar to be first minister,As the Press Association (PA) reports, Findlay was asked outright if he would instruct his MSPs in the new parliament to back the Scottish Labour leader for Bute House during a visit to Aberdeen with UK leader Kemi Badenoch,While he refused to be drawn on supporting Sarwar, the Tory leader said he could never back John Swinney to return to the job,He said:double quotation markFirst and foremost, I’m fighting for every single Scottish Conservative vote and as many Scottish Conservative MSPs as possible,I’m just not going to get into post-election speculation about numbers, which none of us in this room or further afield know anything about.

But what I will say, categorically, is I will not support and will never support an SNP first minister or SNP government.His comments come following a story in The Scotsman which quotes a senior Labour source, who says the party winning about a dozen constituencies in Scotland’s central belt could put them in a position to lead the government, but they would need the votes of other unionist parties, including Reform UK.PA says a deal between Labour and Reform would come as a surprise to many given the fractious relationship between the two parties, including a row in a byelection last year where social media ads produced by Nigel Farage’s party about Sarwar were described as “racist” by critics.The spectre of a deal between the two parties was raised by SNP first minister John Swinney at his party’s campaign launch, where he denied the idea was a “scare story”, PA says.Business leaders have been urged to help address the economic impact of the Iran war as Keir Starmer admitted the government could not shoulder all the burden, the Press Association reports.

PA says:double quotation markBosses from energy, shipping and banking firms were called in to Downing Street for talks as Donald Trump threatened to escalate the Middle East conflict.The Downing Street discussions focused on Iran’s ongoing blockade of the strait of Hormuz, which has disrupted a vital shipping route for the oil and gas industry along with supplies of other products such as fertiliser.The crisis has pushed up prices and caused economic uncertainty around the world.The prime minister told the executives gathered in Downing Street it must be a “joint effort” to tackle the impact of the war, saying “the government can’t do it on its own”.The Green party would abolish Ofsted because they view it as a “failed institution”, Zack Polanski, its leader, has told a teaching union conference.

Polanski also said that the Greens were opposed to the academisation of schools and that they believe that Labour is not fixing the “failings” in the system by the Tories, but embedding them.In a speech to the National Education Union’s annual conference, Polanski said:double quotation markOfsted is a toxic, failed institution which is harming teachers and children – and it’s time to end it.Talking about school structures more generally, he said:double quotation markThis government’s reforms are simply tinkering around the edges.We need to end the Ofsted era entirely and move towards a genuinely collaborative model.One that connects teachers on the frontline with local experts – specialists in pedagogy, child development and social care – we must make sure teachers have the support and guidance they need to meet the needs of their pupils.

And then we need to talk about academies.Another failed model pushed on to teachers and children by previous governments’ ideological drive to marketise our children’s education.And the results have been stark: a fragmented system with poor accountability, allowing academy CEOs to be paid enormous salaries while pay and conditions for their staff worsen.Research into the impact of academisation on learning has found no positive impact on the attainment and progress of pupils in multi-academy trusts, compared to other schools.And in fact, in larger multi-academy trusts, particularly secondary schools, the results were worse.

Polanski may have been talking about research papers like this one, which has been cited by the NEU,Referring to Labour, Polanski said:double quotation markThis government came in promising to fix the failings in the system – but the new schools white paper would entrench them,Forcing every school to join a multi-academy trust when we know that this model weakens accountability to local authorities, parents and the local community,Polanski also said education needed a “serious cash injection”,double quotation markThe UK currently invests approximately just 4.

1% of GDP in education, below the OECD average of just under 5%.That puts us significantly behind top-performing countries like Iceland, investing 5.6%, and Norway at 6.2%.He said the Greens could fund higher educational spending by taxing extreme wealth, saying that “the average wealth of a billionaire in the UK grew by more than £230m last year”.

Here are some more pictures from Kemi Badenoch’s visit to an oil rig in docked in Aberdeen,The Green party has criticised what Kemi Badenoch is calling her cheap energy plan,(see 10,24am,) It has issued this statement from the party’s new MP, Hannah Spencer.

double quotation markKemi Badenoch is not living in the same world as the rest of us – where we can see first-hand that decades of failure to properly insulate our homes and invest in renewables has left us all vulnerable to ridiculous price shocks.The Tories, Reform and rightwing media are deliberately failing to explain that UK oil and gas are priced on global markets, and new fields take years to deliver while adding only limited supply.Hundreds of licences issued between 2010 and 2024 have delivered the equivalent of just 36 days’ extra gas.Labour’s position isn’t good enough either.A “ban” on new licences doesn’t mean much if loopholes like tiebacks still allow new drilling to go ahead.

Successive governments keep failing to listen to ordinary people who’re sick of seeing bills go up, and workers like me who have experience in this industry,We’ve been saying for years that we have the leakiest homes in Europe,It would be much cheaper to invest in a proper, well-regulated national insulation scheme than to have to keep subsidising people’s bills and pouring public money into energy company profits,The Green party is clear: stop new oil and gas, close the loopholes, and invest properly in the transition to renewable energy,The Institute for Fiscal Studies has described Welsh Labour’s pledge not to put up income tax (see 12