PRIME MINISTER Rishi Sunak was slammed today for ignoring the crisis in schools in the King’s Speech, which set out the government’s legislative plans for the next year.

National Education Union (NEU) general secretary Daniel Kebede said that “there was no hint today of a long-term strategy that would get to grips with the challenges facing education. 

“Buildings are deteriorating and in desperate need of repair. Staff are leaving in high numbers and the government is consistently missing its own targets for new teachers.

“Real-terms pay cuts not only add to the strain of working lives but the high workload drives teachers out of the profession and makes it harder for leaders to find replacements.

“Schools are forced to use teachers who are not qualified in the subject they teach. This clearly takes its toll on pupils’ education.”

Labour’s shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson argued that the Tories “have no plans to get to grips with the epidemic of persistent absence and the stakes couldn’t be higher: we could see a lost generation of schoolchildren without firm action.

“Tackling that epidemic starts with Labour mending the broken relationship between schools, families and government.”

Labour’s findings, to be presented at a debate on the King’s Speech in the Commons on Wednesday, show that more than two million children could be regularly missing school by 2025 — a quarter of all pupils.

This year, 20 per cent were persistently absent from primary and secondary schools, nearly twice the pre-pandemic rate.

Labour plans to tackle the crisis by setting up mental health hubs in every community, having mental health counsellors in secondary schools and establishing free breakfast clubs for every primary school pupil in England.