Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, said:

"It's good to hear the Secretary of State's commitment to the profession, and to hear him acknowledge how successful the profession has been during the pandemic.

"There is ambition contained in his address but unsurprisingly after only two weeks in office we are yet to see the detail.

"Our plea to the new Secretary of State is to enter into genuine collaboration with us so that we can bring the ambition of his speech to life free of dogmatic philosophical barriers.

"Now he has had the chance to address school leaders directly at our conference, we hope this will be the springboard for a the type of education system we know this country needs."