Responding to Labour's plans to focus upon primary school maths, Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders' union NAHT, said:

“It is vital that Labour builds upon the excellent maths teaching that is already taking place in our primary schools. There is a high level of expertise within our schools, and teachers and leaders have worked incredibly hard to develop their maths curriculum in recent years.

"We welcome a renewed focus on ‘real-life maths’. As leaders and teachers know, it’s vital that maths feels relevant and meaningful to children. While this is already a feature of the maths curriculum in many primary schools, we look forward to discussing how this could be developed further.

"A teacher training entitlement would be a welcome development and would support schools on their improvement journey. Teachers deserve an entitlement to ongoing, high-quality professional development, just as many other professions have. Furthermore, we know that the quality of teaching is directly linked to pupil outcomes.

"We urge Labour to work closely with the profession as it develops this policy proposal so that it properly meets the needs of school leaders and teachers. Such a policy must be done with teachers, not to them.”