I don;t mean to take away the importance of the subject ,but I see it as a one way ticket to have fewer school teachers and therefore less education chances for the young and also it just seems like the same old gov interfering in something they don't really give a monkeys about apart from pre election rambles'

On the other hand take the govs out of it ,let the teachers decide how best to reach this aim and let them implement it without the gov having anything to say or do about it,the only gov interface should be if local councils ,teachers and parents have concerns that they are not reaching the agenda ...look into why (do not pump money or Orwell into it) and if indeed they have an education secretary who knows anything, send her/him down to help...as if she/he cannot get the place back on track...sack them as a waste of money and replace them with someone who has the experience to help all get on track.

Reading is important ,numbers  not as much and spelling and grammar a bit less...but all are a priority in academic education.

I would like to see a technical education option for the young and a practical option also...a bit like USA education system