THE Green Party would make quality education free for everyone up to and including university. An educated society is important to everyone not just individuals.

However, we must also free our education system from over-assessment and over-regulation. Constantly working towards the next exam is not satisfying for teachers and boring for students, education should be about far more than this.

Our response will be to replace the existing rigid curriculum with broader and more flexible learning – covering core areas such as numeracy and literacy, scientific and technology as well as leaving proper space for the arts, language, citizenship, vocational education and learning about our natural world.

Academic learning will start from the age of 6, with earlier education focusing on play, social cohesion and confidence-building. Schools and classes will be smaller.

We will abolish SATS, league tables and OFSTED inspections and have schools evaluated by parents, teachers and the local community.

As Sir Michael Wilshaw at OFSTED said last year, it’s a “national scandal” that around two-fifths of teachers leave the profession within five years. We agree – teachers are overloaded with work, much of it unrelated to actual teaching. Greens will act to reduce teacher workload and introduce professional pay levels for all teachers.

Academies and free schools will be integrated into the state system, and we will remove charitable status from private schools so that no schools are run for profit.

Our pledge to make higher education free would be met by increasing larger companies’ corporation tax to the levels in other G7 countries. Businesses depend enormously on graduates’ skills. It’s only fair that they support the higher education system.

We believe that money spent educating children, young adults and life-long learners is a truly worthwhile investment in our society.