Education Reform That Works: Insights from UK, New Zealand & Australia

All our links: https://linktr.ee/centreforindependentstudies Three leading education ministers — Sir Nick Gibb (UK), Erica Stanford (New Zealand), and Jason Clare (Australia) — come together for a rare and deeply insightful conversation about how to rebuild school systems, lift student achievement, and close the disadvantage gap. Hosted by the Centre for Independent Studies at NSW Parliament House, this discussion explores the real evidence behind what works in classrooms and what doesn’t. Sir Nick Gibb shares the inside story of England’s education turnaround: the nationwide shift to phonics, a knowledge-rich curriculum, explicit teaching, strong behaviour standards, and school autonomy. He explains how these reforms reversed years of decline, elevated England to 4th in the world for reading, and empowered teachers to teach with confidence. Gibb also recounts the political, ideological, and institutional battles required to replace ineffective progressive approaches with methods proven to work — especially for disadvantaged students. Erica Stanford, New Zealand’s Education Minister, offers a compelling and urgent account of reform in a system where half of 15-year-olds fail basic reading, writing, and maths standards. She outlines New Zealand’s shift to structured literacy, explicit teaching, phonics checks, and a knowledge-rich curriculum designed to stop “lost generations” of students. Stanford emphasises how every year of delay condemns tens of thousands of children to long-term educational failure, and why rigorous evidence, data, and teacher training are central to reversing the decline. Jason Clare, Australia’s Education Minister, focuses on the country’s widening achievement gap and the need to ensure every child gains strong foundational skills by Year 3. He explains how early education access, phonics screening, tutoring programs, and teacher-training reforms are critical to helping struggling students catch up. Clare describes education as the great equaliser — the “superpower” that shapes life chances — and argues that overcoming entrenched disadvantage requires bipartisan commitment, sustained evidence-driven policy, and system-wide consistency. Recorded live at NSW Parliament House, presented by the Centre for Independent Studies. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ CIS promotes free choice and individual liberty and the open exchange of ideas. CIS encourages debate among leading academics, politicians, media and the public. We aim to make sure good policy ideas are heard and seriously considered so that Australia can prosper. Follow CIS on our Socials; Twitter - https://twitter.com/CISOZ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/CentreIndependentStudies/ Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-centre-for-independent-studies/ Telegram - https://t.me/centreforindependentstudies 📖 Read more from CIS here: https://www.cis.org.au/ 💬 Join in the conversation in the comments. 👍 Like this video if you enjoyed it and want to see more, it really helps us out! 🔔 Subscribe to our channel and click the bell to watch our videos first: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5c-JkKHb0YxFZ81XBtFCmw?sub_confirmation=1 ⏲️ Missed this event live? Subscribe to CIS to be up to date with all our events: https://www.cis.org.au/subscribe/ 📝 Subscribe to CIS mailing list- https://www.cis.org.au/subscribe/ 💳 Support us with a tax-deductible donation at - https://www.cis.org.au/support/