Congratulations on your new role. You inherit what has strangely become one of the most controversial jobs in politics, with serious divisions between the teaching profession and the political establishment.

But don’t let your predecessor’s experience deter you from being a radical reformer.

The biggest division in our education system is not between the NUT and the DfE, but between the outcomes of the poorest and richest children in England.

For too many pupils in England, the chances of leaving school with a set of decent qualifications is still determined more by their postcode than their potential.

Research from a range of sources shows that it is no longer inner-city schools, but coastal and market towns are failing too many pupils, and those pupils are predominantly white, and what used to be known as working class. The shifting sands of our economy have failed to raise the tide of attainment. Jobs have disappeared as families choose cheap holidays in Marbella rather than Margate, and towns that thrived on the back of Victorian industrialisation get left behind.

As the member of parliament for Loughborough, you will know that market towns and coastal communities will be prime territory at the general election, as the appointment of Penny Mordaunt as minister for coastal communities indicates.

How can you raise standards in these areas in the few months that remain before the election?

First, we need to be sending our best and brightest teachers to work in these communities, with greater incentives – paying off student loans and helping young teachers get on the housing ladder. At the same time we need to support our existing teachers to continue to improve, offering more training and development, like weekly coaching sessions. Strangely, some in the teaching unions actively resist this, saying it contravenes a little-known rule limiting classroom observation to only a handful of times a year. You should listen to what Labour has been saying about improving teacher quality, rather than allowing unqualified teachers into the classroom. The best schools don’t risk this.

Second, you should ensure schools are focusing on teaching the core subjects that enable pupils to succeed in later life – getting into university or pursuing their career of choice. Too many children in the communities we serve still do not get the basic passport of proficiency in English and maths, and it is hard to succeed in other subjects without these skills.

Third, fund a longer school day. Schools can spend more time on teaching core subjects and not squeeze out other important subjects by extending the day. The evidence from the Education Endowment Foundation and from schools like the David Young Community Academy in Leeds shows that such an approach can improve results, particularly for less well-off pupils. The cost is not insubstantial and, while it has given schools the freedom to extend the day, the government is still not funding the additional costs.

Behaviour matters too, including low-level disruption. A decent headteacher will resolve poor behaviour within a term or two – any longer and serious questions need asking. This is not just about stopping children throwing chairs around – but intervening in the regular disruption to classroom activity stopping other pupils from learning.

Finally, school funding still needs radical reform. Many white working-class areas have been underfunded for years, in the Kafkaesque system for allocating school budgets. We need to ensure a level playing field while still ensuring that funding reaches those pupils that need it most.

The temptation in the next few months in the run-up to an election will be to consolidate and reach out to the teaching community.

While it is wise to engage with the education world to ensure that it buys in to reforms, it should not be at the expense of driving through changes that will raise standards for some of our least well-off children.

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Alex Bigham is a former adviser to the shadow secretary of state for education, is a councillor in the London borough of Lambeth, and works for an academy chain. He tweets @AlexBigham

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Photo: Nicky Morgan