Former BBC Dragon and entrepreneur James Caan CBE has issued a powerful call for urgent reform in the UK’s education system, as he launched the landmark National Education Futures 2025 report at the House of Lords last week.
Hosted by The Rt Hon the Lord Knight of Weymouth, the event brought together parliamentarians, policymakers, and education leaders to address the growing crisis across schools, colleges and training systems.
Describing the moment as “a kite dancing in a hurricane”, Caan said, “Our education system, buffeted by social inequality, workforce pressures, and fragmented structures, is at a tipping point. But if we tether that kite to purpose, to inclusion, and to long-term vision, it can soar.”
The report sets out three critical priorities for transformation:
Inclusion
Caan urged a reimagining of inclusion as foundational, not optional. “Every learner — regardless of postcode, background or ability — deserves to thrive. Diversity must not be bolted on, but built in,” he said.
Workforce
Calling teachers the system’s “greatest asset”, Caan highlighted a crisis in morale and retention: “Too many are leaving, burnt out and unheard. When we invest in those who teach, we invest in the futures of those they teach.”
Collaboration
He emphasised the need for cross-sector partnership and joined-up thinking: “No single school or trust can fix this alone. Progress demands shared responsibility at every level.”
Caan warned of complacency amid global competition, citing Andhra Pradesh in India, which has partnered with NVIDIA to launch the country’s first Artificial Intelligence University. “While others are investing boldly in AI, we must ask — are we?”
He also linked education reform to wider economic concerns, referencing tax policy changes that have prompted talent flight and weakened fiscal revenues. “HMRC receipts fell £7.8 billion short last year, while borrowing rose £14.6 billion. That revenue loss could wipe out more than 10% of the education budget — every year,” he warned.
To address this, Caan said Britain must “invest relentlessly in a modern, inclusive, future-ready education system that builds our next generation of business creators.”
Closing his speech, he challenged government and industry to act on the report: “Let this not be another report that gathers dust — but a blueprint that galvanises real change. When inclusion is foundational, when educators are empowered, and when we plan for decades not headlines, we don’t just fix education. We transform it.”
Caan concluded with a quote from Nelson Mandela: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
The National Education Futures 2025 report is now available to policymakers, educators and industry stakeholders as a proposed roadmap for long-term, systemic reform.
