Ed Balls, the Schools Secretary, admitted yesterday that England’s state education system was failing too many young people as he pledged a new drive to raise standards.

A decade after Labour took office, he told the party’s conference that it was not good enough for one in five children to enter secondary school unable to meet the required level of English.

Children from poorer homes were still only half as likely to get five good passes in GCSE exams, even though results were rising faster among pupils entitled to free school meals, he said.

“For all the progress we have made in raising standards in schools we are still falling short, and still failing too many young people,” he told Labour delegates in Bournemouth. “We cannot rest until we have an education system that is world class not just for some but for all. And that means narrowing the gap and tackling the continuing inequality in our education system.”

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Mr Balls restated Gordon Brown’s commitment to raise the level of state spending per pupil to match that in private schools but also said that local councils must take a greater strategic role in driving up standards.

He made no direct reference to city academies, the controversial independent state schools introduced by Tony Blair, which Mr Brown has pledged to keep and expand, but said that schools must cooperate rather than compete with one another.

“The test for all of our reforms is, through innovation and collaboration and by backing new leadership, to replace inequality with excellence for all,” Mr Balls told the conference.

He confirmed plans, revealed yesterday in The Times, to make the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority independent of ministers in a move to restore confidence in the examination system and for more support to improve writing and spelling in primary schools.

“I want to end young people being told that the GCSE or A-level grades they are proud of aren’t worth what they are used to. I want parents, universities, employers and young people themselves to be confident that exam standards are being maintained,” he said.

The Schools Secretary further promised a new campaign to stop bullying of pupils and in some cases teachers.

Much of his speech was crafted to win the support of teachers and other education staff, as he thanked “Britain’s hard-working teachers”, praised unions and pledged to back head teachers with powers to tackle truancy and enforce discipline.

He announced steps to establish national pay and conditions for the 300,000 teaching assistants working in schools. The announcement was warmly welcomed by the unions, led by the GMB and Unison.

Nick Gibb, a Conservative education spokesman, said: “Ministers need to focus more on raising standards of behaviour and academic achievement, particularly reading, writing and maths in primary schools.”

David Laws, for the Liberal Democrats, said that an independent standards authority should also advise upon good educational practice.

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