Comprehensives have failed to break the link between poverty and poor educational achievement, the education secretary has told Labour.

Irresponsible parents and truanting or unruly pupils were also in Estelle Morris's sights when she addressed her party's conference in Blackpool today.

Morris joined Tony Blair in calling time on the one-size-fits-all comprehensive model of state education.

Forum Response: Association of Teachers and Lecturers

Gwen Evans, deputy general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, told ePolitix.com: "Disappointingly, Estelle Morris' speech contains few surprises. While ATL shares her commitment to raising standards and welcomes her determination to ensure education receives the resources that are so urgently needed, she still risks widening that very attainment gap she is so desperate to eradicate.

"The continuing reliance on private finance initiatives (PFI), on the privatisation of education services and on giving extra resources only to favoured schools means that teachers' dreams of a better future will not be likely to come true in the next year or so."

Forum Response: National Union of Teachers

Doug McAvoy, general secretary of the NUT, told ePolitix.com: "The education secretary's emphasis reaffirms that the age of spin is not dead. The often repeated chant 'one size fits all' is not a true description of today's comprehensive schools. Continuing to use it brings into question the prime minister and education secretary's understanding and knowledge of our schools.

"The NUT's fear is that the journey plotted by the prime minister and education secretary will not provide a world class education for all. It will instead be divisive, based on favourable and advantageous funding for some with the potential for an expansion of the selective system.

"Their words are code for an extension of selection.

"The international evidence the prime minister quotes also demonstrates how wrong he is to promote a tiered system of schools.

"A better use of the 'one size fits all' chant is the government's use of targets as a means of assessing school performance.

"Problem behaviour among pupils is not new. It continues to be one of the main reasons for teachers leaving the profession. It is one of the areas where there need be no dispute between the NUT and the government on extra support being given to teachers."

Forum Response: Professional Association of Teachers

Jean Gemmell, general secretary of the Professional Association of Teachers, told ePolitix.com:

"Sweeping generalisations can never be right and since many comprehensives had neighbourhood intake due to catchments being determined by geographical location, then the comprehensive ideal of a diverse population in every sense could not be achieved in many cases.

"The Beacon school package includes successful comprehensives where pupils are valued equally and given equality of opportunity as a necessary ingredient to success.

"I agree one hundred per cent with the need for parents and the community to support the school as success is vastly down to this support."