These basic skills are crucial in order for students to function well in society. Strong basic skills increase opportunities on the labour market and lead to improved well-being and health. Illiteracy and innumeracy are still persistent problems, and a major cause of social inequality. This means that education in basic skills contributes to a stable socio-economic future.

However, education is more than learning maths and language. Addressing these basic skills alone is too narrow a view for building good, future-proof education. In an era of great challenges, such as the climate crisis and the unbridled rise and influence of big tech, education makes a difference. Education should be a breeding ground for innovation and should provide children with the space for wide-ranging development. Children must be prepared for a future in which entrepreneurship, collaboration and creativity are crucial for problem-solving, as additional basic skills.

Politicians should be careful not to allow themselves to be guided by the fear of learning loss in maths and language. They should not get trapped in a system in which control is the guiding principle. The political debate determined by lists and rankings, and focussing mainly on maths and language as basic skills, is too one-sided.

Politicians often go for seemingly simple solutions, in the hope of an easy route to political success. This leads to a drop in education levels and politicians then look to schools and teachers for answers, followed by teacher education institutes. Are the right things happening there? Is the required level being reached? Are teachers good enough, and have they been educated sufficiently?

The risk is that this leads to a drop in confidence in teachers. This could translate into more checks and inspections, greater accountability and increased central management from governmental bodies. Meanwhile, teachers are being trapped in the system. They return to teaching to test: a restrictive, result-oriented way of teaching. And in the wake of this, societal appreciation for teachers and education can decline.

The key to preventing this bleak scenario is trusting teachers. To enable true innovation in education, in which children develop strong basic skills and, on top of that, become creative, self-aware and collaborative individuals, the autonomy of teachers should be enhanced.

Teachers should be allowed to take the lead. Policy should focus on teachers becoming connected and collaborative. For example, by encouraging teachers to work outside the boundaries of their school, by participating in online regional or national exchanges or innovation hubs, and creating time for this in their agendas. Policy should create opportunities and incentives for teachers to design different and better learning experiences. For example, by creating room in national curricula, and by working with broadly and generically formulated learning outcomes, instead of detailed, centrally formulated learning goals at subject level. Policy should stimulate lifelong learning by investing in continuous professional development, giving teachers room to grow and therefore to innovate even better.

With a strong foundation of trust, when breeding grounds within our education systems are stimulated, when teachers can learn with and from each other and work together to innovate and inspire, this can lead to greater freedom. Freedom provides more space to breathe and experiment. Teachers, with all their passion, knowledge and experience, can then innovate and create with no fear of judgement, lists or control. The concept of teachers taking the lead is a driver of educational innovation. And it is precisely educational innovation that prepares our children to build a sustainable future.

Michiel Heijnen is director of the bachelor's and master's programmes at the Marnix Academy and president of the Association for Teacher Education in Europe. During his 20-year career in the education sector, he has worked as a secondary school teacher, teacher educator, consultant, project and programme leader and interim manager.