When the Government sets out its agenda for the next year in the Queen’s Speech, it gives the other parties a chance to do the same. What can we learn from the frenzy of Liberal Democrat activity in the press in the past few days about where we might be going.

Well, Tim had a piece in the Huffington Post the other day that put education at the heart of our thinking. This is far from being a new concept. It’s one of our core principles that we’ve always talked about. Tim had developed a 5-point education charter with the aim of giving young people and the economy the skills they need for the modern world.

The future is full of exciting opportunities, as technology changes the way we work and live. However, there are also massive challenges, from giving people the skills they need to adapt to our changing economy, to tackling climate change.

Education is key to meeting these challenges. That is why the Liberal Democrat vision is for a country which enshrines the rights of every child to a decent education. We believe this should be the number one priority of the Government when they set out their agenda. We are calling for a Charter for Education which guarantees every child is taught a curriculum which includes creative arts subjects, sports, languages, technical and vocational courses and practical life skills.

Over the years education has become more about passing tests and getting a good Ofsted rating than making sure children get the skills they need and grow into healthy, happy and confident adults. This is harmful for young people, and my fear is that it will leave them ill-equipped to deal with the challenges – and opportunities – of the future.

It’s a bit more satisfying than the Tories’ battle with teachers and local authorities for the sake of it. It also looks at wellbeing and happiness which are crucially important.

The nuts and bolts of the Charter are:

The Liberal Democrats’ proposed Charter for Education would include:

1. Guarantee every teacher in state funded schools are qualified, or working towards qualification

2. Guarantee every child is taught the sort of broad and balanced curriculum which includes creative arts subjects, sports, technical and vocational courses and practical life skills.

3. Work with teachers to devise new ways of carrying out inspections and assessments, to reduce the bureaucratic pressures placed on teachers and pupils.

4. Extend free school meals to all primary school students

5. Prevent schools from being forced to academise.

Willie Rennie’s success in Scotland, highlighting education as one of the key factors in making Scotland the best again may have influenced this thinking.  It is very schools focused at the moment whereas the Scottish ideas incorporated nursery and college education.

The focus on the wellbeing and health of individuals continues with a proposal for healthcare which includes improving mental health care setting up the cross-party, independent commission on the future of healthcare that Norman Lamb has been talking about.

With the Government set on undermining our human rights protections coupled with some very worrying counter-extremism measures, senior Liberal Democrats have been talking about how important human rights laws are and how they influence our daily lives. In yesterday’s Scotsman, Jim Wallace said:

And let’s be clear, when I say that the Human Rights Act gives us the ability to challenge the state, I do not mean in some arcane philosophical debate. I mean on ordinary, day-to-day issues people often take for granted. The right to life isn’t just about life being protected by the state. This right has ensured justice for the families of victims of domestic violence, and families of hospital patients who were not properly supervised who then, tragically, took their own lives.

The prohibition of torture has ensured that the use of restraint on an older woman in hospital was able to be challenged, and ensured that the authorities are accountable for failing to protect children who are being abused.

The right to liberty and security has ensured that people with mental health problems are not unlawfully detained.

The right to respect for private and 
family life has often been lamented in the press as a block to deporting foreign criminals. But this right helped a couple who had been married for 59 years to live in the same nursing home when their local authority threatened to move one of them to a nursing home too far away for the other to visit. It also secured proper support from a local authority for a child with Down’s syndrome.

We’ll be hearing a lot more from Home Affairs Spokesperson Alistair Carmichael on these issues in coming months.

There’s a similar theme running through a Global Responsibilities Bill. This will involve things like not selling arms to regimes with dubious human rights records and strengthening international humanitarian law. Tom Brake has been raising those issues pretty consistently in the past year.

There is a theme of optimism, of embracing new technologies, new ways of living, in the party’s thinking. It’s all about making the most of the opportunities available to us.

Our alternative Queen’s Speech will include a Future of the Economy Bill which would set out measures on broadband, housing, transport infrastructure, developing new ways of working, developing new technology and an industrial strategy (as championed by Vince as Business Secretary and which now seems to have been misfiled in some archive at the Business, Innovation and Skills Department.

A Social Justice and Equality Bill is also planned, although its measures, including tackling the BAME pay gap, ending discrimination, same sex civil partnerships, introducing a gender neutral marker for official documents for those who need it. We perhaps need to do more of the social justice and show a real commitment to tackling inequality.

As you would expect, the future of the planet features heavily in our thinking. A Zero Carbon Britain Bill will set a legally binding target of zero carbon emissions by 2050.

And, of course, political reform is on the agenda with electoral reform, votes at 16, and Lords reform. The interesting thing is that there will be a requirement to assess laws for intergenerational fairnesss to make sure that our young people aren’t being short-changed as so often happens.

There’s a lot that’s good in here. I would like to see more focus on the core values from which these policies emanate. We are a planet-saving, freedom-loving, internationalist, establishment-busting, forward-thinking, optimistic party and we need to think about getting that across more effectively.

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings