Kezia Dugdale has pledged to put education at the heart of Scottish Labour’s election offer as the party launches its manifesto today.

The document includes policies to raise income tax by a penny to ensure that the education spending is protected in real terms, reversing cuts to bursaries for higher education, and scraping charges for exam appeals – as well as a new pledge to ensure every school has funds to provide a breakfast club service.

Dugdale, the Scottish Labour leader, today attacked the SNP’s cuts to education services, and said her party’s plans would be a rejection of “Tory austerity”. She said:

“The SNP’s cuts to local services like schools and nurseries risk holding back the next generation. Cuts will mean fewer classroom assistants, nursery staff and opportunities for extracurricular activities. It doesn’t have to be this way. We can reject Tory austerity by using the powers of the Scottish Parliament to make different choices.

“Faced with the choice between using the powers of the Scottish Parliament to invest in our economy or carrying on with the cuts, Labour will use the powers to stop the cuts.”

In the manifesto, Scottish Labour will today announce:

A Fair Start Fund from the 50p top rate of tax on those earning more than £150,000 a year to invest in cutting the attainment gap between the richest and everyone else in classrooms.

Protection of the education budget in real terms.

Reforming the senior phase of school with a Scottish Graduation Certificate involving vocational courses, work experience and traditional exams. This would allow formal recognition for young people with fewer traditional qualifications.

Funding primary school teachers to go on a basic coding course to allow them to introduce the skill to pupils as early as possible.

Scrapping charges for exam appeals.

Protecting free university tuition.

Reversing the SNP’s cuts to bursaries for the poorest students in higher education.

A guarantee of support for students in further education.

Dugdale said that past political promises around childcare were proven to be empty and that Scottish Labour recognises the need for flexible childcare to grow the economy.

“We have high ambitions for how we care for our children. For years parents have been offered guarantees on childcare that are not worth the manifesto paper they are written on,” the Scottish Labour leader said.

“We want childcare that fits around the lives of parents, that is flexible, affordable and accessible. So we will start on a new revolution in childcare, beginning with funding for a breakfast club in every primary school.

“Breakfast clubs not only ensure children start the day with a healthy meal, but they provide the childcare that so many parents desperately need.

“To grow our economy and help women in particular thrive in their jobs parents need access to flexible childcare. Promises about the number of hours of free childcare are meaningless unless parents and children can make use of them. Labour will begin the move toward the flexible, wrap-around affordable childcare that families in Scotland need.”