Steve Besley's Education Eye: week ending 04 August 2023

What's happened this week?

Important stories across the board:

A week or so into the summer break what’s happening around education?

A run through of some of last week’s top stories can be found below. As for this week, one of the main stories has been the calling off of proposed industrial action by the main teaching unions following the government’s latest pay offer. ‘Good news’, according to ministers, although that may not be the end of it with at least one union reserving the right to call for further action if the issue of workloads isn’t resolved. 

In other news, the TES and BBC both continued the build up to results days, now just over a week away in England, with various explainers of what to look out and how best to prepare for them. No mention of the annual Jeremy Clarkson tweet though.

The ASCL union launched its manifesto for the forthcoming general election, highlighting three areas in particular: teacher recruitment and retention, the widening disadvantage gap, and the ever-growing list of expectations placed on them that a future government could usefully focus on. “Extending the criteria for free school meal eligibility to all families in receipt of universal credit, and introducing a system of auto-enrolment, would benefit hundreds of thousands of children and young people”, was just one of the nearly 40 proposals listed.

The IfS published an interesting new report on how changes and uncertainty in the labour market during the pandemic affected children. In their words “What is unusual about the pandemic is the high share of children whose social and emotional skills deteriorated over the year”. Schools are already well aware of this.

In FE, Ofqual released its latest annual survey into views on vocational and technical qualifications showing no great change to previous years, while City and Guilds issued a further update on its qualification prices. “This year's price increases will need to be more closely aligned to the cost pressures we are facing in delivering our products and services, including qualifications and end-point assessments”.

Its been busy in HE also this week where results days can be a hectic time here too – helping school and college leavers with their progression options. Various survey reports this week looked at fees, student accommodation, and the value of going to university generally, all much on the minds of many families at this time of year.

And finally, a report in The Times claimed that the best time to send a work email is between 3pm and 6pm on Sunday. According to an analysis of 8.7 million messages, those sent on Sunday afternoon have the highest average open rate, at 94%. However, doing so “could leave you with few friends in the office”.

Links to most of these stories below, but first a run through three of the top stories of the week in a bit more detail.  

• University matters. A string of surveys on university matters this week, which may interest those looking to take up places this autumn. Universities UK published figures from its survey conducted last month among graduates and business leaders about the benefits of going to university. In summary: “73% of graduates say they found their job/ role in under a year. Furthermore, 97% of business leaders say university graduates reach managerial positions faster, as a direct result of going to university”. There were also positive figures for those who were the first in the family to go to university. One issue arising out of the growing numbers of students is the pressure on student accommodation and in a second report out this week, the consultancy firm PwC looked at some latest trends, particularly around privately-owned purpose-built student accommodation. Glasgow, Bristol, Durham and Manchester appear among the places with the greatest demand. Rising rents are also a worry with PwC suggesting these could continue to increase above the rate of inflation. Wonkhe has a helpful summary of this report here. And in a third survey report this week, the polling firm Ipsos looked at the continuing issue of student financing. Many (72%) of the UK adults surveyed expressed concern about the size of the debt graduates were coming out of university with, but few could agree on an alternative better system. Politicians remain in the same bind. 

• Election manoeuvres. Last week, Nick Hillman, director of the HE Policy Institute (HEPI) argued that as we get nearer to the next general election – widely expected to be at some point next year – politicians from all sides may back off saying much about HE because some of the issues are too hot to handle. We’ve seen some evidence of this already over tuition fees. Labour’s recent education ‘mission’ plan for instance simply pointed to ‘reworking the present system to make it fairer’. When it comes to schools, politicians tend to be less reticent, so they may find some of the ideas in ASCLs 2024 General Election Manifesto, launched this week, useful. These include, among other things, a three-year funding settlement for schools and colleges and an annual pay lift for staff. Also an extension of free school meals and of the pupil premium to 16–19-year-olds and ‘an incremental programme of curriculum and assessment reform’ overseen by an independent review body. It remains to be seen if any of these are seen in the coming months as too hot to handle.

• In case you missed it. With Education Eye away last week, these are some of the top education-related stories from the week ending 28 July for those who like to make sure they haven’t missed anything. 

• • The Education Committee raised a number of concerns about funding, staff training, and support, as it published the results of its inquiry into childcare and the early years. The full report is here
  • Teaching unions expressed concern at the latest figures on initial teacher training, which showed a slight drop in the number of trainees achieving qualified teacher status.
  • UNESCO published a new report on the use of technology in education, questioning in particular the use of smartphones in the classroom. It called them ‘a distraction’ and suggested they should be banned where appropriate. In the words of the director-general “Online connections are no substitute for human interaction”.
  • In FE/Skills, the AELP raised concerns about the state of the skills system, calling for immediate support for apprenticeship providers and a long-term skills strategy generally.
  • The IES published the Interim Report from its Commission on the Future of Employment Support outlining many of the problems with the current system and setting out six principles (efficient, equitable, joined-up and so on) for a future model.
  • In a similar vein, the ONS looked in a bit more detail at the current issue of economic inactivity and the impact of long-term sickness. It appears that many in this category have multiple health conditions with depression a common secondary health condition. It adds to the importance of employment support. The ONS blog is here
  • In HE, the Office for Students issued a call for evidence on how best to measure student outcomes arising from modular study. All part of the preparation for the introduction of the Lifelong Loan Entitlement (LLE) due from 2025/26.
  • The NUS launched a new ‘just giving’ fund – the Students Urgent Action Fund – inviting members of the public to contribute and help students cope with the cost-of-living crisis.

The top headlines of the week:

• ‘Competition for leading UK universities ‘could be tougher’ this year’. | Monday
• ‘Pandemic set back social and emotional growth of children in England, study finds’. | Tuesday
• ‘Minister rules out lifting cap on student tuition fees in England'. | Wednesday
• ‘Hundreds of thousands of graduates owed refunds after making ‘incorrect’ student loan repayments’. | Thursday
• ‘Exam results must return to normal so qualifications ‘carry credibility’ – Gibb’. | Friday 

 General:

• At risk. The government published the latest version of the National Risk Register, a ‘list of the most serious risks facing the UK,’ ranging from terrorism, cyber-attacks and systems failures, to environment and health concerns, complete with likelihood and summary impact in each case. 
• Digital development. The government invited applications from local authorities to a £40m fund designed to create 5G Innovation Regions to boost 5G development, digital innovation and local jobs and opportunities generally.
• Bank report. The Bank of England published its latest Monetary Policy Committee Report suggesting that growth will remain flat at around 0.2% this year, the labour market will remain ‘tight’ and inflation should fall ‘to around 5% by the end of the year.’
• Pandemic impact. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IfS) examined how far changes to parents’ working lives caused by the pandemic affected children’s social and emotional development, suggesting in a new report that in nearly 50% of cases surveyed the instability that came from labour market changes at the time had a negative effect on children’s socio-emotional development.
• Recruitment outlook. The British Chambers of Commerce published its latest Quarterly Bulletin on recruitment showing many firms still experiencing difficulties in recruiting qualified staff with the construction and engineering, and hospitality sectors the hardest hit and investment in training remaining ‘stubbornly low.’ 
• Science research. The SMF think tank pointed to declining research productivity and concerns about the trustworthiness of its findings as ‘two great challenges’ facing academic science, calling among other things for the creation of an Atlas Institute to map progress and encourage collaborative research.
• Eating disorders. The Children’s Commissioner highlighted in a new blog a worrying rise in the number of young people in England struggling with eating disorders coupled with an equally worrying rise in the number of those having to wait some time for treatment.

FE/Skills:

• Vocational and Technical Qualifications. Ofqual reported on its latest commissioned survey into views on voc and tech qualifications (VTQs) showing little change on previous years with learners broadly valuing such qualifications and using them to develop requisite skills, employers valuing relevance in such qualifications and early uncertainty about T levels.
• Qualification prices. City and Guilds penned an update on its qualification prices for this September saying that “some of our price increases will be above the rate of inflation, and some below” with details available on its site, as it pointed to cost pressures all round.
• Workplace Equity. The British Chambers of Commerce confirmed the launch of its new Workplace Equity Commission which over the next year will examine the issue from a number of perspectives and consider what employers could do ‘to unlock the talent and potential of all individuals in the workplace.’
• Youth employment.Youth Employment UK published the Impact Report on its inaugural Youth Employment Week held at the start of July which reached out and supported 3,700 young people during the week, attracted the support of 18 MPs for its Youth Friendly MP Charter, and saw a range of activities and resources dedicated to supporting youth employment.

HE:

• University Value. Universities UK published details from its recent research among UK graduates and businesses about the value of going to university pointing to a range of positives in terms of jobs, skills and social mobility with for instance 73% of graduates claiming it helped get them the job they wanted.
• Tuition fees. The Times Higher reported on the recent survey by Ipsos into student financing suggesting continuing concerns about the levels of student debt but no great support for lowering fees or replacing them with a graduate tax. 
• Student loans. The government published a brief explainer about the new student loans known as Plan 5 that come into effect for this year’s undergraduates, bringing changes to the interest rate, length of the loan and to the threshold for repayments.
• Loan refunds. The Save the Student website reported that thousands of graduates were owed a refund on their loans after finding that over 850,000 had made ‘incorrect’ loan repayments in 2021/22 with only 2% of these claiming a refund.
• Rooming costs. PwC and StudentCrowd pointed to issues around rising costs and a limited supply of rooms as they reported on student accommodation ahead of the new academic year which, with rents for Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) increasingly higher than maintenance loans, could see many students from poorer backgrounds being squeezed out.
• Reconsidering assessment. QAA reflected on assessment issues in the context of generative AI tools, looking at the case for reviewing assessment strategies as well as the impact on different assessment types and the questions this all raises for programme teams generally.
• Access to HE. The consultancy Public First called on interested parties to contribute their thoughts to a new review being undertaken by the organisation on behalf of the OfS looking into “collaborative support for improving equality of opportunity within access to higher education across England.”
• BERA Small Grants.The British Educational Research Association (BERA) announced the recipients of its Small Grants Funding Awards this year which will see four universities (Brighton, Cardiff, Oxford, Southampton) receive up to £5,000 each to undertake research on the theme of education in a digital age.

Tweets and posts of note:

• “China is set to limit teenagers’ use of smartphones to two hours a day in one of the most stringent crackdowns on technology addiction among children in the world” | @Telegraph
• “Meta is preparing to release an army of chatbots - with different "personas" - across its apps as soon as September” | @MsHannahMurphy
• “I vote summer school for adults… timetable of activities, nap breaks, snacks and a very very separate crèche for children” |  @ScottPughsley
• “Anyone who ever worked at Twitter… Is now either an ex-employee or an X employee” | @The PunnyWorld

Memorable quotes

A selection of quotes that merit attention:

• “The Committee continues to judge that risks around the modal inflation forecast are skewed to the upside” – the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee suggests things remain skewed.
• “Teetering on the brink of recession” – the TUC issues a warning ahead of the latest announcement on interest rates.
• “The over-50s should consider delivering takeaways and other flexible jobs traditionally targeted at young people if they want to maintain their lifestyle into old age” – the DWP secretary with another ‘on yer bike’ policy.
• “It’s just not going to happen, not in a million years” – the minister rules out raising tuition fees.
• “Vice-chancellors want to break our spirit, but they completely underestimate our solidarity and determination to win a fair deal for staff and for students” – UCU issues a battle cry.
• “Children lived through many changes during these years” – the IfS reports on the social and emotional impact of the pandemic on children in England.
• “Teachers are the foundation upon which the education system is built and that foundation is currently crumbling” – ASCL calls for an annual pay lift for teachers.
• “Members have spoken very clearly and in great numbers” – The NEU calls off industrial action following its latest ballot.

Other stories

• Best paid summer jobs for students. Public loo cleaner, delivery driver, chocolate box packer, many of us have done summer jobs in the past to help survive financially as a student. So what are the most lucrative? According to a chart in the Sunday Times last week, the best paid summer job for a student is acting as a tutor; this can gross £22.68 an hour. Bar staff can earn on average £10.44 an hour while for a pet sitter it can be around £6.70 an hour. Anyone wanting to see the full range can check on a site like the Check-a -Salary website. This lists the top sixteen summer jobs by average salary, starting with personal tutor, freelance writer and personal trainer at around £15 - £20 an hour to leisure assistant, theme park attendant and bar staff at the lower end of just under £10 an hour. A link to the list is here
  
  What’s on telly? We spent slightly less time watching TV and video content on all devices last year, broadly 4½ hours per person per day, according to Ofcom but we still used mainstream telly for the big events. The most watched programme in the UK last year was the England v France quarter final in December, followed by the Queen’s Funeral, the Queen’s Jubilee and I’m a Celebrity. The full top ten list can be found here

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Steve Besley

Disclaimer: Education Eye is intended to help colleagues keep up to date with national developments in the education sector. Information is correct at the time of writing and is offered in good faith. No liability is accepted by Steve Besley or EdCentral for decisions made on the basis of any information provided.