Steve Besley's Education Eye: week ending 14 February 2025

What's happened this week?

Important stories across the board:

Two big events in the education calendar top the news this week.

The first, and running all week, has been this year’s National Apprenticeship Week.

Ofcom, ITN Business, the UK Space Agency, the Student Loans Co, CIPD, Martin Lewis, and not forgetting of course the ‘godfather of apprenticeships’ former minister Rob Halfon have been among the big-name players all pitching in with their support for apprenticeships during the week.

Rob Halfon, for instance, brought his famous ladder of opportunity out again, calling for apprenticeships to include more adaptable skills in an age of AI. “Today, that ladder needs to reach higher and be more flexible than ever before.”

But it was the education secretary who featured in most of the headlines with an announcement about reducing the minimum duration of schemes for some schemes and lifting English and maths requirements for 19+ apprentices.

The message was we’ve heard you, so we’re going to ease restrictions in the system as we go for growth. Or as the education Secretary put it “our new offer of shorter apprenticeships and less red tape strikes the right balance between speed and quality, helping achieve our number one mission to grow the economy.”

So, has she got the right balance between speed and quality? A lot depends on who you speak to.

The IOD (Institute of Directors) welcomed the move. “Employers are well-placed to judge whether English and Maths qualifications are the most appropriate route through which to develop the literacy and numeracy skills needed for success in a given career path.”

The Association of Colleges (AoC) was equally supportive. “This is a good package of measures to help ensure apprenticeships support people and employers with less bureaucracy and cost.” The AELP also offered a ‘welcome’ hand, reminding everyone that “AELP has been at the forefront of advocating for these measures.”

The Sutton Trust was slightly more cautious, describing it “as a sensible move that takes away a major barrier to accessing and completing apprenticeships” but must come with safeguards over quality. The Skills Federation took a similar line, adding a call for consultation. The Recruitment and Employment Confederation said it was ‘a step in the right direction.’

Other education and training bodies were more guarded. ‘We would urge the government to wait the outcomes of current reviews before taking changes any further, especially for 16-18 apprentices,’ Edge said. The Learning and Work Institute called the decision “a mistake.”

The dropping of the English and maths requirement is to happen straightaway. Subsequent announcements about simpler registration procedures, reduced assessment plans and for some in-course assessments are also likely to help. It will be interesting to see what impact this has on future take-up figures.

The second important annual event this week has been the latest Safer Internet Day.

Now in its 21^st year, Safer Internet Day is in its own words “the UK’s biggest celebration of online safety” and has global recognition.

The theme this year has been ‘protecting yourself and others from scams online’ and the children’s commissioner was one of many calling for ‘greater urgency from companies to keep children safe on their platforms from online harm.’

According to a survey commissioned by BBC Teach and conducted just before Christmas, social media use by primary school children is a big worry among primary teachers. “Almost every respondent (99.5%) reported that at least one child in their class used social media.”

The survey also revealed considerable confusion among such teachers about minimum age requirements for children to be able to sign up for social media accounts.

The NAHT, like many, called for “social media providers to go further in strengthening their existing age verification procedures to ensure that children are prevented from signing up for websites that they are too young to use.”

The concerns came in a week in which Public First and partners reported on the growing challenge of young people falling prey to misinformation and conspiracy theories.

“Pupils are operating in an extremely low-trust environment,” it reported in research for its Commission for Countering Online Conspiracies in Schools, “with 35% saying they do not trust the Government at all, rising to 38% of 15–18-year-old.”

The report called for work on tackling conspiracy theories to begin much earlier in schools. “Education on conspiracy belief, misinformation and disinformation should begin in primary school, where children’s trust in adults is generally still high.”  

The 2024 Online Safety Act ‘requires social media companies to enforce their age limits consistently and protect their child users.’ Debate continues about how effectively this is happening.

Moving on, what else has been happening education this week?

In schools, FFT Education Datalab took an early look at data on suspensions and exclusions for last term ahead of the release of any official figures, finding levels remaining high but the rate of increase ‘beginning to slow.’

Pearson highlighted a number of key recommendations, particularly around the use of technology in assessment, some GCSEs and in the creation of more coherent progression pathways, that it was keen to develop to support the Curriculum and Assessment review.

The Education Policy Institute published the final report in its Nuffield funded work looking into SEND issues, highlighting many inconsistencies and structural challenges in the system and labelling it ‘a postcode lottery.’

It called among other things for early identification of concerns, something supported by the NAHT. “Early identification of special educational needs is vital - the sooner additional needs are spotted, the sooner support can be put in place, and this needs to start pre-school.” The NEU added more starkly, “the SEND crisis has now gone beyond the tipping point, it is time to act.”

And the Publishers Association called on the government to rein in the remit of Oak National Academy on the basis that it was destabilising the UK education resources market. “The Oak National Academy was a pet project for Ministers now not in post and this is an opportunity for HM Treasury to sensibly and proportionately clip its wings.”

In FE, as the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Transfer of Functions) Bill completed its journey through the Lords and headed to the Commons, the education secretary confirmed the appointment of the leadership at Skills England. “I am confirming that the new Chair of Skills England will be Phil Smith CBE, with Sir David Bell serving as Vice Chair.”

In other news, the Gatsby Foundation published further details on the destinations of the second cohort of T level students. Edge updated its guide to FE and Skills across the four nations of the UK taking in the Labour government’s new agenda.

The government reported on how skills and recruitment look across SMEs in England, painting an upbeat picture for 2025 but with skills a continuing issue. “Skills gaps are very much an issue for SME employers, with nine in 10 (90%) identifying this within their business.”

And as the government’s dash for growth strengthens, it’s emerged that strategies for life sciences and advanced manufacturing may be released early to help build momentum although the full industrial strategy is still set for June.

In HE, the week has seen an interesting triple whammy of submissions from across the sector to the government’s current Comprehensive Review. Future funding has inevitably featured prominently.

In its submission, Universities UK called for index linked tuition fees, VAT flexibility on shared services, ‘a sustainable pensions settlement’ and a competitive transformation fund.

The submission also contained a range of measures around growth and opportunity but the message around funding was clear. “Critically, it outlines the sector’s financial fragility and the risk that a continuation of the status quo would erode capacity in our world-leading sector.”

University Alliance called for “making the student loan system more progressive and targeting maintenance grants for the most disadvantaged students” and “putting university finances back on a more sustainable footing through permitting tuition fees to rise in line with RPI inflation and exploring other means of investment” as part of its submission.

While GuildHE called for the return of maintenance grants and revisions of household income thresholds for student loans as well as support for regional growth and improved access and outcomes.

Elsewhere AdvanceHE published a new ‘Framework for Leading in HE’ as challenges for such leaders continue to ramp up.

The Office of the Independent Adjudicator published latest casework relating to harassment and sexual misconduct as it announced plans to develop ‘good practice’ principles for responding to student reports as part of its Good Practice Framework.

HEPI reported on views from young people on how well they reckoned their school or college curriculum had helped them progress into higher education.

The findings, timed to help inform the current Curriculum and Assessment Review, were pretty reassuring, 80%+ of respondents said ‘well or very well’ but they did want more vocational and life skills although not the previous government’s policy of maths to age 18.

“Students reported that they would welcome more vocational, digital and oracy skills but would not embrace the idea of extending the requirement to study English or Maths to the age of 18.”

And University Alliance and the University of Derby called for levy funding to be retained for in-demand high-level apprenticeships such as healthcare in a new report on the matter timed for National Apprenticeship Week.

Links to most of these stories below starting with the week’s headlines.

General:

• AI Growth Zones. The government invited local authorities, particularly those in deindustrialised areas, to submit bids to become an AI Growth Zone, in the hope that these would attract jobs, investment and opportunities and be at the forefront of change generally.
• 4-Day Working Week. Labour MP Peter Dowd tabled an amendment to the Employment Rights Bill for the government to set up a Working Time Council to consider recommendations on transitioning to a 4-day working week.
• Education spending. The consultancy Public First reported on its latest survey among UK adults about what should be the top priorities for education funding in the government’s forthcoming Spending Review with apprenticeships, adult training and skills, and childcare and early years emerging as the top three.
• Economic Outlook. The NIESR published its thoughts on the economic outlook for the UK this year suggesting a flat first half of the year but an improving second half, with growth picking up and inflation falling but things remaining difficult for poorer households.
• EU AI fund. Ursula von der Leyen, EU President, announced at this week’s Paris AI Conference a major ‘InvestAI’ initiative designed to mobilise €200 billion for investment in AI, including a new European fund of €20 billion for four future AI gigafactories across the EU.
• Jobs on wheels. The government launched its mobile job centre scheme, a Jobs on Wheels service which will see ‘experienced work coaches’ go out and about to places such as football clubs, retail car parks and mosques offering advice and support to encourage people back into work.
• Jobs. KPMG and REC UK pointed to ‘a further deterioration in the health of the UK jobs market’ with its latest commissioned survey showing a fall in both temp and permanent placings with the higher cost of hiring following the government’s NIC increase seen as a big factor.
• Nursery costs. The National Day Nurseries Association revealed that more than three-quarters of nurseries expect to make a loss or break even this year with over 90% having to increase charges for parents, pointing the finger firmly at increased NIC costs as it published the results of a survey among members.

HE:

• Spending Review submission (1) Universities UK set out a range of measures around growth, opportunity and funding as it submitted its proposals to the government’s Comprehensive Spending Review, calling when it came to funding for the reinstatement of maintenance grants, an annual inflation-linked index for tuition fees and investment in collaborative research and mobility.
• Spending Review submission (2) University Alliance set out its proposals for the Spending Review prioritising supporting economic growth, skilling the NHS and extending opportunities and in terms of funding calling for inflation-linked tuition fees and uprated maintenance entitlements and parental income thresholds.
• Spending Review submission (3) GuildHE submitted its proposals to the Spending Review highlighting how its work can contribute to the government’s key missions and calling in particular for reinstating maintenance grants, setting up a regional growth fund and improving HE data systems.
• Made in Manchester. The consultancy, London Economics, published a report on the economic impact of the University of Manchester focusing on the 2022/23 academic year and showing its impact on the UK economy that year totalled £7.3bn as it supported over 30,000 UKFTE jobs, generated 343 start-ups and generated £5.95 in productivity benefits for every £1 invested in research.
• Learning for university. The HE Policy Institute (HEPI) called for a number of changes to the school curriculum, particularly around the need for a more balanced curriculum for 16–18-year-olds and for preparation for life as it published the results of a curriculum survey, intended to inform the current curriculum review.
• Framework for Leadership. AdvanceHE published a new leadership resource in the shape of a ‘Framework for Leading in HE,’ designed around ‘three sets of attributes of successful leadership practice’ that can support leaders in HE at different levels as they contend with an increasing set of challenges.
• Healthcare apprenticeships. University Alliance and the University of Derby reported on the extent of barriers around healthcare apprenticeships, calling in a new report timed for National Apprenticeship Week for retaining L7 apprenticeships for ‘skills and roles in demand.’

Tweets and posts of note:

• “School culture is not created by a laminated vision statement, a slogan or even policies, but it is created by what everyone does every day” -@Headteacherchat.
• “UK universities make lowest number of unconditional offers for a decade, but they remain “one of the few recruitment levers still left to pull” for some less selective institutions” -@CHavergalTHE.
• “A good Pupil referral unit is both "intensive care" for the pupil concerned and a great investment for our country” -@timleunig.
• “I was never ever taught how to revise, how to write an essay, at school, or how to structure assignments or longer written pieces at uni. I’m so glad kids are now. But I do wonder how I made it this far!!!” –@kateowbridge.
• “Tonight I used the word “learnings” as a plural noun and wash my mouth out with soap and water I’m appalled” -@stoneman_claire.
• “Today I heard from a child that I’ve had a snail named after me, which is nice”-@DeputyGrocott.

A selection of quotes that merit attention:

• “There were again reports of a reluctance to hire staff given upcoming changes to the cost of employing staff” KPMG/REC UK report on the latest state of the UK jobs market.
• “We must also navigate the rapidly-changing world around us. A world where the three elephants of the EU, China and the US, trumpet and flatten the grass of the global economy, and where AI is going to have a massive effect on the world of work” – the Chair of the CBI on managing the economy.
• “It hasn’t exactly rolled over and played dead, but sometimes it can feel as though it is dangerously close to Stockholm syndrome” – the Times Higher reports on former V.C. Nigel Thrift’s comments on university management.
• “The drip-drip nature of the bad news being delivered on campuses up and down the country is relentless but dispersed” – The Guardian reports on the worsening financial situation across HE.
• “Businesses have been calling out for change to the apprenticeship system and these reforms show that we are listening” – the education secretary announces changes to apprenticeships including removing English and maths requirements for adult apprentices.
• “FSQs should be reviewed, but removing the exit requirement entirely risks throwing the baby out with the bathwater” – Edge urges caution over removing English and maths requirements for apprentices.
• “We have uncovered a problem that is significant in scale and challenge, but through greater understanding, we can begin to respond,” – Sir Mufti Hamid Patel, CEO of Star Academies and partner of new research raises the issue of misinformation and online conspiracy theories in schools.
• “A key dimension we have explored is whether socio-economically disadvantaged children have fair access to support for SEND compared with more advantaged children” – the Education Policy Institute finds a mixed picture on SEND support in its final report for the Nuffield study into the matter.
• “This has fuelled concerns about the ability of schools to handle the anticipated increase in pupils moving from the independent sector” – the Independent Schools Council responds to concerns raised in The Times about some state schools now being over subscribed.
• “The internet has brought a world of benefits, with children and young people able to learn, play and explore online – but so much of this space where childhood is now spent is not designed with children’s safety, wellbeing or best interests in mind” – the children’s commissioner with an important reminder for this week’s Safer internet Day.

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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.