Steve Besley's Education Eye: week ending 27 June 2025

What's happened this week?

Important stories across the board:

Another piece of the jigsaw slotted in this week with the release of the long-awaited Industrial Strategy.

We’ve not been short of these in the past as former minister Dvid Willetts wrote in his excellent summary of the Strategy. “Just like the smoker who says he is good at giving-up smoking because he’s done it so many times, so Britain is good at Industrial Strategy – we’ve had lots of them.”

Yes, but things are different now argued the government.

The global market has changed, new technologies are transforming work practices, there’s growing recognition of the importance of skills, and the management of resources like energy has become critical. And of course we have a government pinning its hopes on growth.

There’s certainly plenty to attract business in the 160 page Strategy including notably the promise to ‘slash’ firms’ electricity bills by up to 25% from 2027 along with increased support for ‘energy-intensive firms,’ let alone the launch of a new Global Talent Taskforce to attract top global talent.

There are also promises around skills, regulation, recruitment, investment, support for SMEs and planning. Not all of it clear at this stage but it speaks of a whole government voice and urgency which has been welcomed by many in business.

The CBI reckoned “it sends an unambiguous, positive signal about the nation’s global calling card as well as the direction of travel for the wider economy for the next decade and beyond.” The British Chambers of Commerce described it as ‘an important milestone’ while to return to David Willetts, he said it was “an excellent start.”

Introducing it all to MPs, the Business Secretary described it as “a plan to rebuild Britain through new jobs, new industries and new investments; a plan to launch thousands of new careers in engineering, life sciences, professional services and more; and a plan in which Britain’s future is designed and built in Britain.”

Whether it’s skills, priority growth sectors, research and partnership working, there’s certainly a lot in the Strategy to interest education.

On skills for instance, there’s the promise of £275m for skills training and development. “We are shaking up the skills system to prioritise digital, engineering and defence skills, so British workers can secure good, secure jobs in tomorrow’s economy.” To take just one example, the aim is to ‘train 1 million young people in tech skills and expanding our Al research resource by at least twentyfold by 2030.’

The overall figure includes funding for new technical excellence colleges and while spread over four years and building on existing commitments, it’s all, as the AoC said, “encouraging.” A promised post-16 white paper may add further detail.

On priority growth sectors, the eight (IS-8) sectors identified in last year’s green paper with the greatest ‘potential for growth,’ now with subsectors or ‘frontier industries,’ continue to form the backbone of the Strategy.

Each, according to the blurb, will have ‘a bespoke 10-year plan, attract investment and growth, and create jobs and opportunities.’ Make UK which saw the Advanced Manufacturing sector plan published alongside the Strategy widely welcomed the Strategy, calling it ‘a long overdue step.’

And on research and partnership working, the Strategy commits to increased R/D  spending, support for city regions and clusters, and enhanced planning and partnership working, while pointing to ‘the critical’ role that UK universities can play.’

Universities were quick to add their support for this. “UK universities have forged strong partnerships with businesses across all major growth sectors and are central to developing the workforce and innovations of the future” Universities UK said.

In essence, there’s certainly no shortage of plans, maps, travel details and hope.

The government meanwhile moved on to its next Strategy, one on national security.

Now, what else has been happening across education this week.

In schools, concerns about the introduction of the new inspection framework have continued with the main teaching unions calling on the Education Secretary to support delaying its implementation to the start of the 2026/27 academic year, rather than this November as under current plans.

The issue is that with Ofsted pushing back its consultation response to September, it would give schools let alone inspectors and parents very little time to familiarise themselves with the new requirements.

As the NEU argued, “it will only succeed in inspiring a sense of panic across schools.”

In addition, the ASCL and NAHT have proposed “the unprecedented step” of encouraging members to withdraw their services next term as Ofsted inspectors.

Cue difficult discussions now between the dept and the inspectorate.

Ofsted’s response so far has been to announce that inspections teams from this November would include at least one member with direct sector experience,’ let alone an experienced lead inspector.

In other news, the NFER reported on retention payments for teachers, suggesting that while they “may be an important tool for improving teacher retention, the evidence is somewhat mixed.” Bursaries often offer better value for money with the NFER calling for them to be part of a wider recruitment and retention strategy. 

Ofqual published its latest (2024) price survey of qualifications pointing to a fall in inflation rates compared to the previous year. “The weighted average prices for each qualification type as reported in February 2025 are £57 for GCSEs, £74 for AS levels and £128 for A levels.”

The government published the Academy Trust Handbook for the year ahead with a number of additions.

These included greater clarity on the process for determining executive pay, confirmation that money could be recovered if any evidence of irregularity or fraud, oh, and trusts mustn’t pay any cyber ransomware demands.

Elsewhere latest data on children and young people with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCP) and on NEET figures (both up) made for depressing reading.

And the National Literacy Trust pointed to ‘a continuing writing crisis among children and young people in the UK.’

“Levels of writing enjoyment have almost halved over the past 15 years,” according to the latest annual survey. The NAHT suggested an overcrowded school curriculum wasn’t helping.

And just in, Pearson published its latest School Report providing a fascinating insight into the challenges schools and young people face as they progress through the various stages of their learning journey, with some important messages about cultivating motivation, well-being and digital awareness among other things.

In FE, the Public Accounts Committee published its report into T levels, calling on the government to set out a plan for what it called ‘significant challenges that remain in introducing them.’

Chief among these, they said, are raising awareness, clarifying how they fit into the qualification framework and building greater flexibility into their design.

“Without the wider awareness in industry and critical mass of student enrolments, T Levels may remain very much a minority pursuit, when they could become a natural and enriching step in many students’ lives.”

The AELP, which has been busy with its latest annual National Conference this week, published the second report from its Mini Commission looking into better ways of measuring apprenticeship success. “Apprenticeship success isn’t always linear, and our systems should reflect that.”

In other news, the government published the latest version of the College Financial Handbook.

“You tell us that publishing the handbook in June gives you time to read, digest and prepare for changes that will come into effect from 1 August when the handbook becomes effective.”

Time perhaps to take in the nine fairly standard changes for the year along with all the other details.

And the Construction Skills Mission Board met for the first time with the government promising to tackle workforce and skills shortages in the industry. All needed of course to help deliver the government’s housing programme.

The AoC described it as ‘a fantastic opportunity’ for all sides to work together “to help kickstart the economy through the construction industry.”

In HE, the consultancy Public First reported on the positive benefits to UK living standards from the presence of international students.

In a report commissioned by York University they were able to record an uplift to both incomes and wages. “In more than 100 constituencies, we find the wage benefit from international students to be worth more than two and a half week’s wages for the average earner.”

Elsewhere, researchers from UCL and Oxford Brookes reported that graduates from less advantaged backgrounds often struggled to secure internships and professional opportunities following university. “They are 32% less likely to get a job offer than applicants from professional backgrounds.”

Education, including the type of school and university attended, ‘partly’ adds to the disadvantage experienced, it seems.

And ResearchPlus is the name of a new grouping in HE, announced this week and as the name suggests aimed at exploiting existing research capabilities in universities outside the Russell Group and at adding a different Plus. In this case more closely aligned to “UK growth, prosperity and societal wellbeing.”

Interestingly, it’s already suggesting members can play a key role “in delivering the ambitions of the Industrial Strategy across all eight high-growth sectors.”

The group formally launches in October.

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

The top headlines of the week:

• ‘UK government unveils £275m boost to training and apprenticeships in England’ (Monday)
• ‘Headteachers in England threaten to quit as Ofsted inspectors over proposed overhaul’ (Tuesday)
• ‘UK graduates facing worst jobs market since 2018 amid rise of AI, says Indeed’ (Wednesday)
• ‘More than half of special needs plans delayed’ (Thursday)
• ‘PAC: T Levels could remain ‘minority pursuit’ without serious campaign’ (Friday)

General:

• Industrial Strategy. The government published its ‘modern’ Industrial Strategy in the shape of a comprehensive 10-year plan intended to ‘unlock UK potential’ through support for key economic sectors, support for businesses, the provision of new investment and opportunities, and eased regulation and planning.
• Amazon investment. The government welcomed plans from Amazon to invest £40bn in the UK over the next three years, in turn leading to the creation of thousands of new jobs and facilities across the country.
• Performance measurement. The Institute of Directors (IoD) released a 10-point scorecard of performance indicators to hold government economic performance to account, showing areas like skills shortages, regulation and productivity/living standards all in the red, with the aim, for instance, of halving reported levels of skills shortages affecting business by the end of this parliament.
• Living standards. The Resolution Foundation published a new report into living standards, pointing to a “bleak” outlook for many, with incomes for poorer families projected to fall by 1% and those for better off families projected to rise by 1% over the rest of the decade but with some hope that ‘a stronger economy and the right policy interventions,’ could see things improve for all.
• Regional pay. The Resolution Foundation examined the wide variation in regional wages, looking at factors such as the clustering of high wage industries but concluding that ultimately place matters with ‘one-third of the pay differences between labour markets stemming from places themselves, rather than the people within them.’
• Social mobility. The IfS highlighted the importance of early career mobility in a new report, revealing how high-skilled young people tend to migrate to high-paying cities, typically London, at the start of their careers tending as a result to exacerbate regional divides.
• Early Years. The Early Years Alliance published a collection of essays from leading experts reflecting on current issues and challenges in the sector, ranging from family support to digital literacy, and future visions for the sector.

HE:

• International students. The consultancy Public First published the second of two papers looking into the impact of international students on UK living standards, reporting a highly positive return in terms of both wage increases and individual income across the country.
• Graduate recruitment. Universities were urged to do more to help students from disadvantaged backgrounds secure jobs after university, as researchers published data showing significant inequalities in recruitment last year with less advantaged graduates faring badly.
• New university grouping. A group of ten ‘leading research-focused’ universities announced that they were forming a new grouping to become a separate voice around research and innovation and work with government and other bodies ‘to deliver research-informed education and advanced skills.’

Tweets and posts of note:

• “A general rule that has served me well in life is if you’re at a training day and see a triangle, then run for the hills” -@C_Hendrick.
• “Unions @NAHTnews and ASCL_UK are considering asking members to stop working as Ofsted inspectors amid concerns over report card plans” -@tes.
• “A primary headteacher recently got in touch: what are schools doing about AI in reports? Allowing it? Banning it? Here’s what we found out. Over half of teachers said their school has no policy. 33% say AI use is explicitly allowed. 5% of schools have banned it” -@TeacherTapp.
• “Global international student numbers triple over two decades Almost seven million students studying in overseas location, Unesco reports, with four million of them in Europe and North America” -@timeshighered.
• “Just been asked for my Fax number, Bank's 'stamp' and Company 'stamp', by a University? Lost my wax sealing kit about 100 years ago” -@DonaldClark.
• “Just had a letter delivered confirming I have secured a job at Royal Mail. I start last Monday” -@robertwlk.
• “I went for a job interview at Evri. I said ‘Sorry I’m late, I went to the wrong address’ and they made me regional manager” -@GaryDelaney.

A selection of quotes that merit attention:

• “We are creating a prosperous, proud and outward-facing but self-reliant, independent and high-skilled nation; a country where opportunity, skills and wealth are spread fairly, and where every person and every business have the chance to flourish” – the Business Secretary introduces the government’s new Industrial Strategy.
• “I understand that this document is printed on 40% recycled paper—very much like its content” – the Shadow Business Secretary responds to the government’s new Industrial Strategy.
• “A third of firms we recently surveyed told us they have either made staff redundant or are considering it” – the DG addresses the British  Chambers of Commerce Global Annual Conference.
• “"From developments in social policy to advanced engineering, from city-scale regeneration projects to AI skills, the UK needs its universities more than ever, so this will be a challenging but also very exciting time for my successor” - Dr Tim Bradshaw on handing on the baton as CEO of the Russell Group.
• “This timescale would create wholly unacceptable pressures on schools and their staff” – school teaching unions call on the government to delay the introduction of proposed new inspection arrangements.
• “Once again I’m in the throes of my annual sulk: it’s Glastonbury week and I won’t be there, thanks to the inconvenient truth of being a teacher” – a teacher writes with feeling!

You can sign up here to receive Education Eye straight to your inbox on publication.

If you find my policy updates useful, please consider donating something, however small, to help support its publication. EdCentral is a not-for-profit social enterprise and relies on donations to continue its work.

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.