Follow this link to view the full version of Steve Besley's popular policy round-up - including an overview of all the important stories, his top headlines of the week, tweets and posts of note, the most memorable quotes, not-to-be-missed statistics and what to look out for next week.
As your starter for ten, we've chosen three items from each phase below ...

GENERAL
International Technology Strategy. The government launched an International Technology Strategy providing what it called ‘a roadmap for reaching tech superpower status by 2030’ through the adoption of six strategic priorities including investment and global partnerships, with a focus on six ‘priority’ technologies including AI, quantum technologies, and engineering biology.
Online harm. The Alan Turing Institute reported that a majority of respondents thought that the government should be able to issue large fines for platforms that fail to deal with harmful content as it published new survey showing that a majority of the public had seen or received harmful content online at least once.
Early childhood. The Princess of Wales helped launch the new Business Taskforce for Early Childhood which following the creation of the Shaping Us campaign earlier last month will bring business leaders together to provide support and resources for young children.

SCHOOLS
Ofsted inspections. Teacher unions called for a pause in inspections and reform of the current system following the suicide of a headteacher whose school had been downgraded at a recent inspection.
Teacher recruitment and retention. The House of Commons Education Committee announced the launch of an inquiry into teacher recruitment and retention in state schools in England, looking at things like the current challenges, the impact of training and development and whether anything could be learned from other sectors.
Ghost children. The Centre for Social Justice called for more attendance monitors, increased support for schools and families, and improved attendance data as it published a further report highlighting the growing problem of children on roll but not in school.

FE/SKILLS
T levels. The government confirmed that it was changing requirements from this September so that when students took the Core and Core Project for the first time they didn’t have to take them in the same assessment series.
Careers in construction. The government outlined in a new blog how it was helping people access training and careers in construction, pointing to T levels, apprenticeships and Skills Bootcamps as among the valued routes into the sector.
10th Anniversary. The 5% Club, which encourages employers ‘to extend workplace learning schemes to 5% of their workforce within 5 years of joining the scheme,’ heralded its tenth anniversary with a Westminster reception and a growing list of employer organisations (currently 820) joining up.

HE
Cost-of-living. The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Students reported on its inquiry into the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on students with evidence form over 70 Student Unions and 800 individual students providing varying stories of how it was affecting their lives and studies, calling among other things for increased hardship funding, the restoration of maintenance grants, and the sharing of good support practice among universities.
LLE Bill. Wonkhe provided a helpful summary of the latest debate in the House of Commons on the Lifelong Learning Bill where a number of amendments particularly around costs and the application of a credit system were discussed but not adopted.
Cambridge impact. The consultancy London Economics reported on the economic value of Cambridge university to the UK economy pointing to a total impact of just under £30bn for 2020/21, based on research, teaching, direct spending and tourism.
 

EDT and ImpactEd publish report into benefits of school-led tutoring | EDT
Schools for All? Young people's experiences of alienation in the English secondary school system | Edge Foundation
Good Policy Making: What can we learn from past policies? | Edge Foundation
The perspectives of learners: How are schools developing employability skills? | Edge Foundation
Teacher Labour Market in England Annual Report 2023 | NFER
Fostering resilience by injecting executive challenge into early maths | Nuffield Foundation
 

The Bridge Group webinar on ‘Online Outreach: Lessons learned three years on’ (Monday 27 March).
Education Committee witness session on SEND (Tuesday 28 March).
The Campus webinar on ‘University Admissions: A Flawed Process?’ (Tuesday 28 March).
Bett 2023 (Wednesday 29 March-Friday 31 March).
UPP/HEPI seminar on the recent report on ‘Public Attitudes to Higher Education in England’ (Thursday 30 March).
 

Monday 27 March: Next steps for SEND system reform in England | Westminster Forum Projects (online event)
Tuesday 28 March: Successfully Preparing to Grow Your MAT | Inside Government (online event)
Tuesday 28 March: How to Embed Trauma-Informed Practice Across the Public Sector | Inside Government (online event)
Tuesday 28 March: The PIE Live: Europe | The Pie (in-person event)
Tuesday 28 March: Investing in Skills for Life | Lifelong Education Commission (in-person event)
Tuesday 28 March: Delivering Outstanding Phonics and Primary Literacy Lessons in Your School | Inside Government (online event)
Tuesday 28 March: Graduate Outcomes 2023: The Data Breakdown | Inside Government (online event)
Wednesday 29 March: Bett UK 2023 | Bett (in-person event)
Wednesday 29 March: Evidence, Evaluation & Impact: Delivering better outcomes for children | Children & Young People Now (in-person event)
Wednesday 29 March: Effective Deployment of Teaching Assistants | Inside Government (online event)
Thursday 30 March: NSS Reset 2023 | Inside Government (online event)

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MONDAY 27 MARCH
On this day in 1871 England and Scotland competed in the first international rugby match.
On this day in 1905 fingerprint evidence was used to solve a British murder case.
On this day in 1964 the strongest earthquake in American history rocked Alaska.

TUESDAY 28 MARCH
On this day in 1963 Alfred Hitchcock's movie 'The Birds' was released.
On this day in 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear power plant experienced a partial meltdown and radioactive leak.
On this day in 2017 the world's largest dinosaur footprint at 1.7 metres were found in Western Australia.

WEDNESDAY 29 MARCH
On this day in 1958 the Keeling Curve, showing the increase of carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere, was discovered.
On this day in 1973 the US withdrew from Vietnam two months after the signing of the Vietnam peace agreement.
On this day in 1974 Chinese farmers discovered the Terracotta Army in Xi'an, China.

THURSDAY 30 MARCH
On this day in 1867 the United States bought Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million.
On this day in 1959 the Dalai Lama fled China and was granted political asylum in India.
On this day in 1981 US President Ronald Reagan was shot in the chest by a lone gunman outside a hotel in Washington DC.

FRIDAY 31 MARCH
On this day in 1889 the Eiffel Tower officially opened in Paris.
On this day in 1964 following a coup d'etat, a military dictatorship took charge in Brazil.
On this day in 1991 after 36 years in existence, the Warsaw Pact came to an end.
 

MARCH IS: 
 
WORLDWIDE:
Endometriosis Awareness Month, National Nutrition Month, National Irish-American Heritage Month, Deep-Vein Thrombosis Awareness Month, Brain Injury Awareness Month, Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, Mustache March, National Save Your Vision Month.
UK:
National Bed Month, Walk All Over Cancer, Endo The Night, Dechox, Marie Curie Great Daffodil Appeal, Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, Brain Tumour Awareness Month, 100 Miles In March For Mind, Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, Veggie Month.

 
THIS WEEK IS:
 
WORLDWIDE:
National Cleaning Week, Nanodays, National Physicians Week, World Autism Acceptance Week.
UK:
The Great British Spring Clean, The Big Walk and Wheel. 

 
MONDAY 27 MARCH
 
WORLDWIDE:
International Medical Science Liaison Day, National Scribble Day, National Spanish Paella Day, National Joe Day, World Theatre Day, Celebrate Exchange Day.


TUESDAY 28 MARCH
 
WORLDWIDE:
National Triglycerides Day, National Black Forest Cake Day, National Something On A Stick Day, National Weed Appreciation Day, American Diabetes Association Alert Day, Virtual Advocacy Day, National Protocol Officer's Week.


WEDNESDAY 29 MARCH
 
WORLDWIDE:
National Nevada Day, National Vietnam War Veterans Day, National Little Red Wagon Day, National Lemon Chiffon Cake Day, National Mom And Pop Business Owners Day, Manatee Appreciation Day, Niagara Falls Runs Dry Day, Texas Loves the Children Day.
 

THURSDAY 30 MARCH
 
WORLDWIDE:
National Virtual Vacation Day, National Turkey Neck Soup Day, National Pencil Day, National Doctors Day, National I Am In Control Day, National Take A Walk In The Park Day, World Bipolar Day, Spiritual Baptist Liberation Day, International Day of Zero Waste.


FRIDAY 31 MARCH

WORLDWIDE:
National Crayon Day, National Prom Day, Take Down Tobacco National Day Of Action, National Clams On The Half Shell Day, National Bunsen Burner Day, National Tater Day, Transgender Day of Visibility.
UK:
Wear A Hat Day.