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LOOKING BACK AT THE WEEK THAT WAS
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The main stories from the papers
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The latest announcements and policy news
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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, and all the not-to-be-missed statistics.
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GENERAL: Economic growth. The EY ITEM Club issued its Spring Forecast downgrading its growth projections for the UK both for this year and next, pointing to ‘global trade disruption and subsequent market disruption’ as key factors, with a ‘normal’ growth level of around 1.5% only expected by 2027.
AI adoption. The Institute of Directors (IoD) reported business leaders fairly enthusiastic about the benefits of AI but equally concerned about some of the barriers of adoption including security risks, low levels of understanding and limited staff expertise, as it published the results of its latest survey on AI among business leaders.
Online protection. The children’s commissioner raised concerns about ‘deepfake’ sexual abuse of children in a new report, calling on the government to bring in a ban on apps that use AI to generate this sort of material, along with specific legal responsibilities on developers. SCHOOLS:
Inspection proposals. Leading players wrote an open letter to the Education Secretary expressing concern about some of Ofsted’s proposed inspection reforms, including notably the report card and the grading scale, calling for any implementation to be delayed for further discussion and review.
Regulator strategy. Ofqual published a new three-year strategy built around five principles including overall stewardship and, where appropriate, strengthening of the qualification market, innovating in areas like assessment, engaging and developing systems and processes as necessary.
Pay and rations. The government indicated that if the pay review body ended up recommending a pay rise for teachers this year of around 4%, as opposed to the government’s recommended 2.8%, this would have to come out of school budgets.
Teacher workforce. The NAO reported on teacher recruitment and retention and government initiatives in this area, indicating that recruitment at secondary level in particular remains ‘a challenge’ with growing student numbers and calling on the government to publish a delivery plan for meeting its pledge of 6,500 extra teachers by the end of this parliament.
On the RISE. The government announced a big increase in the number of advisers able to support so-called ‘stuck’ schools, as part of a further expansion of the RISE (Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence) programme.
CPD. The IPPR think tank and Ambition Institute highlighted the importance of continuous professional development (CPD) for teachers in a new report, calling on government to support a new funded training entitlement built around a core set of recognised qualifications that could help raise school standards.
Quality teaching. The Education Policy Institute called for dedicated retention incentives, enhanced leadership and more professional development for those working in disadvantaged schools as it published a new commissioned report pointing to disadvantaged schools often having the least experienced teachers and leaders and facing higher turnover than other schools.
Pupil absences. FFT Education Datalab added further detail on the picture of pupil absences for the last two terms suggesting a slightly improving story but with unauthorised absences, particularly at secondary level, remaining high.
Reducing school absences. The Institute for Government examined the issue of school absences suggesting that the cross-sectoral approach adopted by the Blair government could serve as a model and calling for much greater partnership working and the setting of a formal public goal for improvement.
Exams 2025. The boss of Ofqual sent out the traditional eve-of-exam season letter to school and college leaders setting out the expectations, guidance and support available this year and reminding them of a few specifics around tech and voc qualifications.
A level Economics. The Bank of England announced a new partnership programme with the University of Manchester to help beef up economics teaching in schools by offering funded training to deliver A level Economic alongside their core subject
Numeracy. Exam board AQA reported on the recent parliamentary reception for its proposed new numeracy ‘test’ which will encourage students to develop everyday numeracy skills which can then be assessed via a numeracy app.
Children’s reading. The Publishers Association set out what it called ‘some key steps’ on reversing the decline of children’s reading for pleasure, calling in a new report for the government to collect data on school library provision and for reading for enjoyment to be prioritised in the curriculum.
Private school fees. The i-newspaper reported that many parents with children in private schools were bracing themselves for a further fee increase ahead of the next school year which could see fees in some cases up by 20% in the space of 12 months.
Violence among children. The Youth Endowment Fund pointed in a new report to a growing trend of violence among children in different settings, putting forward a number of recommendations for education to help tackle this including setting up a joint strategy, creating a designated training grant and refocusing Pupil Premium funding.
School uniform. The government confirmed that as part of its current Schools Bill, schools will be formally limited to just three branded unform items per pupil, potentially saving families some £50 a year.
Moving to big school. The Early Years Alliance announced the launch of a costed toolkit and practical resources to help early years providers support children as they prepare to make their transition to school.
Early years. Ofsted reported on its recent research into the work of early years practitioners with case study evidence of how they support toddlers and young children as part of the early years foundation stage (EYFS,) highlighting the importance of the key person role and of practitioners holding requisite qualifications.
On the Wrack. The NASUWT re-opened nominations for its post of general secretary following a high court ruling brought by two claimants challenging the legality of the and appointment of Matt Wrack to the post. FE/SKILLS:
Teacher workforce. The NAO published its report into teacher recruitment and retention pointing to particular challenges facing FE with growing student numbers and poorly paid staff, calling for a review of the FE workforce model to assess how far it’s fit for purpose.
NEET opportunities. The British Chambers of Commerce called on employers to confront skill shortages by taking on more young people and for the government to widen the youth guarantee to include all 16 – 24 yr olds, as it published a new report on tackling the growing number of young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs.)
Post-16 High Needs. AELP highlighted the growing numbers of post-16 learners with high and often more complex needs, calling in a new blog for ‘a fairer and more consistent’ funding formula for post-16 High Needs generally.
Who does what in the skills sector. AELP published a handy guide on who does what in the skills sector, explaining each of the five main oversight bodies including the newly formed Skills England, along with a listing of key organisations and their functions as well as useful acronyms.
EuroSkills. WorldSkills UK announced the team that will head to Denmark this September to take part in the EuroSkills competition ahead of next year’s ‘skills Olympics’ in China. HE:
Comparative research. The Russell Group reported on its commissioned research into how other countries go about R/D and what lessons there might be for the UK, pointing among other things to the importance of performance-based block grant funding, collaboration with industry and system efficiencies.
Annual report. The Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) published its annual report for 2024 showing an increase in complaints received over the year, often from more vulnerable students, and largely around academic appeals and some service issues.
Student health. Wonkhe reported on the results of its latest polling along with the agency Cibyl on student health issues, revealing a pretty mixed picture with many students finding the student experience quite challenging with mental health, academic and cost of living pressures all referenced and with health support not always readily available.
Student mental health. The House of Commons Library Service published a briefing on student mental health in England indicating a growing upward trend leading to impacts on academic performance, dropout rates and likely self-harm, but pointing also to a growth in government policy and university support in this area.
Partnership working. The Russell Group published a briefing along with case study evidence of how its members are working with local employer and regional bodies, including some colleges, to help address local skill needs.
Student tutoring. Lee Elliot Major reported on how the University of Exeter had developed a ‘pioneering’ tutoring programme in which student tutors used course placements to deliver basic literacy support to local schools, helping raise attainment and strengthen connections between the university and local schools.
Digi skills. The OU and Institute of Coding advertised their free ‘Click Start’ programme that will run until the end of this September, offering a mix of online learning and expert webinars covering cyber, coding and AI skills, and aimed particularly at filling digital skills gaps for 18-35 year olds.
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Research, reports and studies published this week
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COMING UP IN THE NEXT WEEK
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Important reports, deadlines and government events
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NAHT Annual Conference 2025 (Friday 2 – Saturday 3 May)
Education Committee evidence session on the Curriculum and Assessment Review (Tuesday 6 May)
Westminster Hall Debate on the Dedicated School Grant (Tuesday 6 May)
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Conferences and CPD opportunities
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Monday 05 May: Understanding Christianity - Secondary | NATRE (online event)
Wednesday 07 May: Introducing A Religion and Worldviews Approach | NATRE (online event)
Wednesday 07 May: Developing your coaching skills | BTS Spark (in-person event) |
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Running an education-related event that you'd like to see included in our calendar? Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with details and a link to the booking info. If we believe it's relevant to our readers we will consider publishing it.
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MONDAY 05 MAY
On this day in 1921 fashion designer Coco Chanel officially debuted her iconic perfume Chanel No 5.
TUESDAY 06 MAY
On this day in 2001 during a trip to Syria Pope John Paul II became the first pope to enter a mosque.
WEDNESDAY 07 MAY
On this day in 2012 palaeoclimatological research claimed dinosaurs may have heated the earth by releasing huge amounts of methane.
THURSDAY 08 MAY
On this day in 1886 the world's first Coca-Cola was served at Jacobs' Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia.
FRIDAY 09 MAY
On this day in 1941 British intelligence at Bletchley Park broke German spy codes after capturing Enigma machines aboard the weather ship Muenchen.
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