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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: Reforming Jobcentres. The House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee published its report into Jobcentres calling for a shift in their focus from monitoring compliance with benefit conditions towards employment support.
Insecure work. The TUC highlighted the extent of so-called insecure work, typically agency, seasonal and zero hours contract work, in a new report timed for its Annual Congress, with women and those in care ,leisure, service and elementary occupations most likely to be affected.
Health and wellbeing at work. The CIPD and Simplyhealth pointed to ‘a sharp increase in sickness absence’ at work with mental health and stress the main causes, acknowledging the work being done in many companies to support employee wellbeing but calling for stronger support, funding and statutory schemes where necessary.
Labour market. The Recruitment and Employment Confederation and KPMG published their latest Jobs Report pointing to a sharp rise in staff availability and further reduction in permanent placements over the last month, albeit with regional and sector variations
Generation New Era. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) announced a new cohort study, the first since the Millennium Cohort Study at the start of the century, looking on this occasion at children born in 2026 with a view to building a picture of childhood across Britain in the 21stc.
Education at a Glance. The OECD published its 2025 major survey of education systems across member countries focusing this year on tertiary education and pointing to a successful system in the UK with high participation and attainment/completion rates, albeit at high levels of cost and financial pressure. SCHOOLS: School accountability. The government published its approach to school accountability following earlier consultation, outlining a set of revised principles, new digital school profiles and mix of inspection, intervention and support mechanisms that will be introduced over the coming months.
Ofsted inspections. Ofsted set out its revised inspection approach due from 10 November incorporating a new 5-point grading scale, a refined set of 6 evaluation areas and a new report card system, claiming that it had broad support for such changes and would continue to focus on ‘the wellbeing and workload of providers.’
Inspection response. The NAHT reported that school leader members ‘overwhelmingly rejected’ Ofsted new inspection plans, citing negative impact on wellbeing, lack of trust, increased workload and lack of meaningful change among their concerns in a snap poll.
Schools’ Plan. The children’s commissioner highted the extent and range of children’s needs both inside and outside of school as she published the results of her major new survey report, finding support systems for young people variable and calling ultimately for ‘a new vision’ of education with Local Mission Boards, statutory support where necessary and services beyond the school gate.
SEND reform. The IfS examined some of the issues around SEND reform arguing that while it could be costly, doing nothing could be more expensive, arguing for improved supply-side provision and accountability. Missing school. The Centre for Social Justice reported on school absences, pointing to a dangerously cavalier attitude among some families about the importance of attending school, highlighting the damage this can do young people’s prospects and calling for more mentors, enrichment activity and Family Hubs to help tackle the issue.
Missing school and links to mental health. Loughborough University and the ONS highlighted links between children missing school and experiencing mental health issues in a new study, looking at data in England from 2021-2022 and concluding that school absence and mental health issues often become ‘a vicious cycle.’
Schools absence. FFT Education Datalab examined whether missing the first week of term was critical for tackling persistent absence suggesting that while missing any weeks was potentially damaging, missing the start of term put pupils in secondary schools, especially those with SEN, at greater risk of persistent absence.
School admissions. The Sutton Trust reported on its work looking into school admissions suggesting that there’re still a lot of misconceptions about parental choice with housing, finances and logistics key factors.
Tackling disadvantage. The Education Endowment Foundation pointed to new research showing low literacy skills, poor attendance and mental health needs as key barriers to improved performance for disadvantaged pupils, calling for schools to focus pupil premium support on high-quality teaching and targeted support as ways of helping.
Off the RAAC. The government claimed that more than half of schools and colleges affected by RAAC had now had the dangerous concrete removed or were well on the way to having it removed.
Data breaches. The Information Commissioner raised concerns that an increasing number of data breaches in schools over the last few years have been caused by pupils themselves, calling on schools and families to confront the issue with young people where necessary. FE/SKILLS: Ofsted inspections. Ofsted set out the details of its new inspection framework incorporating as promised a new 5-point grading scale and report card but with some changes to the evaluation areas for FE and skills providers around inclusion and ‘contribution to skills needs’ as explained in a dedicated toolkit.
Defence Colleges. The government announced as part of its Defence Industrial Strategy that it would fund and support five new Defence Technical Excellence Colleges, to open next year and provide skills training for both new and existing staff in the defence industry.
Plan for Young People. The TUC highlighted the growing issue of NEETs in a new report, calling for support in the form of a national jobs guarantee scheme, ringfenced high quality apprenticeship opportunities and investment in skills.
Youth Guarantee. The Learning and Work Institute examined likely challenges and opportunities around the Youth Guarantee in a report for the Youth Futures Foundation, pointing to concerns about the relationship between young people seeking work and the benefits system and calling among other things for dedicated Youth Employment Coaches and a Flexible Support Fund. HE:
New ‘super’ university. Greenwich and Kent Universities announced plans to work together and form a new multi-university grouping from 2026/27, creating the sector’s first ‘super university’ as financial pressures continue to mount.
Course closures. The Times Higher reported that nearly 4,000 courses had closed across UK universities over the past year, often in subjects like agriculture and food, physical and social sciences, but with less selective universities taking the biggest hits. Cold spots. The British Academy called for more collaboration between institutions and stronger regional partnerships to protect SHAPE (Social Sciences, Humanities, Arts and the Economy) subjects, which it argued in a new report were increasingly being squeezed out, leaving some students unable to access to such subjects.
OECD report. HEPI Director Nick Hillman summarised some of the details from the OECD’s latest survey of global education systems which focused on tertiary education, highlighting some of the strengths of the UK system such as high completion rates in HE but equally some of the concerns, such as the poor returns for those with low qualifications.
Supporting industrial strategy. Universities UK published a series of case studies showing the work universities were doing in providing skills and support for each of the key growth areas in the government’s recent Industrial Strategy.
Research at Risk. Universities UK, ARMA and CaSE highlighted the challenging financial scenarios facing many institutions when it comes to research with some having to cut back on activity and having to restrict options, calling on the government to recognise the importance of research in its Budget thinking.
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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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Westminster Hall debate on children with SEND (Monday 15 September)
Learning and Work Institute/Pearson webinar on ‘Occupational standards and the changing needs of the economy’ (Wednesday 17 September)
Edge webinar on ‘How to engage more small businesses and young people in apprenticeships’ (Thursday 18 September)
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Conferences and CPD opportunities
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Monday 15 September: Next steps for early years and childcare in England | Westminster Forum (online event)
Monday 15 September: The Effective Subject Leader for RE | NATRE (online event)
Tuesday 16 September: Amplifying digital storytelling to elevate higher education marketing | THE (online event)
Tuesday 16 September: Primary - Understanding Christianity | NATRE (online event)
Tuesday 16 September: Festivals spotlight: Christmas | NATRE (online event)
Tuesday 16 - Thursday 18 September: UKFIET Conference 2025 | UKFIET (in-person event)
Wednesday 17 September: Mentoring your RE ECT | NATRE (online event)
Wednesday 17 September: Innovate, Craft and Thrive: Your Professional Development Journey | EducationScape (online event)
Thursday 18 September: Next steps for AI and skills in England | Westminster Forum (online event)
Thursday 18 September: Peaceful and Purposeful Discussion in RE | NATRE (online event) |
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MONDAY 15 SEPTEMBER
On this day in 1997 Google.com was registered as a domain name.
TUESDAY 16 SEPTEMBER
On this day in 1620 the Mayflower sailed from Plymouth bound for the Americas with 102 passengers.
WEDNESDAY 17 SEPTEMBER
On this day in 1976 NASA publicly unveiled its first space shuttle, the Enterprise, during a ceremony in Palmdale, California.
THURSDAY 18 SEPTEMBER
On this day in 1809 the Royal Opera House opened in London with a performance of Macbeth.
FRIDAY 19 SEPTEMBER
On this day in 1356 English forces under Edward the Black Prince defeated the French at the Battle of Poitiers.
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