GENERAL: Cyber security. The government presented the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill for its First Reading incorporating proposals aimed at firming up defences in core public services like healthcare, transport and energy against cyber-attacks, regulating the security of national infrastructure and business networks, and strengthening regulatory powers where necessary.
Creative Futures. The government announced new funds to support the work of the Creative Futures programme which works with the (Idris) Elba Hope Foundation to provide training and opportunities for young people in a range of creative industries. Labour market picture. The ONS published the latest estimated quarterly figures for the UK labour market for July – Sept 2025, showing unemployment hitting 5% and earnings slowing but with little change to the economic inactivity rate and with vacancies stabilising.
Labour market outlook. The CIPD published its survey report on the UK labour market suggesting that it was ‘cooling,’ with more public sector employers expecting staff numbers to decrease rather than increase in the coming months and calling for more attention to be paid to workforce planning, including the impact of AI.
The view from here. The think tank Demos reported on its survey work into the thoughts and views of young people, suggesting these are much more nuanced than often thought, with many disappointed by politicians, worried about aspects like knife crime but remaining hopeful about the future.
Two-child limit. Over a hundred leading organisations signed up to an open letter calling on the government to commit to scrapping the two-child limit, as media speculation continued ahead of the Budget that the government might be looking at amending rather than scrapping a policy considered as important in tackling family poverty.
Building digital. The British Chambers of Commerce called for more to be done to strengthen the UK’s digital foundation especially around connectivity as it issued a report ahead of the Budget urging the Chancellor to commit to long term funding for both broadband and mobile connectivity programmes. SCHOOLS: School attendance. The government announced plans to improve school attendance by providing every school with ‘AI powered minimum attendance improvement targets’ and with links to new Attendance and Behaviour Hubs.
SEND reforms. The Chair of the Education Committee acknowledged the government’s decision to delay the Schools White Paper to allow for more time to consider SEND reforms but called for further detail on the work being done to develop the reforms and the timescale for implementing them.
SEND concerns. The County Councils Network published a new report ahead of its Conference next week arguing that the special needs system was in crisis, that the delay in reforms was exacerbating problems and that the government needed to ‘wipe the deficits’ they face from a massive rise in SEND demand. SEND matters. The NFER published new research showing ‘an uneven spread of pupils with SEND across mainstream schools,’ highlighting issues of resources, capacity and parental choice which they argue will need to be addressed in the forthcoming reforms.
Ofsted evaluation. Ofsted announced that it had commissioned IFF Research to undertake the formal independent evaluation of how its new inspection regime was operating, using a mix of surveys and qualitative research with the aim of producing a final evaluation report in 2027.
UTCs. The Policy Exchange think tank called for an expansion of University Technical Colleges (UTCs) and for them to be embedded in the school system as a way of helping tackle future skills needs.
Tackling controversial issues. The NIESR highlighted the key role that third-sector organisations can play in supporting schools to teach ‘controversial’ issues, arguing that the recent Curriculum Review’s support for Citizenship Education let alone the potential lowering of the voting age both provided key opportunities for such support to be built in. FE/SKILLS: NEET Review. The government announced a review of youth unemployment, to be led by former health minister Alan Milburn, to look in particular at the growing numbers of NEETs and the impact of mental health, and with the aim of producing an initial report next spring and a final report next summer.
College oversight. The government published further details on how it intends to oversee and strengthen college performance with new guidance covering the role of Regional Improvement Teams, the various triggers that could lead to intervention and the scale of support available.
Skills planning. The Joint Chief Execs of Skills England outlined in a new blog what the organisation was doing through analysis, reports and partnership working to help deliver on skills priorities, calling on people to add their thoughts to the consultation on the recent Skills White Paper.
Skills funding. City and Guilds provided a helpful explainer of the various funding streams and who pays for what when it comes to skills, following the recent Skills White Paper.
White Paper reflections. The AELP provided its perspective on the recent Skills White Paper arguing that while it offered some hopeful signs particularly in terms of partnership and aligning skills policy to skills needs, there were still question marks over unused levy funds, some apprenticeship developments and the speed of change.
Digital developments. The AoC and UfI VocTech Trust reported on their recent survey of digital and tech developments in FE suggesting a range of ongoing work but equally continuing challenges, setting out a roadmap for future work built around the three core areas of leadership, infrastructure and teaching/learning. HE:
Regulation Strategy. The OfS published a new ‘exemplary’ regulation strategy focused on the three areas of quality, student experience and support, and sector resilience, all designed to ensure students receive ‘the high-quality experience’ promised.
Degrees of social mobility. The Sutton Trust published a comprehensive report on the value and importance of increased participation in HE across a range of OECD countries, concluding that this had yet to improve earnings and social mobility in many cases, with family background continuing to play a decisive role.
Degree apprenticeships. The Education Policy Institute published a commissioned report into degree apprenticeships, reporting on their growth, outcomes and employer perspectives, finding much to welcome but underlining the need to widen access and tackle low completion rates in some sectors.
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