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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:
Education Committee concerns on Grok. The Chair of the Education Committee wrote to the Chief Exec of Ofcom raising concerns about the use of the Grok AI chatbot, supporting Ofcom’s decision to launch a formal investigation into the matter and calling on Ofcom to keep them appraised of any progress.
DCMS. The NAO reported on the work of the Dept for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) supported 4.9m jobs and generated £220bn in economic activity in 2023, largely through tourism, sport and the creative industries.
Business confidence. The consultancy Deloitte published the results of its recent survey among Chief Finance Officers (CFOs) indicating an uptick in confidence with 59% of respondents, up 20% on 2024, optimistic about the potential of AI in boosting performance.
Business recruitment. The British Chambers of Commerce published its latest Quarterly Recruitment Outlook showing fewer than a quarter of surveyed firms expecting to increase the size of their workforce over the next three months, with construction, manufacturing and retail continuing to struggle with recruitment.
Infants and screen time. The government published further evidence from its commissioned research study into children growing up in the 2020s, looking here at the learning environment and screen time among two-year olds and finding just over half reading or looking at books daily but nearly all watching TV or screens each day.
Children’s homes. The children’s commissioner published a further report into the use of illegal homes being used to house vulnerable children, showing that caravans, Airbnbs and so on are still widely being used especially for teens, calling for more foster care and therapeutic homes generally.
Early years. The National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) called for ‘fair and sustainable funding’ and support for private, voluntary and independent nurseries as it launched a new publicity campaign highlighting their work. SCHOOLS:
Exams 2026. Ofqual published its regular guidance for schools and colleges as well as for students, on the arrangements and important information for this year’s exams, covering everything from new specs in some GCSE languages, to how grading works, to access and contingency procedures.
SEND training. The government announced a package of ‘flexible’ training and resources to help provide teaching staff in early years, schools and colleges from next year with the tools needed to support SEND provision. SEND reform. Leading campaigners and other organisations joined with the new Save Our Children’s Rights (SOCR) campaign to make sure education, health and care plans (EHCPs) were protected ahead of proposed reform plans, following rumours that they could be under threat.
Use of AI in marking. Ofqual published a commissioned research report into the use of AI in high-stakes marking suggesting that along with other measures it had value as a quality assurance tool and in training markers but that greater clarity was needed on its intended use, the nature of the qualification in question and interpretation of results before being used for any high-stakes marking.
Nervous about maths. The Richmond Project, a charity founded by the Sunaks with the aim of helping families in particular with using numbers, reported on a new commissioned survey showing the extent of people’s anxiety over maths, pledging funds for two organisations to help families and schools with maths.
Recruiting more physics teachers. The NFER acknowledged in a new Gatsby funded report that the recruitment of physics teachers had improved recently but that future curriculum changes among other things meant more would be needed, pointing to the importance of bursaries and early career payments as ways of helping boost numbers. FE/SKILLS:
Industrial Strategy Update. The government published the latest quarterly report on its Industrial Strategy with a series of charts and investment details for each of the eight key industrial sectors, along with supportive developments undertaken in the wider business environment.
The year ahead. Alice Gardner, CEO at Edge, looked ahead to some of the priorities for skills this year in a blog on the FE News website, pointing to planned apprenticeship changes, tackling NEETs issues and the potential emergence of V levels as likely big topics.
Local labour markets. The Learning and Work Institute outlined its work with the Institute for Employment Studies, commissioned by the government, on how best to monitor and support local labour markets with initial consultation due to complete this April.
Construction apprenticeships. The British Association of Construction Heads (BACH) wrote to the government expressing concerns about the impact of proposed apprenticeship reforms on the sector, arguing among other things that the complexity of the sector had not been recognised and that the quality assurance proposals would lower standards.
Management apprenticeships. The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) called on the government to retain all current management apprenticeships and to invest fully in management training generally, arguing that full training for managers was essential for future productivity. HE:
Top degrees. The Office for Students (OfS) published further analysis of degree classifications over time, extending its brief to include the years 2010/11 - 2023/24 and showing that while the number of top grades awarded has fallen in recent years it’s still above that of 2010, with the reasons behind this not fully clear.
Provider Panel. The OfS announced the members of its new Provider Panel that will work closely with the organisation providing advice and guidance on HE regulation.
Free speech. The HEPI reported on its recent survey among undergraduates on free speech issues, suggesting that the full picture is ‘nuanced and at times contradictory’ but that most feel free to speak their views and support the government’s current approach on the matter but that over a third would ban Reform from speaking at events in HE institutions.
University applications. The BBC ran through the financial implications and potential returns of going to university as the latest deadline for 2026 applications loomed this week.
To merge or not. Former VC Sir Chris Husbands examined the question of institutional mergers in a blog on the HEPI website, suggesting that while they may appear a popular option at times of financial stress, they may not be straightforward with weak government incentives, complex regulation issues and cultural differences among the challenges to be overcome.
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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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MPs Education Questions (Monday 19 January)
Launch of the OECD’s ‘Digital Education Outlook 2026’ (Monday 19 January)
Annual World Economic Forum of global leaders at Davos (Monday 19 – Friday 23 January)
BETT 2026 Conference with official opening by the Education Secretary on Day 1 (Wednesday 21 – Friday 23 January)
UCAS 2025 End of Cycle provider-level undergraduate data level release (Wednesday 21 January)
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Conferences and CPD opportunities
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Tuesday 20 January: Most-Able Pupils Conference 2026: Supporting Pupils from Disadvantaged Backgrounds | Government Events (online event)
Tuesday 20 - Wednesday 21 January: Governance Professionals Conference 2026 | AoC (online event)
Wednesday 21 January: Data Matters 2026 | HESA (in-person event)
Wednesday 21 - Friday 23 January: Bett UK | BETT (in-person event)
Thursday 22 January: Literacy and Oracy Conference | ASCL (in-person event)
Thursday 22 January: Safeguarding and Prevent, Your Essential Update: What You Need to Know | Skills & Education Group (online event)
Thursday 22 January: Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE) webinar for UK HEIs | UUK (online 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 19 JANUARY
On this day in 1983 Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie, also known as the Butcher of Lyon, was arrested in Bolivia.
TUESDAY 20 JANUARY
On this day in 1841 China ceded Hong Kong to the British during the First Opium War.
WEDNESDAY 21 JANUARY
On this day in 1976 the first Concordes with commercial passengers simultaneously took flight from London’s Heathrow Airport and Orly Airport outside Paris.
THURSDAY 22 JANUARY
On this day in 1901 Queen Victoria died at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight after a reign which lasted almost 64 years.
FRIDAY 23 JANUARY
On this day in 1045 Edward the Confessor, King of England, married Edith, daughter of the Earl of Godwin.
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