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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 Outlook. The IMF published a new statement on the UK economy, acknowledging the dangers to it from the Middle Eastern conflict but concluding that the economy remained ‘resilient,’ leading it to raise its growth forecast for the UK this year while highlighting the need to prioritise improving labour mobility, skills gaps and business investment for the future.
Labour market outlook. The ONS published unconfirmed data on the labour market for the first three months of the year, showing a slight rise in unemployment and in the rate of economic inactivity with worrying signs about a rise in youth unemployment and a fall in the vacancy rate generally.
Another Labour Market Outlook. The CIPD published its latest labour market report showing employer confidence remaining ‘subdued,’ particularly in sectors such as education and public admin, with a mixed picture on recruitment and pay growth.
Child Poverty. The IPPR think tank highlighted rising rates of child poverty among families with two working adults, let alone those in single-parent families, calling as a result for reform of the benefits system and tailored support for parents.
Crimes against business. The British Chambers of Commerce called for national action, including a single cyber-attack reporting system, as it published a new report showing increasing numbers of businesses facing theft, fraud, scams and cyber-attacks. SCHOOLS:
Online consultation. The Education Committee issued its response to the government’s consultation on online issues, arguing that “online harms affecting children are widespread, severe and systemic” and calling among other things for a statutory ban on social media for children, along with action to curb addictive design features for under 18s and treat online harms to children as ‘a safeguarding and public health issue.’
SEND plans. The Education Secretary affirmed proposals to legislate for SEND reform and announced plans to form an International SEND Alliance to share actions and best practice as she addressed the Education World Forum.
SEND lessons from abroad. The i-newspaper looked at how other countries were tackling SEND and inclusion issues, noting that “every system faces the same challenge” with Italy for example going for integration but on limited funds, Finland going for early intervention but on lower identification rates, and France adopting a mixed approach of integrated and specialist provision.
SEND provision. The NFER raised concerns in a new report about SEND provision being concentrated in a small number of mainstream schools in England, arguing that this creates pressures on resources and staffing, and makes the sharing of best practice and wider accessibility more difficult.
Exclusions. FFT Education Datalab looked into the timing of pupil exclusions and what impact allowing disruptive behaviour to run over a number of years can have on other pupils, concluding that the most ‘striking’ negative effects are clear at Yr 9.
School-based nurseries. The Sutton Trust and Social Market Foundation highlighted what they called ‘a sizeable reality gap’ between the government’s ambitions for school based nurseries and the current rate of progress, pointing in a new report to issues such as staff costs, lack of suitable space and questions over whether schools really were the best places for such provision.
Boarding schools. The government published national minimum standards for the protection of children in boarding schools, with updates to the 2015 standards covering areas such as ‘boarding accommodation,’ ‘health and wellbeing,’ and ‘staffing and supervision.’
Working together. The National Audit Office (NAO) recommended a number of ways in which the DfE could ‘strengthen its oversight of local bodies’ in working to deliver best outcomes for children and young people, listing in a new report eight in particular including having a clear and coherent vision, being transparent, and using outcome data to make informed decisions. FE/SKILLS: Implementation Plan. The government published its promised implementation plan for the new post-16 qualifications and pathways following consultation, setting out the key dates, regulatory and licensing arrangements, and transition details for the new system of 16-19 qualifications.
NEET risk factors. The government looked into the main risk factors in becoming NEET, pointing in a new analysis to having an EHCP, being absent from school particularly at KS4 and poor GCSE attainment as being key determinants.
NEET trends. The IfS offered its assessment of the current problems around NEETs and youth employment, pointing to structural changes in the economy particularly affecting young people including, youth mental health, AI and changes to minimum wages, and arguing that these need to be better understood before applying policy solutions.
NEET experiences. Policy Adviser Peter Hyman and colleagues reported for the Milburn Review on their interviews with young people across the country and their experiences of being NEET, highlighting the barriers and challenges many faced, the frustrations of failing to secure opportunities and the rut they felt of wasting years in their bedrooms as a result.
FE Workforce. The data body, School Dash, published further data on its analysis of college recruitment activity up to last December, showing that the majority of adverts were for support roles, construction and engineering were the most commonly sought after subjects for teaching positions, and references to flexible working were evident in abut 40% of adverts.
Numeracy counts. The charity National Numeracy heralded this year’s annual National Numeracy Day by highlighting the heavy cost to the economy of low levels of numeracy, amounting to some £25bn pa, and calling for more support at a local level as it revealed wide regional gaps in numeracy levels. HE:
Stakeholder survey. The OfS published the report on its stakeholder survey into perceptions of the organisation, finding pretty mixed views into how the Office was perceived by providers, 35% positive and 32% negative, albeit with some sense of things improving in recent months and recognition of the need for a regulator for HE.
‘I have a complaint.’ The OIA announced consultation on proposals intended to simplify and improve its student complaints Scheme, including reducing to six months the time slot for bringing a complaint, clarifying respective roles and remits, and setting clear principles for future action.
Sussex case. The OfS confirmed that it would not seek to appeal over the recent Sussex judgement, arguing that it wanted to look to the future and in particular to a new complaints scheme and improved regulatory arrangements.
AI policies. Edinburgh Napier Professor Sam Illingworth reported for HEPI on AI policies in UK universities, finding a mixed picture with policies difficult to find, confusing language and little clarity of the role of students, suggesting as a result five student-centre AI policies for future consideration.
AI concerns. King’s College published a new research report on AI showing that over a quarter of students use it daily, mainly in helping write or edit text or to carry out research yet many have found factual errors and inaccuracies when using it, while for the general public there are concerns about the impact of AI on jobs and a number even fear it will generate civil unrest.
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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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Parliamentary recess and likely release of initial Milburn Report on NEETs
Release of latest NEET figures (Thursday 28 May)
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Conferences and CPD opportunities
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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 25 MAY
On this day in 1961 John F Kennedy announced the US goal of putting a man on the moon before the end of decade.
TUESDAY 26 MAY
On this day in 1927 Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company produced the last (and fifteen-millionth) Tin Lizzie, Model T Ford.
WEDNESDAY 27 MAY
On this day in 1851 the world's first chess tournament was held in London.
THURSDAY 28 MAY
On this day in 2014 celebrated American poet, author and civil rights activist Maya Angelou died at her home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
FRIDAY 29 MAY
On this day in 1453 the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, Constantinople, fell signalling the end of the Byzantine Empire.
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