Few would disagree that high-quality further education (FE) and skills development are critical, particularly in the current climate. Unfortunately, due to poor policy memory, education professionals also often bypass opportunities to learn from past successes and failures. To tackle this, on March 9th, Edge hosted a webinar exploring the history of education policy in England. 150 attendees evidenced the fact that there is a clear appetite among education professionals to learn more about this topic. Chaired by Jonathan Slater, former Permanent Secretary of the Department for Education, here’s a taste of the discussion.
Andrea Laczik, Head of Research at the Edge Foundation, kicked things off by exploring Edge’s recent Learning from the Past policy review series. This explored past policy initiatives ranging from young apprenticeships to 14-19 Diplomas. While the reviews reveal insights into specific policy successes and failures, taken together, they also highlight some more general themes, which Andrea outlined. She noted, for instance, the importance of providing sufficient time to pilot and evaluate initiatives before rolling them out nationally.
In addition, to deliver meaningful change, she explained that we must consider local contexts and partnerships, and the critical roles of funding and resources. To drive effective, evidence-based policymaking, ensure stability and continuity, Edge’s broad recommendations include establishing longer-term objectives, using clear success metrics, placing more value on subject matter experts, and co-develop policy that can be implemented and delivered.
