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, not-to-be-missed statistics and what to look out for next week. As your starter for ten, we've chosen three items from each phase below ...
GENERAL The big AI Safety Summit. The government released an introductory briefing paper setting out the key partners, working arrangements and sorts of AI risks and challenges it intended to focus on, as it continued the planning for its ‘big’ AI Safety Summit being hosted in early November. Youth offer. The government extended its programme of support for young people on benefits and closest to work to include economically inactive claimants as part of its continued push to getting more people back into work. Off work. The CIPD and Simplyhealth called for better preventative health and wellbeing strategies at work as they published a new report showing a big increase in workplace absences with stress and mental health a key factor in many cases.
SCHOOLS Pupil absences. The Education Committee published its report into pupil absences, acknowledging growing concerns about ‘severe’ and ‘persistent’ absences which have worsened since the pandemic but calling for a range of measures around mental health, mentors and family support, and the use of fines to help tackle the problem. School buildings. Leading education bodies including the unions wrote to the PM calling for a government commitment of ‘at least an extra £4.4bn pa’ in the forthcoming Autumn Statement to help tackle the problems in school buildings. National Tutoring Programme. Lib-Dem MP Munira Wilson pledged at her Party’s Annual Conference to a funded (£390m) programme of tutoring in schools and colleges in England to help students catch up in core subjects under a Lib-Dem government.
FE/SKILLS FE ITT. The government launched consultation on what it called ‘a more robust approach to building a sustainable teacher training system for FE,’ with funding eligibility from 2024/5 limited to courses delivered by or in partnership with universities, and ultimately for a new accreditation process for FE ITT providers generally. Skills Survey. The government published the Employer Skills Survey for 2022 based on survey evidence collected between June 2022 and March 2023 looking at issues such as training, recruitment and skills gaps, finding around a quarter of employers reporting a vacancy with a third of all vacancies being skill related but with a drop in reported training and per-employee spend on training. Skills shortages. The Social Market Foundation pointed to skills shortages as one of the big barriers to business scale-ups in a new commissioned report calling for better access to skilled support for key sectors as a result.
HE TEF results. The Office for Students (OfS) published results from the 2023 Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) exercise which saw separate ratings for each aspect of student experience and student outcomes for the first time, with at least 73 providers awarded a Gold for at least one aspect, 100 achieve a Silver and 29 a Bronze. World Rankings. The Times Higher published the latest World University Rankings with Oxford, Cambridge and Imperial again in the top ten at 1st, 5thand 8th position respectively but with the average ranking of UK universities dropping slightly as those of China and Australia improved. Degree apprenticeships. The OfS published arrangements for the distribution of funding (£40m) over the next two years to help develop degree apprenticeships with bids for the first of three intended bidding waves due in by 20 November 2023.
Conservative Party Conference (Sunday 01 October – Wednesday 04 October). Conference speech by the Education Secretary (Monday 02 October). Conference speech by the Prime Minister (Wednesday 04 October). National Poetry Day (Thursday 05 October).
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MONDAY 2 OCTOBER On this day in 1187 Muslim sultan Saladin captured Jerusalem from Crusaders ending nearly nine decades of occupation. On this day in 1902 Beatrix Potter's "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" was published by Frederick Warne & Co in London. On this day in 1944 Polish resistance fighters capitulated in the Warsaw Uprising allowing the pro-Soviet Polish administration to gain control of Poland.
TUESDAY 3 OCTOBER On this day in 1283 Dafydd ap Gruffydd, Prince of Gwynedd, Wales, became the first person to be executed by being hanged, drawn and quartered. On this day in 1863 US President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed an official Thanksgiving holiday following a pivotal Union Army victory at Gettysburg. On this day in 1952 the UK tested its first atomic bomb near the Montebello Islands in Western Australia.
WEDNESDAY 4 OCTOBER On this day in 1883 the Orient Express departed on its first official journey from Paris to Istanbul. On this day in 1957 the Soviet Union launched the world’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik I, into elliptical low Earth orbit. On this day in 2006 WikiLeaks, founded by Australian computer programmer and activist Julian Assange, was launched.
THURSDAY 5 OCTOBER On this day in 1969 the television sketch comedy series "Monty Python's Flying Circus" premiered on BBC1. On this day in 1989 the Dalai Lama won the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his nonviolent campaign to end the Chinese domination of Tibet. On this day in 2011 the visionary co-founder of Apple Inc, Steve Jobs, died of complications from pancreatic cancer.
FRIDAY 6 OCTOBER On this day in 1683 the first Mennonites arrived in America encouraged by the offer of land and the freedom to practice their religion. On this day in 1981 Anwar Sadat, the third president of Egypt, was assassinated by Islamic extremists. On this day in 2021 WHO's director general, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, hailed the world's first Malaria vaccine for children after a successful pilot program in Africa.
Awareness days from around the world
OCTOBER IS UK: Lupus Awareness Month, National Cholesterol Month, Go Sober For October, Pituitary Awareness Month, Unblocktober, Stoptober, Menopause Awareness Month, Breast Cancer Awareness Month. WORLDWIDE: National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, Eye Injury Prevention Month, Anaphylaxis Awareness Week, CMT Awareness Month (Charcot-Marie-Tooth), International Babywearing Month, Black History Month, ADHD Awareness Month, The Big Draw, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, International Walk to School Month, International School Library Month, National Bullying Prevention Month, Eye Injury Prevention Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, National Pitbull Awareness Month, Mental Health Month, Mental Health Month, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Canadian Library Month, Emotional Intelligence Awareness Month, National Physical Therapy Month, Dysautonomia Awareness Month, Family History Month, National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, National Fair Trade Month, Black Cat Awareness Month, National Pizza Month, SUDEP Action Month, Dyslexia Awareness Month, National Fire Prevention Month, Computer Learning Month, Down Syndrome Awareness Month.
THIS WEEK IS UK: Anaphylaxis Awareness Week, National Work Life Week, The Children's Trust Pyjama Week, National Hygiene Week, Backcare Awareness Week, Public Health Workforce Week, National Curry Week. WORLDWIDE: Dyslexia Awareness Week, World Space Week, Healthcare Foodservice Workers Week, Walk Your Dog Week.
MONDAY 2 OCTOBER WORLDWIDE: International Dysgraphia Awareness Day, National Custodial Worker Recognition Day, World Farm Animals Day, Audiophile Day, World Architecture Day, National Name Your Car Day, International Day of Non-Violence, World Day of Bullying Prevention, World Habitat Day, National Fried Scallops Day.
TUESDAY 3 OCTOBER UK: Buy British Day. WORLDWIDE: Child Health Day, National Boyfriend Day, National Techies Day, Virus Appreciation Day, National Fruit at Work Day.
WEDNESDAY 4 OCTOBER UK: No Disposable Cup Day. WORLDWIDE: National Vodka Day, National Taco Day, World Animal Day, Ship in A Bottle Day, Cinnamon Roll Day, National Golf Lovers Day, Canadian Beer Day, Improve Your Office Day, Random Acts of Poetry Day, National Pumpkin Seed Day, National Kale Day.
THURSDAY 5 OCTOBER UK: National Poetry Day. WORLDWIDE: National Do Something Nice Day, World Teachers Day, Balloons Around the World Day, Country Inn Bed & Breakfast Day, Chic Spy™ Day, Global James Bond Day, Bring Your Bible to School Day, National Get Funky Day.
FRIDAY 6 OCTOBER UK: National Badger Day. WORLDWIDE: National Transfer Money to Your Daughter Day, Plaidurday, Wakey Wakey Hospice PJ Day, National Physician Assistant Day, World Smile Day, National Noodle Day, National Mad Hatter Day, World Cerebral Palsy Day, Inbox Zero Day, Kids Music Day.
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