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 Jobs report. The Recruitment and Employment Confederation and KPMG published their latest survey report on UK jobs showing a further slight drop in permanent hires and an increase in temporary positioning as economic uncertainty continued to blight the recruitment market. Early Years. The Early Years Education and Childcare Coalition called for ‘urgent action to rescue the sector from its current staffing crisis’ if it is to meet government expectations on expanded childcare, pointing to 50,000 new professionals needed for each of the next two years amid concerns about pay, workloads and retention. Online disinformation. UNESCO set out a plan of action based on recent consultation and built around seven key principles including clear regulation and platform accountability, to tackle what it called ‘the intensification of disinformation and hate speech online’.
SCHOOLS Ofsted. The Guardian passed its verdict on Ofsted in an Editorial suggesting that an undue focus on accountability had come at the expense of a qualified workforce and a lack of post-pandemic support, calling for a better understanding of the issues including from parents and teachers as part of any remedy. Funding. Four education unions called on the Chancellor ‘to prioritise’ education in the forthcoming Autumn Statement with a £1.7bn increase in funding for 2024/5 so as to protect them from further cuts and recruit and retain teachers. School attendance. The children’s commissioner expressed continuing concern about pupils missing school and notwithstanding the lack of any announcement in the King’s Speech called on the government to consider future steps including a formal absence register and statutory guidance on attendance generally.
FE/SKILLS Skills training. The government pledged £200m to support skills training in key sectors such as construction, digital and green energy, targeted at meeting local needs identified through local skills improvement plans. (LSIPs.) Skills map. Pearson launched a useful Skills Map of England, looking at the different regions across the country to see where jobs and opportunities were expanding or reducing and how these related to future jobs and skills, arguing for a more nuanced approach to skills policy as automation seemingly changed rather than destroyed jobs. L3 reforms. The House of Commons Library Service published a helpful explainer of the L3 qualification reforms and the proposed new Advanced British Standard (ABS,) running through the background to the reforms, how the new system is intended to work, what’s happening to particular qualifications, and the various reactions to the reforms.
HE Universities and AI. The think tank Demos in partnership with the University of London examined how universities could best prepare students with the skills needed to operate in a world of rapid change driven by AI, particularly when it’s not yet fully understood, making the case for the incorporation of what it called GRASP (general relational, analytical, social and personal) skills. Tuition fees. Data expert Dr Mark Corver reflected in an extended blog on the HEPI on the funding system for undergraduates in UKHE suggesting it was currently ‘in crisis’ and putting forward instead a system of advance payment, based on likely future salary, as a form of pre-payment investment by the student. Inclusive assessment. University Alliance reported on its latest research, gathered from a group of participating universities, on how inclusive assessment practices developed during the pandemic could be adopted for subsequent use, highlighting the pros and cons of the core inclusive attributes identified.
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MONDAY 13 NOVEMBER On this day in 1856 the Great Bell of Big Ben first chimed at the foot of the still-unfinished clock tower outside the Palace of Westminster. On this day in 1994 Sweden voted to join the EU with over half of Swedish citizens voting in the referendum. On this day in 2017 evidence of the world's earliest wine-making was uncovered in Georgia in clay pots dating from 6,000 BC.
TUESDAY 14 NOVEMBER On this day in 1856 American inventor Gail Borden was issued a patent for technology related to his invention of condensed milk. On this day in 1889 New York World reporter Nellie Bly began her successful attempt to surpass the fictitious journey of Jules Verne's Phileas Fogg by traveling around the world in under 80 days. On this day in 1908 Albert Einstein presented his quantum theory of light.
WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER On this day in 1891 World War II Field Marshall Erwin Rommel, popularly known as the Desert Fox, was born in Heidenheim, Germany. On this day in 1979 Sir Anthony Blunt was exposed as the mysterious fourth man in the Burgess-Maclean-Philby Soviet spy ring. On this day in 2017 Leonardo da Vinci's painting "Salvator Mundi" sold for $450.3 million at auction in New York.
THURSDAY 16 NOVEMBER On this day in 1532 Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro captured Inca Emperor Atahualpa after a surprise ambush in the Peruvian Andes. On this day in 1938 the psychedelic drug LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) was first synthesized by Swiss chemist Dr Albert Hofmann at the Sandoz Laboratories in Basel, Switzerland. On this day in 1959 “The Sound of Music” premiered on Broadway where it ran for 1,443 performances.
FRIDAY 17 NOVEMBER On this day in 1558 Elizabeth I ascended the English throne aged 25 upon the death of her half sister Queen "Bloody" Mary. On this day in 1922 Mehmed VI the last sultan of the Ottoman Empire was expelled to Malta on a British warship. On this day in 2003 bodybuilder and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger was sworn in as the governor of California.
Awareness days from around the world
NOVEMBER IS UK: Veg Pledge, Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, Mouth Cancer Action Month, National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), Lung Cancer Awareness Month. WORLDWIDE: National Diabetes Month, COPD Awareness Month, National Family Caregivers Month, National Career Development Month, National Scholarship Month, Movember - Men's Health Awareness Month, National Military Family Month, National PPSI Aids Awareness Month, National Medical Science Liaison (MSL) Awareness & Appreciation Month, National Pet Cancer Awareness Month, National Hospice & Palliative Care Month, Stomach Cancer Awareness Month, Worldwide Bereaved Siblings Month, World Vegan Month, Sweet Potato Awareness Month, Spinach And Squash Month, PTA Healthy Lifestyles Month, Prematurity Awareness Month, National Roasting Month, National Raisin Bread Month, National Pomegranate Month, National Pepper Month, National Peanut Butter Lovers Month, National Family Literacy Month, National Native American Heritage Month, National Marrow Awareness Month, National Long-term Care Awareness Month, National Life Writing Month, National Inspirational Role Models Month, National Impotency Month, National Home Care & Hospice Month, National Fun With Fondue Month, National Alzheimer's Disease Month, National Adoption Month, Historic Bridge Awareness Month, Gluten-free Diet Awareness Month, Family Stories Month, Epilepsy Awareness Month, Diabetic Eye Disease Month, Banana Pudding Lovers Month, Aviation History Month, Adopt A Senior Pet Month, National Gratitude Month.
THIS WEEK IS UK: Anti Bullying Week, Book Week Scotland, Science Week Ireland, Baby Week UK. WORLDWIDE: World Nursery Rhyme Week, World Wellbeing At Work Week, Geography Awareness Week, MADD Tie One On For Safety Holiday Campaign, Human-Animal Relationship Awareness Week, Transgender Awareness Week, National Young Readers Week.
MONDAY 13 NOVEMBER UK: Blue Wednesday, Odd Socks Day. WORLDWIDE: World Kindness Day, National Indian Pudding Day, World Orphans Day, National Hug a Musician Day, Symphonic Metal Day.
TUESDAY 14 NOVEMBER WORLDWIDE: World Diabetes Day, National Seat Belt Day, National Family PJ Day, National Spicy Guacamole Day, National Pickle Day, Operating Room Nurse Day, Loosen Up Lighten Up Day, Children’s Day, National American Teddy Bear Day.
WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER WORLDWIDE: World COPD Awareness Day, National Education Support Professionals Day, National Raisin Bran Cereal Day, Spicy Hermit Cookie Day, National Bundt Day, Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day, National Philanthropy Day, National Recycling Day, I Love to Write Day, GIS Day, National Drummer Day, Steve Irwin Day, Zinfandel Day.
THURSDAY 16 NOVEMBER WORLDWIDE: World Pancreatic Cancer Day, The Great American Smokeout, National Check Your Wipers Day, International Day for Tolerance, National Rural Health Day, National Indiana Day, National Button Day, National Fast Food Day, Guinness World Records Day, The Night of Hekate, Have a Party with Your Bear Day, Clarinet Day, Social Enterprise Day, Use Less Stuff Day, National Fast Food Day, Beaujolais Nouveau Day, World Philosophy Day.
FRIDAY 17 NOVEMBER WORLDWIDE: International Students' Day, National Butter Day, Substitute Educators Day, World Prematurity Day, International Happy Gose Day, National Homemade Bread Day, National Take a Hike Day, National Baklava Day, National Unfriend Day.
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