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: Budget speech. The Chancellor outlined the details for what he claimed was ‘a Budget for long-term growth’ in the traditional Chancellor’s speech, arguing that the economy had turned a corner and announcing among other things a further 2p reduction in NICs, a Productivity Plan to improve public sector delivery, and new funding for digital transformation in the NHS. Cost-of-living. The Youth Select Committee published its report into the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on young people based on evidence collected last autumn, highlighting a range of challenges that young people face and calling among other things for better access to mental health support, an extension of free school meals and an Essentials Guarantee to cover the basics ibn life. Children in need. The children’s commissioner reported on provision for children on child in need plans finding significant variation between what happens to different groups and in different authorities, calling as a result for greater consistency on the thresholds for support and clarity of guidance for all.
SCHOOLS: Ofsted inspections. Sir Martyn Oliver, Ofsted Chief Inspector, announced the launch of a major review of Ofsted inspections in the form of a 3-month ‘Big Listen,’ focusing on four core themes including how it carries out inspections and reports its findings and pledging to put the interests of young people, especially disadvantaged children, at its heart. Pay award. The NAHT published its evidence to the Pay Body looking into this year’s pay award, arguing that teacher vacancies are currently ‘at their highest for over a decade,’ and calling accordingly for ‘a double digit’ pay rise. Complaints. The TES reported on the rising problem of vexatious complaints facing many schools, where increasing numbers of social media channels have made complaining more accessible and stretched public services and cost-of-living concerns have left people feeling more anxious, putting school leaders under pressure and calling for a system review.
FE/SKILLS: Budget reaction. The AoC issued its reaction to this week’s Budget deriding it as ‘a missed opportunity’ to tackle such issues as the ‘unfair’ VAT rules let alone investing in future skills. Youth skills. Youth Employment UK and the National Citizen Service (NCS) announced plans to work together and help prepare young people for the world of work by collaborating on learning resources, Skills Booster programmes and through the upcoming Youth Census. LSIPs. City and Guilds outlined in a comment piece on their website how Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) were changing the adult skills landscape by helping to align employer needs with local provision, arguing at the same time for further regional approaches.
HE: Student experience 2024. The UPP Foundation Student Futures Commission reported on its survey of students three years on from its initial post-Covid manifesto, finding on the plus side a positive return to academic learning for many, but on the negative side ‘mounting challenges around the cost of learning crisis, feelings of apathy, and the expectation gap.’ Foundation courses. The HE Policy Institute (HEPI) examined foundation courses in a new report, noting that these have risen significantly in recent years, leading to mounting concerns about their use and impact and calling for better oversight of their funding and quality. Free speech. Universities UK issued its response to the OfS consultation on regulating students’ unions on free speech noting that while guidance can be helpful, the OfS should recognise that most unions have charitable status and limited funds, both of which need to be recognised.
MPs Education Questions. (Monday 11 March). Education Committee witness session on the impact of screen time. (Tuesday 12 March). Wonkhe’s ‘The Secret Life of Students’ event. (Tuesday 12 March). Second Reading of Flick Drummond’s Private Member’s Bill on registers and support for Children Not in School. (Friday 15 March).
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MONDAY 11 MARCH On this day in 1851 Giuseppe Verdi's opera 'Rigoletto' premiered at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Italy. On this day in 1990 Lithuania became the first Soviet republic to declare its independence. On this day in 2011 the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster struck Japan after a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami caused the nuclear meltdown.
TUESDAY 12 MARCH On this day in 1894 Coca-Cola was sold in glass bottles for the first time in a candy store in Vicksburg, Mississippi. On this day in 1918 Vladimir Lenin shifted Russia's capital from Petrograd (St Petersburg) to Moscow in expectation of foreign invasion. On this day in 1930 Mahatma Gandhi began his famous 200-mile protest march against the widely hated British salt tax in India.
WEDNESDAY 13 MARCH On this day in 1781 William Herschel discovered the planet Uranus, the third largest planet by radius in the solar system. On this day in 1881 Tzar Alexander II was assassinated in St Petersburg during a bombing by a member of the revolutionary People's Will group. On this day in 2003 the journal Nature reported that 350,000-year-old footprints of an upright-walking human had been found in Italy.
THURSDAY 14 MARCH On this day in 1879 Albert Einstein, one of the most creative minds in human history, was born in Ulm, Germany. On this day in 1900 Dutch botanist Hugo de Vries rediscovered Gregor Mendel's laws of heredity and genetics. On this day in 2017 the world's oldest golf club, Muirfield in Scotland, voted to admit women as members for the first time in 273 years.
FRIDAY 15 MARCH On this day in 44 BC Julius Caesar was assassinated by Brutus, Cassius and several other Roman senators in Rome on the Ides of March. On this day in 1962 five research groups announced the discovery of anti-matter. On this day in 1985 the first internet domain name, symbolics.com was registered.
Awareness days from around the world
MARCH IS UK: National Bed Month, Marie Curie Great Daffodil Appeal, Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, Dechox, Walk All Over Cancer, Brain Tumour Awareness Month, 100 Miles In March For Mind, Veggie Month. WORLDWIDE: Deep-Vein Thrombosis Awareness Month, National Irish-American Heritage Month, National Nutrition Month, Mustache March, Brain Injury Awareness Month, Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, National Save Your Vision Month, Red Cross Month, National Athletic Training Month, National Cerebral Palsy Awareness Month, National Brain Injury Awareness Month, National Breast Implant Awareness, Endometriosis Awareness Month, Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month, National Kidney Month, Asset Management Awareness Month, National Trisomy Awareness Month, National Social Work Month, National Women's History Month, National Sauce Month, National Noodles Month, National Frozen Food Month, National Flour Month, National Credit Education Month, National Craft Month, National Cheerleading Safety Month, National Celery Month, National Caffeine Awareness Month, National Peanut Month, National Umbrella Month, National Nutrition Month.
THIS WEEK IS UK: Programming for Primaries, Compost Week UK, British Science Week. WORLDWIDE: International Parental Mental Health Awareness Week, Nutrition and Hydration Week, World Glaucoma Week, Girl Scout Week, National Science and Engineering Week, National Salt Awareness Week, Brain Awareness Week, Universal Women’s Week, Ramadan, Pulmonary Rehabilitation Week.
MONDAY 11 MARCH UK: Commonwealth Day. WORLDWIDE: National 311 Day, National Funeral Director And Mortician Recognition Day, National Promposal Day, National Oatmeal Nut Waffles Day, National Worship Of Tools Day, National Johnny Appleseed Day, World Plumbing Day, National Dream Day, National Wash Your Nose Day, Fill Our Staplers Day.
TUESDAY 12 MARCH WORLDWIDE: National Working Moms Day, National Baked Scallops Day, National Plant A Flower Day, National Girl Scout Day, Alloimmunization and HDFN Day, National Plant a Flower Day, National Organize Your Home Office Day, International Fanny Pack Day, National Baked Scallops Day.
WEDNESDAY 13 MARCH UK: National No Smoking Day. WORLDWIDE: National K9 Veterans Day, National Jewel Day, National Coconut Torte Day, National Good Samaritan Day, National Open An Umbrella Indoors Day, National Earmuff Day, National Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Day, National Coconut Torte Day, Ken Day, Smart & Sexy Day.
THURSDAY 14 MARCH UK: University Mental Health Day, Dog Theft Awareness Day. WORLDWIDE: National Potato Chip Day, World Kidney Day, International School Meals Day, Social Prescribing Day, National Write Down Your Story Day, National Equal Pay Day, National Children’s Craft Day, National Learn About Butterflies Day, National Pi Day, Professional Speakers Celebration Day, Popcorn Lover’s Day, White Day, International Ask a Question Day, Science Education Day, International Day of Mathematics, Moth-er Day, Legal Assistance Day, Dribble to Work Day, National Learn About Butterflies Day, Crowdfunding Day.
FRIDAY 15 MARCH UK: Comic Relief / Red Nose Day. WORLDWIDE: World Panic Day, World Sleep Day, National Kansas Day, Everything You Think Is Wrong Day, National Pears Helene Day, National Shoe The World Day, World Contact Day, True Confessions Day, Buzzards Day, National Brutus Day, National Napping Day, World Speech Day, Ides of March, World Consumer Rights Day.
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