GENERAL: Global economy. The IMF published its latest World Economic Outlook pointing to global growth down and inflation up including for the UK as the ‘rules are reset’ in light of tariff announcements and other economic challenges this year, but with global growth remaining ‘well above recession levels’ albeit with marked regional variations.
Online protections. Ofcom outlined the various‘child safety’ measures such as effective age checks, safe feeds and having a named person responsible in their organisation for children’s safety, that tech companies should adopt when they are introduced in July to meet requirements under the Online Safety Act.
Child poverty. Leading charitable and other organisations signed up to an open letter to the PM calling on him to commit the government to scrapping the two-child limit and benefit cap and the setting of poverty reduction targets. SCHOOLS:
Teacher recruitment. Teacher Tapp and School Dash pointed to concerns around teacher recruitment and retention as they published their 2025 report on the teacher market, showing a 30%+ drop in teacher recruitment activity especially among secondary teachers and worries about teacher retention.
Ofsted consultation. Proponents of ‘a radically revised’ inspection model reported on the results of their consultation on Ofsted’s proposed inspection reforms finding very little support for measures such as the proposed new Report Card and five-point grading system with respondents calling instead for a peer-group review model with HMI involved and with an independent complaints process.
NAHT consultation response. The NAHT issued its response to Ofsted’s reformed inspection proposals providing a pretty critical take down of many of the proposals and calling on Ofsted to think again about its starting point.
CST consultation response. The Confederation of School Trusts (CST) issued its response to Ofsted’s proposed inspection reforms listing a number of ‘pragmatic’ recommendations including simplifying the grading scale, reducing the proposed volume of monitoring and developing an aggregated indicator for inclusion.
Post - pandemic recovery. The consultancy Public First published its latest polling on how young people are recovering their resilience and mental health post-pandemic, suggesting an improving picture particularly for older teens although less so for girls and those from poorer families who often still find things hard.
GCSE gender gap. FFT Education Datalab examined what happened to the gender gap in top GCSEs during the pandemic finding some evidence of it widening in subjects such as computer science and economics and also among disadvantaged pupils.
Breakfast clubs. The government welcomed the start of its ‘free’ breakfast club programme in schools as 700+ early adopter schools across the country began offering 30 minutes of ‘free’ childcare with breakfast for eligible families, ahead of an intended national rollout later this year.
Managing the estate. The government published guidelines for managing the school estate along with links to further expert advice and criteria for moving to advanced estate management.
School exclusions. The FT examined the arguments for and against school exclusions, acknowledging the challenges involved in trying to reduce numbers but also the fact that often exclusions may be necessary for the benefit of others.
Feet to the fire. The NASUWT confirmed the appointment of former Fire Brigades Union Gen Sec Matt Wrack as its new Gen Sec following the departure of Patrick Roach. FE/SKILLS:
Creative industries effect. The Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR) examined the so-called ‘spillover’ effect from the UK’s creative industries, pointing in a new report to nine different forms of spillover ranging from increased foreign investment, to heightened digital skills, to enhanced general wellbeing.
Business Plan. The CITB published its latest Business Plan built around the three pillars of training the workforce, preparing the future workforce and enhancing the training and skills system, through among other things the funding of placements, supporting qualifications and routes into the workforce, and the launch of a new Training Provider Network.
Adult skills. The NFER added further analysis to its recent survey report into adult literacy and numeracy skills indicating that while young adults in England had made large skill gains in recent years, the gap between the highest and lowest achievers hadn’t changed and in some areas remained ‘substantial.’
Youth employment. Former minister David Willetts highlighted concerns about the growing number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEETs,) suggesting government policies such as increases in NICs and the living wage were partly to blame but also an undue focus on GCSE resits and T levels, calling for more to be done to help young people. HE:
Franchising. The Education Secretary confirmed to MPs that following investigations about issues over franchising, she was taking action against Oxford Business College which would see current ‘genuine’ students transferred to new courses and loan support withdrawn from incoming new students.
Employer contributions. Professor David Phoenix argued in a new report for HEPI for employers to contribute more to the cost of higher-level skills through matched graduate contributions and tax credits for work placements, given the fact that employers tend to be the prime beneficiaries of such skills.
Maintenance grants. The consultancy London Economics examined the potential for reintroducing maintenance grants in a report commissioned by the NUS, concluding that rebalancing the repayment system to make it more progressive could provide for means-tested maintenance grants worth £4,224 to be re-introduced at no great extra cost to the Treasury.
Call for Evidence. The NUS launched a rapid call for evidence as it sought the views of students on such key issues as funding, teaching standards and outcomes as part of its Commission feeding into the government’s HE Review.
Opening up access. Universities UK, UCAS and the Sutton Trust committed to working together on strengthening the use of contextual admissions in England, issuing a call for evidence in the first instance as part of a wider plan for improving access to HE for the most disadvantaged.
|
|
