Mental health support. The government announced an additional £7m for schools, colleges and universities to train extra mental health leads as part of its contribution to Mental Health Awareness Week, with further money also going to charities to tackle bullying and develop respect.
Education Commission. The Times hosted an Education Summit as part of the build-up to the launch of its Commission’s Final Report, looking at the exam system and future needs, and highlighting employer evidence about the need to provide young people with the basic skills needed for future employment.
Work Review. The PM appointed Matt Warman MP to lead a review of the labour market and the future of work generally, building on the Taylor Review, and to consider how best to support employer needs and skills, create a productive workforce and examine the impact of automation.
SCHOOLS
Queen’s Speech and Schools. The government announced a new Schools Bill in the Queen’s Speech, intended to encourage more schools to join multi-academy trusts as well as tackle the issues of pupil attendance and unregistered schools.
School attendance. The Children’s Commissioner for England outlined some of the initial findings from her Attendance Audit, launched after last year’s Big Ask to try to understand more about school absentees, with the full findings due to be published next month.
School system. The Local Government Association published a commissioned report into school types using Ofsted inspection grading to compare performance, arguing that schools that stick with their local council are more likely to perform better than academies and that a one-size-fits-all approach is not a necessary guarantor of success
FE/SKILLS
Defunding qualifications. The government published the list of L3 qualifications, including 38 BTECs, that overlap with the first T levels for which it proposes to withdraw funding for new starters from August 2024, with appeals allowed up to 8 July 2022.
Digital Skills Training. Google launched a further wave of digital skills training with its Digital Garage scheme which will deliver free in-person digital skills training for individuals and businesses at locations around the country.
WorldSkills 2022. WorldSkills UK announced the list of 29 young people who will represent the country in the 2022 WorldSklills competition in China.
HIGHER EDUCATION
Queen’s Speech and HE. WONKHE provided a useful run down of Bills proposed in the Queen’s Speech that could affect higher education including the rollover HE (Freedom of Speech) Bill and Online Safety Bill but also an HE Bill covering recent funding proposals, a Levelling Up Bill, Renters Reform and Social Housing Bills, and a Public Order Bill.
REF results. The results of the 2021 assessment of UK university research, carried out through the extensive Research Excellence Framework and signalling an important moment for UK research and university ambitions, were published, with 41% of submissions deemed world leading and 43% judged internationally excellent.
Degree trends. The Office for Students published a new report looking at graduate attainment rates over the last decade and showing a doubling of the proportion awarded a 1stclass honours with nearly 60% unexplained in terms of background factors leaving the OfS pointing to plans to investigate in more detail.
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MONDAY 16 MAY On this day in 1717 Voltaire was imprisoned in the Bastille after his satirical poem La Henriade riled the French administration. On this day in 1929 the first Academy Awards were presented in Los Angeles. On this day in 1991 the Queen, on a tour of the US, became the first British monarch to address a joint meeting of Congress.
TUESDAY 17 MAY On this day in 1792 24 merchants meeting in Wall Street founded the New York Stock Exchange. On this day in 1916 the Daylight Saving Act was passed in Britain, creating much confusion when the clocks went forward four days later. On this day in 1943 the Dambuster raid took place as bouncing bombs, the invention of Sir Barnes Wallis, were dropped on dams in the Ruhr valley.
WEDNESDAY 18 MAY On this day in 1291 Acre, the remaining Christian stronghold in the Holy Land, fell to the Saracens. On this day in 1804 Napoleon Bonaparte was proclaimed Emperor of France. On this day in 1953 test pilot Jackie Cochran became the first woman to break the sound barrier, flying at 1050 kmh (625.5 mph).
THURSDAY 19 MAY On this day in 1536 Anne Boleyn was beheaded. On this day in 1897 Oscar Wilde was released from Reading Gaol. On this day in 1962 Marilyn Monroe sang Happy Birthday at a celebration for President John F Kennedy at Madison Square Garden, New York.
FRIDAY 20 MAY On this day in 1608 Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra was entered in the Stationers’ Register. On this day in 1873 Levi Strauss received a patent for blue jeans. On this day in 1932 Amelia Earhart took off from Harbor Grace, Newfoundland, on what would be the first transatlantic solo flight by a woman.
SATURDAY 21 MAY On this day in 1840 Captain William Hobson proclaimed New Zealand to be a British colony. On this day in 1894 Queen Victoria opened the Manchester Ship Canal. On this day in 1927 Charles Lindbergh Jr arrived in Paris after flying from New York in a little over 33 hours.
SUNDAY 22 MAY On this day in 1897 the Prince of Wales opened the Blackwall Tunnel under the Thames in London. On this day in 1958 Mao Zedong started the Great Leap Forward in China. On this day in 1972 Ceylon adopted a new constitution, and changed its name to Sri Lanka.
Awareness days from around the world
MAY IS:
UK Mental Health Month, Smile Month (Monday May 16 to Wednesday June 15), Tourettes Awareness Month, Walking Month, Share a Story Month, Big Asthma Bake Sale, Make May Purple/Action on Stroke Month, Local and Community History Month.
INTERNATIONAL Maternal Mental Health Month, May Measure Month, Skin Cancer Awareness Month.
US Bladder Cancer Awareness Month, Zombie Awareness Month, Clean Air Month, Teen Self Esteem Month, Better Speech and Language Month, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Awareness Month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Month, Prader-Willi Syndrome Awareness Month, Lupus Awareness Month, Military Appreciation Month, Deck Safety Month, Bike Month, Lyme Disease Awareness Month, Get Caught Reading Month, Hamburger Month, Golf Month, Photography Month, Barbecue Month.
THIS WEEK IS: Learning at Work Week (UK), Safeguarding Awareness Week (UK), Walk to School Week (UK), Stationery Week (UK), Vegetarian Week (UK), Dementia Action Week (UK), Action for Brain Injury Week (UK), Foster Care Fortnight (UK: until 22 May), National Doughnut Week (UK), International Heritage Breeds Week (Sunday May 15 to Saturday May 21.
MONDAY MAY 16 Children’s Day (UK), Vesak (International), Drawing Day (US), Waiters Day (US), Horse Rescue Day (US), Sea Monkey Day (US), Biographers Day (US).
TUESDAY MAY 17 World Hypertension Day (International), World Telecommunications Day (International), World Hypertension Day (International), World Neurofibromatosis Awareness Day (International), World Baking Day (International), Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia Day (International), Pinot Grigio Day (US), Work From Home Day (US), Pack Rat Day.
WEDNESDAY MAY 18 Numeracy Day (UK), World AIDS Vaccine Day (International), Museums Day (International), Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (US), No Dirty Dishes Day (US), Visit Your Relatives Day (US).
THURSDAY MAY 19 Global Accessibility Awareness Day (International), Accounting Day (International), World IBD Day (International), Notebook Day (US), May Ray Day (US).
FRIDAY MAY 20 World Bee Day (International), Virtual Assistants Day (International), Clinical Trials Day (International), Bike to Work Day (US), Pick Strawberries Day (US), quiche Day (US), Weights & Measures Day (US), Be a Millionaire Day (US), Pizza Party Day (US), Endangered Species Day (US), Defence Transportation Day (US).
SATURDAY MAY 21 Hats for Headway (UK), FA Cup Final (UK), World Meditation Day (International), Tea Day (International), World Fish Migration Day (International), World Fiddle Day (International), World Whisky Day (International), World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development (International), Waitstaff Day (US), I Need a Patch for That Day (US), Memo Day (US), Plant a Lemon Tree Day (US), Rapture Party Day (US), Learn to swim Day (US).
SUNDAY MAY 22 Sherlock Holmes Day (International), World Goth Day (International), Harvey Milk Day (US), Maritime Day (US).
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