Steve Besley's Education Eye: week ending 03 May 2024

Welcome to Education Eye, a regular update detailing the policies and stories happening in UK education, compiled by Steve Besley.

What's happened this week?

Important stories across the board:

A slightly truncated week news wise to allow for the local council, mayoral and other elections.

Such education headlines as there have been this week have included two interesting reports from the start of the week; a session of MPs’ education questions; a worry about financial donations to universities; and an announcement on faith schools. Oh, and some downgrading of predictions for UK growth by the OECD. 0.4% this year rising to 1.0% next year. ‘Sluggish’ was the word they used.

Let’s start with a word on those two reports.

The first was a rather punchy report from the think tank Policy Exchange on the issue of mobile phones in schools. It put forward extensive survey evidence to show that those schools that had effective bans had seen both improved school performance and pupil social wellbeing.

The key word seems to be ‘effective.’ This is because different approaches appear to be used by schools when it comes to managing the use of mobile phones.

Some schools, just over 50%, operate a ban, but allow phones to be kept available in bags; while 36% operate a partial ban, meaning they can be used in some areas, such as lunch halls, but not others, such as classrooms.

However, 11% of secondary schools had what the report described as an ‘effective’ ban. 'Phones not allowed in school, or stored in lockers or equivalent at start of day'. According to the report, such schools ‘were more than twice as likely to be rated Outstanding by Ofsted’ and with a higher mean Progress 8 score.

The report called, among other things, for schools to implement effective bans on mobile phones, and for the enforcement to be monitored by government.

The debate on mobile phones is of course taking place within the wider current discussion about the role of digital technology in schools. And this week a blog by the guru Daisy Christodoulou offered a valuable perspective on the whole issue. Focus on the problem, not the solution, and use technology to enhance memory and skill development, not replace them, were among the guiding principles she suggested for schools considering digital transformation. A link to the blog is here.

The second interesting report this week came from the centre right think tank Onward in the form of what they called a vision for a future Conservative economy.

Not everyone will perhaps buy into the vision currently, but as explained by the two authors, it’s one that “favours work, the family and the nation state, and the economic policies that will put their interests first”. And it made a number of references to the role of education.

These included more flexible childcare allowances, regional economic development, and reform of higher education. ‘Placing much greater emphasis on technical, vocational and applied education, with more public funding for apprenticeships' the authors argued was what was needed for HE, along with, perhaps more contentiously, only allowing high-performing universities to issue visas.

We’re likely to see more such education thinking in the coming months as political positions realign.

Moving on to a roundup of other education news this week starting with a rather flat MPs’ Education Questions.

Topics here included SEND (more funds and support needed); school budgets (have they really increased as claimed?); apprenticeships (opposition claims about starts and completions both falling); along with a number of topical questions covering childcare, school buildings, Ofsted judgements, older apprentices, student visas and student maintenance allowances.

In other Westminster news, the House of Lords continued their Inquiry into Apprenticeships and Skills this week, with two more to come in the coming weeks.

On to schools where this week the government launched consultation on expanding faith schools.“Faith groups run some of the best schools in the country, including in some of the most disadvantaged areas, and it’s absolutely right we support them to unleash that potential even further”, the education secretary said in making the announcement.

Elsewhere, the NAHT reported on the dire state of some school buildings. Many primary schools can’t afford caretakers it seems. And as one head bluntly explained to The Guardian, when the loos get blocked “it’s me who puts the marigolds on and goes down to the toilets with the plunger and tries to unblock it as best as I can”. She went on to say it wasn’t in her job description.

The NFER announced it was preparing to launch what it described as 'interactive, standardised tests that are fun and engaging for pupils to use and deliver reliable information for teachers for diagnostic and summative assessment purposes'. Schools will be able to sign up for these online tests shortly, and they’ll be available for use with Year 3 and 4 pupils from this September, with a similar offering for Years 5 and 6 to follow next year.

Also for schools, former school inspectors launched an Alternative Big Listen, arguing that Ofsted's current one fails to ask the key questions, such as the use of single-word judgments.

And the government came under fire for scrapping the funding for the mid-career teacher recruitment programme, Now Teach. As journalist and founder Lucy Kellaway told the Today programme, "We help people who had rich and varied lives consider teaching and apply to training programmes.” The minister claimed in response “We are not axing Now Teach; we are not re-procuring it, so we are not extending it again”. That explains it.

In FE, Ofqual issued its response to the consultation on the government’s proposed Bacc style qualification for 16–19-year-olds, the ABS. 'Achieving the ambitions of the ABS requires change on a scale unprecedented in England in recent decades'.

The AoC, NCFE, and others called in a new report for greater access to enrichment activities which do so much to benefit leaners across the sector. As the report noted, 'enrichment isn’t uniform across the sector. Action is needed to provide all students with the same access, resources and opportunities to play their own part in planning and organising enrichment'.

In HE this week, two leading MPs followed up last week’s meeting with the deputy PM about international security by calling for greater transparency over university donations. “Our world-leading universities are at risk of becoming hubs for money laundering and, in turn, reputation laundering".

The HE Policy Institute (HEPI) highlighted the financial challenges facing many students ahead of a launch of a survey report on the matter next week. 'The financial situation of many, already challenging, has worsened in the last year', according to the report, with 33% of those polled saying they’re at risk of dropping out.

And the cross-party think tank Policy Connect argued the case for ‘digitally enhanced blended learning’. As the author of the report explained “by integrating technology with traditional learning methods, higher education institutions not only become more accessible, but also ensure that graduates are well-prepared to thrive in a rapidly evolving job market”.

Links to most of these stories below starting with the week’s headlines.

The top headlines of the week:

‘Nearly 4 in 10 heads have raised cash for building repairs’ (Monday).
‘Schools which ban mobile phones get better GCSE grades, study finds’ (Tuesday).
‘Ofqual: Sunak’s ABS plan means unprecedented change’ (Wednesday).
‘Third of students say they might drop out due to money worries’ (Thursday).
‘Ofsted director: Big Listen will consider single-word ratings’ (Friday).

General:

Economic Outlook. The OECD published its latest Economic Outlook suggesting that for the UK growth will remain ‘sluggish,’ headline inflation will likely ‘moderate,’ wage growth will continue but unemployment will also continue to increase.
Local Authority finances. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) published a new briefing on local authority finances highlighting how “financial pressures started building from a fall in funding and increase in service demand over the 2010s,” with what’s described as ‘a decade of debt’ now catching up.
Wages. The TUC published new analysis indicating that across two-thirds of local authorities wages are now worth less than they were before the 2008/9 crash, arguing that the UK is suffering from ‘the longest pay squeeze in the modern era.’
Growth and Productivity. Leading figures at the Productivity Institute reinforced their calls for a Growth and Productivity Institute (GPI) to help drive policy in this area, acknowledging concerns about yet another agency but arguing that Labour’s revamped Industrial Strategy Council could fit the bill.
Sextortion. The National Crime Agency’s Education Team issued an alert to school teachers across the UK warning them of ‘a considerable increase’ in cases of sexual extortion targeted in many cases at young males, setting out a range of measures around preventative education and the provision of support where necessary.
Media literacy. Ofcom proposed setting up media literacy leads in schools as it launched consultation on a media literacy strategy built around the three features of research and evidence gathering, engaging platforms, and people and partnerships.

More specifically ...

Schools:

Faith schools. The government launched a consultation designed to extend faith schools by lifting the 50% cap currently applied when places at such schools are oversubscribed and encouraging the creation of more faith-based academies.
Online assessment. The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) reported that it was preparing to launch a set of standardised digital assessments that would be engaging for pupils and help teachers with diagnostic assessments and which would be available for Year 3 and 4 pupils from this September, with a similar approach to follow for Years 5 and 6 from next September
Now Teach. The charity that supports career changers into teaching, Now Teach, confirmed the ‘disappointing’ news that the DfE was scrapping its funding support, meaning that no new recruits could be taken on after this September.
Smartphones. The Policy Exchange thinktank called for mobile phones to be banned in schools, for government to monitor the ban and for Ofsted to take a stronger lead in identifying the impact of mobile phones on learning as it published a new report arguing that schools that have banned them perform better.
National Tutoring. The Sutton Trust called on a future government to fund the National Tutoring Programme (NTP,) describing it as “one of the most directly effective educational interventions in recent years aimed at closing the attainment gap” but for which funding is due to finish this year.
School improvement. The Confederation of School Trusts launched a new Hub designed to capture best practice and case study evidence on school improvement along with a new ‘conceptual model of trust-led school improvement.’
School buildings. The NAHT called for £4.4bn additional funding for school buildings as it published new membership survey evidence showing over 80% of school leaders reporting a lack of funding needed to maintain their buildings and many primary schools unable to afford a caretaker to help.
School libraries. The Foyle Foundation confirmed it was joining forces with the National Literacy Trust to help ensure all primary schools had dedicated reading spaces by 2028.

FE/Skills:

Financial planning. The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) published the latest financial planning requirements for colleges complete with a small number of ‘substantive’ changes and requiring colleges to submit their 3-year financial forecasts by the end of this July.
Ofqual on the ABS. Ofqual issued its response to the consultation on the government’s proposed Advanced British Standard (ABS) for 16–19-year-olds, underlining the extent of change that the proposals would entail and recommending accordingly a phased approach, the retention of established qualifications, and clarity on the role of other/vocational qualifications and the nature of grading methods required.
Valuing Enrichment. The AOC, NCFE and partners published their final report on the importance of enrichment for learners across the FE sector, finding a mixed picture of offerings across the board and calling for more uniform access, criteria and resources to enable all to benefit.

HE:

Funding. The FE reported on the growing funding worries facing UK universities where over 50 have announced course closures and job cuts in recent months as they grapple with a continuing tuition fee freeze and visa restrictions for international students amid an unforgiving political climate.
Student support. The HE Policy Institute reported on new research evidence due to be published next week on student maintenance support and the cost of living, showing that over half of students reckon that their financial situation has got worse, over a third think the system of maintenance support is unfair, and 60% say it will affect their choice of university.
Transparent donations. Two MPs called in an open letter for the government to establish measures to ensure greater transparency over university donations citing evidence of unknown sums from Chinese sources along with other anonymous donations for which there had been no known due diligence.
Think tank report. The think tank, Onward, called for the ending of subsidies for ‘failing degrees,’ for ‘low-quality’ universities to be turned into technology institutes, and for just ‘high-preforming’ universities to be able to issue visas, as part of a major new authored report on a future Conservative Economy.
Evaluating Excellence. The QAA reported on its analysis of TEF (Teaching Excellence Framework) submissions last year highlighting some of the most effective submissions but also drawing out from across the various submissions as a whole, features of delivery excellence that could benefit all.
Blended learning. Policy Connect called for a big push on digitally enhanced blended learning across HE in a new report, building on the work undertaken by the HE Commission in this area to make this form of learning a priority for the digital age, calling for leadership, staff support and coherent regulation to ensure its continued development.

Tweets and posts of note:

“School is closed today due to it being used as a polling station. I’ve put Justin Time on while I try to crack on with the feature that’s due today. All I can hear from downstairs is the rustling of snacks ...” | @hannahfearn
“I am in one of those hotels where you need a degree in engineering to turn the telly on” | @PhilipJCollins1
“Soon, students will have CONVERSATIONS with Aristotle, Socrates, or Plato rather than just reading about them. This is how AI is REVOLUTIONIZING education” | @PeterDiamandis
“So 'high control' is this season's edu salesfolk BS term then. What on earth was wrong with 'authoritarianism' | @tstarkey1212

A selection of quotes that merit attention:

“Fiscal policy should remain prudent and focus on productivity-enhancing public investment when the monetary stance normalises” – the OECD reports on the UK economy.
“A half-built cathedral” – Michael Gove reflects on the levelling up programme.
“It is clear that the debt crisis developing in local government will be slowly pushing many local authorities to the brink of bankruptcy” – the NIESR reflects on local authority finances.
“My progress on the ladder inevitably had its downs as well as ups” – Rob Halfon MP reflects on his career in an article in The New Statesman.
“Every aspect of my life is governed by the worry of debt and making ends meet each day” – HEPI reports on the cost-of-living challenges facing many students.
“In a complex reform programme of this type, it is important to sequence changes carefully.” – Ofqual issues its response to the ABS consultation.
“There are millions of people out there who might have changed career to become great teachers – and we think they are less likely to do so without Now Teach” – Now Teach confirms the impact of the government’s decision to scrap its funding.
“I’m 53 this year; I’m not built for lifting and shifting, to be honest with you. But there isn’t anyone else to do it” – one cash strapped primary school head teacher on having to cope without a school caretaker.
“We have seen no evidence that scrapping the 50 per cent cap will be of social or educational benefit” – ASCL responds to the government proposals to scrap the 50% cap for faith schools.
“There’s an unrelenting urgency to every interaction, someone texts or Snapchats and you have to respond immediately” – a parent tells the i newspaper about the difficulties of living with a phone obsessed teenager.

Important numbers

Not-to-be-missed numbers of the week:

64%. The number of university students undertaking paid work during term time, according to forthcoming research from HEPI.
6.7%. The absence rate for pupils for w/commencing 15 April according to latest government figures.
6%. The number of teachers saying they want to leave the classroom altogether according to a survey from Teacher Tapp, a number similar to last year but double at least to that before the pandemic.
13%. The number of schools in England and Wales that actually stop students using their mobile phones throughout the school day, according to a new report from Policy Exchange.
£14.4n pa. The annual economic cost of the pothole crisis in England, according to CEBR.
2bn. The estimated number of minutes saved by Uber users last year, according to research from Public First.

Everything else you need to know ...

What to look out for next week:

NAHT Annual Conference (Friday 03 May – Saturday 04 May).
Westminster Hall debate on the provision of free school meals (Tuesday 07 May).
Public Accounts Committee witness session on preparations to extend childcare arrangements (Wednesday 08 May).
HEPI and TechnologyOne report and webinar on student maintenance support (Thursday 09 May).

Steve Besley

Disclaimer: Education Eye is intended to help colleagues keep up to date with national developments in the education sector. Information is correct at the time of writing and is offered in good faith. No liability is accepted by Steve Besley or EdCentral for decisions made on the basis of any information provided.