Steve Besley's Education Eye: week ending 12 July 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:

One week on how’s it all looking, education wise at least?

A little bit of scene setting first.

Ministers are now in place including for education, the King’s Speech next week will lay out the legislative programme ahead of likely wider policy discussion at the Annual Party Conference in September, and new MPs have now all assembled. ’Where are they all going to sit?’ wondered the ever-mindful Guardian.

On the all-important economic front, a new Growth Delivery Unit has been established and an update on what’s in the coffers will follow in the next couple of weeks as part of the buildup to an autumn Budget. “I will confirm the date of that Budget, alongside a forecast from the Office for Budget Responsibility, in due course,” the Chancellor explained in a Treasury speech at the start of the week.

Elsewhere, the PM and Deputy PM have held a roundtable with regional mayors to discuss future devolution with talk of a new ‘council of nations and regions’ to help propel regional growth. The Chancellor has begun the process of setting up the promised National Wealth Fund with a new investment summit planned for October and plans, including a much-anticipated Youth Guarantee, are under way to help more people back into work. Like King’s X the air is thick with announcements.

Bit by bit it seems Sir Keir Starmer’s mission-led government is taking shape. ‘Less noisy’ and keen to ‘tread more lightly on our lives,’ as he described it, but sharply focused on plans for ‘national renewal’.

That takes us neatly on to education which featured as one of the six missions detailed in the ‘First Steps for Change’ set out by Sir Keir during the election campaign, reiterated this week and likely to dominate the government’s landmark first 100 days.

Under this first step were not just the much-vaunted recruitment of 6,500 new teachers but also plans for 3,000 new primary school-based nurseries, free breakfast clubs in every primary school, a ‘modern curriculum,’ and high-quality apprenticeships and specialist technical colleges.

These along with a reformed Ofsted, wider mental health support and a new skills landscape were all listed by Bridget Phillipson when she first addressed the DfE as the new education secretary and arguably sit at the top of a crammed in-tray.

Initial work is already under way starting with an early press release “resetting,” in its words, “the government’s relationship with the sector and transforming the image of teaching.” Also some reshaping of responsibilities within the DfE following the transfer of SEND and AP policy to the schools section.

Of course, there’s been no shortage of advice for ministers.

Among those offering advice when it comes to schools has been the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) who pointed to ‘an urgent need to tackle the crisis in SEND,’ along with teacher recruitment and retention and of course sustainable funding as top priorities.

The National Education Union (NEU) singled out pay and workloads and suggested it was ‘looking forward to starting a journey of renewal with the government’ while the TES listed 12 questions facing Labour on education covering many of the same points along with school repairs, school attendance and how the new VAT system might work.

As the NAHT sharply reminded everyone, ‘hope must quickly turn to progress.’

For FE, FE Week listed five priorities for the new government including halting the ‘bonfires of BTECs,’ looking again at the funding and support for English and maths, levelling up FE teacher pay, reforming the apprenticeship levy and establishing the new skills body. Pearson, the Learning and Work Institute and the AoC have been among other bodies adding similar thoughts.

While for HE, as the Times Higher reported, future funding, research and global positioning remain critical. Wonkhe, which is hosting an event next week on what Labour policy means for UKHE, added mental health and student wellbeing, lifelong learning entitlement and foundation years, and franchising, pensions and free speech to an already bulging in-tray list.

And never far away as the Tony Blair Institute reminded us this week is the embrace or otherwise of new technology. “The only game-changer is the full embrace of the potential of technology especially the new developments in AI,” including for the world of education, as a report from his Foundation indicated.

The new term syndrome is likely to wear off a bit next week and the smiles might wear a bit thinner as Westminster gets fully back to work so to round off this week, here’s some of the headlines from across education over the past hectic seven days.

Starting with schools where there’ve been some notable people moves.

First Sir Peter Lampl last week announced his retirement as Executive Chairman of the Sutton Trust. The Trust “had exceeded my wildest hopes” he said confirming that ‘I won’t stop campaigning and speaking up for low-and moderate-income young people.’

Also last week, former education minister Jim Knight was appointed as Chair of STEM’s Learning Board while Frank Cottrell-Boyce was announced as the new Waterstone’s Children’s Laureate. In a lovely phrase he described books as “the apparatus of happiness”, and dedicated his time to encouraging children to read more.

But the big ‘transfer’ news this week has been the appointment of Sir Kevan Collins on a three-year contract as a non-executive Board member at the DfE to help with the drive on standards.

The education secretary described him as “an outstanding force for good in schools.”

Elsewhere for schools this week, the government published this year’s ‘provisional’ SATs results showing a slight increase in performance with the new education secretary quick to praise both staff and pupils. Research analysts FFT Education Datalab examined the current state of play for MATs suggesting that if current trends continue, and it’s a big if, all schools might well be part of a MAT by 2041.

The National Literacy Trust celebrated its 30^th birthday at Clarence House, the Whole Education network and Confederation of School Trusts have been holding important conferences, while the BBC reported that pupils starting at Eton this September will be provided with basic ‘brick phones’ following a routine review of mobile phones in the school.

In FE, the new Work and Pensions Secretary promised a Youth Guarantee of careers support and/or an apprenticeship as called for by the AoC, IES and others as part of a Back to Work package of reforms.

Ofqual announced a major fine for failings in the 2022 science and healthcare T level exam papers and the Education and Training Foundation called for views on social value in the context of FE and skills as part of a major research project.

In HE, The Office for Students (OfS) published the figures from this year’s National Student Survey with the OfS acknowledging that final year students had been through a tough time in light of the pandemic but expressing pleasure that the survey results “mostly match or exceed last year’s outcomes”.

Elsewhere, the QAA turned its Quality Compass on to franchised provision suggesting that its future ‘remains uncertain.’The UPP Foundation published an impressive collection of essays in honour of its late Chair extolling the value of a local university to its community.

And finally for HE, returning to the policy theme of the week, Nick Hillman, director of HEPI, considered the policy vibes for HE under a new government, suggesting one thing to watch might be any shift towards a tertiary model.

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

The top headlines of the week:

‘Education secretary begins push to recruit 6,500 new teachers’ (Monday).
‘Sats results rise but stay below pre-Covid levels’ (Tuesday).
‘DfE hires Sir Kevan Collins as schools standards adviser’ (Wednesday).
‘More than 5,000 students seeking Covid-19 disruption compensation, judge says’ (Thursday).
‘Schools watchdog faces existential crisis and reform is needed, say ex-inspectors’ (Friday).

General:

Chancellor’s ‘growth’ speech. Rachel Reeves, the new Chancellor, set out her stall in an initial Treasury address confirming new ‘golden’ planning rules, the lifting of the onshore wind ban and a range of growth mechanisms intended to ‘help kickstart economic growth’ ahead of a planned Budget later this year.
National Wealth Fund. The government began the process of establishing the promised £7.3bn National Wealth Fund, bringing together the UK Infrastructure Bank and British Business Bank with a new taskforce of key players who will help unlock investment for future industries and growth generally.
DSIT expansion. Peter Kyle, the new secretary of state for the Dept for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) announced plans to expand the role and remit of the dept, bringing in experts in data, digital and AI as part of a move ‘towards building a modern digital government.’
Fiscal rules. The Institute for Government argued that a new Chancellor provided an opportunity to rethink fiscal policy making, calling among other things for rules that ‘specify ranges than point targets,’ for holding only one fiscal event a year, for reforming the mandate of the OBR and for adopting a multiyear spending review.
Q2 Economic Survey. The British Chambers of Commerce pointed to an increase in business confidence as it published its latest Quarterly Economic Survey conducted mid-May to mid-June and showing sales and cashflow improving albeit with continuing low levels of business investment.
Jobs survey. KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) published their Jobs Report for June pointing to a continued growth in rates of pay but a drop in permanent placements in favour of more temporary appointments.
Living standards. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) announced the launch of a major project on living standards, looking into what the key drivers are, what policies might help and what recommendations should be made to policy makers.
Framework for Growth. The consultancy PwC outlined ten components ranging from skills and talent, to cyber security and digital transformation that should form part of a renewed industrial strategy, with weaknesses around education and skills cited as a major issue.
Employment support. The Demos think tank pointed to what it called ‘an alarming employment advice gap’ as it published a new report calling for an employment advice guarantee and digital front door to assist the 2m people out of work but who need help on how to get back into work.
4-Day working week. The 4-Day Week Campaign with partner Timewise invited applications from organisations for a new 6-month pilot looking at not just a shorter working week but other forms of flexi working as well, to begin in November with research support from bodies such as Cambridge University.

More specifically ...

Schools:

Dear All. Bridget Phillipson, the new education secretary, described her commitment to the education and children’s services sector as ‘deeply personal’ as she introduced herself and set out her initial thoughts in an open letter to the workforce.
Teacher recruitment. The education secretary beefed up the ‘Every Lesson Shapes a Life’ recruitment campaign and began the process of re-establishing relationships with the teaching profession as a first step towards meeting the government’s target of recruiting 6,500 new teachers.
Education background of the new government. The Sutton Trust carried out its regular analysis of the educational background of MPs in the new House of Commons, reporting that not only had there been ‘a sea change’ in the number of Labour MPs attending comprehensives but also across the House as a whole.
Board member. The education secretary announced the appointment of Sir Kevan Collins on a three-year arrangement as a non-executive Board Member at the DfE with a brief ‘to advise on driving high and rising standards.’
The VAT issue. The i-newspaper listed nine problems that the government might face when it looks to introduce its VAT pledge on private school fees, pointing among other things to uncertainty over how much tax it might raise, the fact that VAT law is ‘phenomenally complication,’ and fears that it might trigger a crisis for SEND and other provision.
SATs results. The government published this year’s KS2 SATs headline results showing a slight (1%) increase in the percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard across reading, writing and maths.
Governors’ concerns.The National Governance Association (NGA) reported a major rise in concerns about balancing school budgets as it published its latest major survey of governors and trustees with issues over buildings, SEND provision and teacher numbers adding to the worries.
MATs. FFT Education Datalab reported on the current state of play for multi-academy trusts (MATs) and developments since Labour was last in power, indicating that they now cover 50% of all schools, many in the S.W. with an increase in recent years in the number of larger MATs.
EHC plans. FFT Education Datalab examined the number of Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans for SEND pupils, pointing to a significant rise in number over the past nine years and questioning whether access to services was a key factor.
Understanding attendance. The consultancy and research group ImpactEd published a further report on its work into school attendance, highlighting the importance of four key ‘promising approaches’ including creating a sense of belonging, ensuring safe places, adopting a targeted approach and working together, pledging more research and sharing of good practice to follow.

FE/Skills:

Youth Guarantee. Liz Kendall, the new Work and Pensions Secretary, confirmed plans to create a Youth Guarantee of an apprenticeship and support for 18–21-year-olds as part of a package of reforms to support more people back into work.
Skills agenda. Stephen Evans, Chief Executive of the Learning and Work Institute, set out six steps that the government should take to improve performance around employment and skills, including pausing the current programme of qualification reform, setting up the Skills England body and developing a full employment plan.
Social value. The Education and Training Foundation launched a call for evidence from across the sector on the theme of social value and how this can be understood in the context of FE and Skills as part of a project to develop the concept for future policy recommendations.

HE:

Labour and HE. Nick Hillman, director at the HE Policy Institute (HEPI,) reflected in a presentation to the OU on the last 14 years of government policy towards HE and how things might change under a new government, suggesting it might take time for new policies to materialise but two things worth considering (apart from funding) were potential moves towards a tertiary system and the impact of the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE.)
NSS data.The Office for Students (OfS) published the results from this year’s National Student Survey showing most students who responded (85.4%) happy with their course and academic support but slightly lower rankings on assessment (78.3%) and course organisation (75.3%.)
London calling. London Higher, the group representing London HE institutions, published a new report highlighting the significant role such institutions play in boosting the UK economy and global influence whether through forging networks, driving innovation or tackling global issues, calling on the mayoral team and new government to champion the sector and its work.
Franchising. The QAA’s latest Quality Compass briefing looked into franchising – what it is, how it works, how to assure quality, and some of the risks involved -concluding that it continues to operate in an uncertain climate and that the risks need balancing.
Positive about research. The chair of the Russell Group, Chris Day, reflected on what the impact of a new government might be on research suggesting that the early signs were ‘good’ with plenty of hopeful rhetoric and the promise of 10-yr budgets in some cases but ministers must now ‘talk the talk’ and commit among other things to block grant funding.
Essay collection. The UPP Foundation published a collection of essays on the important civic role of universities, produced in honour of the late Bob Kerslake (Chair of UPP’s Civic University Commission) and with over 40 leading contributions.

Tweets and posts of note:

“The last in our series of how Britain votes by eating and drinking habits. As requested by @Nigella_Lawson how does the public's vote vary by crisp preference? In short Tyrells are Tory, Quavers very Labour, Frazzles the most Green and Walkers the closest to Middle England”. | @LukeTryl
“I cannot list the endless pastoral duties that teachers and schools now complete regularly as part of their jobs because we can’t stand by while children suffer, but needless to say I am hoping this government helps the poorest families first”. | @HeyMissSmith
“My top piece of unsolicited advice for @CMcKinnellMP: ask for every piece of guidance that schools have to follow to be physically printed out, brought into your office, and lock the schools DDs in until they’ve reduced it to the size you could take on a plane as hand luggage”. | @dmthomas90
“I am never going to forgive the member of SLT who scheduled my lunch duty on a full teaching day, so I have to eat lunch at 10.30am”. | @La_Biologuita
“Leavers assembly easy win: get a piece of paper with every child's name on the top, then pass them round the class for everyone to write nice things/memories on. At leavers you can then say 'his classmates say he's ... and will always remember him for ...' Works every time”. | @MrBoothYr6
“We had a mini football tournament when I was a kid in secondary where, for a reason I don't remember, they let me, a Y11, ref the final between my tutor group and another. I made sure mine won. The outcome was a mass brawl”. |@tstarkey1212
“My 8-year-old is crying because I told him he has to go to bed before kick-off tonight. Other parents - what are you doing? Shall we just have a nation of knackered kids tomo?”. | @FelicityHannah
“I once had to apply at very short notice for a visa that would allow me to transit through Russia and thought that was the most stressful and Kafkaesque bureaucratic experience I’d ever have, but I just had to pay for 20 minutes’ parking with RingGo and that was worse”. | @jonathancoe

A selection of quotes that merit attention:

“But from the get go I want you to know that – you have my confidence, my support and, importantly, my respect” – the PM reassures civil servants.
“Be in no doubt – we are going to get Britain building again” – the Chancellor sets out new planning and growth mechanisms.
“It’s fair to say that with the appointment of Vallance the sector breathed a sigh of relief that a subject expert was given such a big role at DSIT” – Wonkhe reports on the appointment of Sir Patrick Vallance as Minister for Science.
“I do not underestimate the scale of the challenge ahead of us, the mountain we must climb to build the better Britain our young people deserve” – Bridget Phillipson addresses the department for the first time as education secretary.
“His significant experience in education will be an asset as we work to build on and improve school standards” – the DfE welcomes back Sir Kevan Collins.
“The many challenges faced by schools and colleges will not disappear overnight, but we are confident that there will be a new spirit of cooperation” – ASCL welcomes the new Labour administration.
“A radical reset of strained government relations with the teaching profession” – Labour List describes Bridget Phillipson’s open letter to the education workforce.
“Support the Department to engage with the most forward-thinking and experienced voices in the sector, ensuring our strategy and policies are evidence-based and future-focused” – the DfE looks to recruit six Senior Advisers for its Strategy Unit.
“In the longer term, navigating the challenge of labour market shortages will require implementing reforms aimed at improving labour supply” – the NIESR highlight challenges for the incoming government around the labour market.
“Not a moment’s thought is given to how predictable the repeated demands for market-led restructuring now look, or to the fact that each efficiency drive ends in mounting workloads, miserable staff and frustrated students” – a professor explains all in a letter to The Guardian.

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

58%. The number of teachers surveyed who voted Labour in last week’s general election with 20% for the Lib Dems, 9% for the Greens, 5% for the Conservatives, and 2% for Reform, according to survey figures from Teacher Tapp.
29%. The number of the new Cabinet that went to Oxbridge for their undergraduate studies, according to HEPI.
63%. The number of MPs now in the House of Commons who were educated at comprehensive schools, the highest figure ever according to research from the Sutton Trust.
15%. The number of England’s Euro squad members who attended private school, according to the Sutton Trust.
53%. The number of employers surveyed who put education, skills and talent as the top three components for growth in their sector, according to research from PwC.
0.4%. The growth figure in the UK economy for May, higher than expected according to latest figures from the ONS with 0.9% in the three months to May.
1,000. The number of UK jobs Dyson is said to be cutting as it seeks to reduce its 15,000 strong global workforce, according to a report in the FT and elsewhere.
1 in 9. The number of UK workers now working for a Living Wage employer, according to the Living Wage Foundation.
61%. The number of Yr 6 pupils reaching the expected standard in all of reading, writing and maths in this year’s SATs, up from 60% last year but still below the 65% of 2019 according to latest government figures.
7.4%. The overall pupil absence rate in schools for the last week of June, according to latest government figures.
115,900. The number of eligible two-year-olds registered in January for their 15-hour entitlement, down 7% of the previous year according to latest government figures.
92%. The number of people surveyed who thought that children having access to books was important or very important, according to research commissioned by the Publishers Association.

Everything else you need to know ...

What to look out for next week:

Education Policy Institute Conference ‘Enrichment for all’ (Monday 15 July).
Education secretary hosts an open event with the sector (Tuesday 16 July).
State opening of the new Parliament and King’s Speech (Wednesday 17 July).
Wonkhe online event on ‘What a new government means for HE’ (Wednesday 17 July).

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.