Steve Besley's Education Eye: week ending 13 September 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:

Education-related issues continue to stack up.

They’ll be familiar to many and in an ever-growing list they include SEND provision, teacher recruitment, mental health support, L3 qualification reform and higher ed funding and future.

A number of these were aired in this week’s Education Questions in parliament and have also been reinforced in a series of reports this week.

In fact Education Questions at the start of the week saw SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) provoke more questions from MPs than any other topic.

Challenged by half a dozen MPs over the adequacy of provision in different parts of the country, the education secretary gave a committed answer but was unable to add much more detail. “I give my personal commitment to hon. Members across the House that the Government will listen to and work with families to deliver reform, improving inclusivity in mainstream schools and ensuring that special schools are able to help those with the most complex needs.”

It was a similar story on higher ed following a question on the Office for Students. “I have appointed the new interim chair to sharpen the focus of the Office for Students, focus far more on the financial sustainability of the sector, and return universities to being the engines of growth and opportunity that we want to see after 14 wasted years.” Again hopeful words but no obvious signs of relief on funding as yet.

A question on L3 qualification reform saw the education secretary stick to her current ‘short, focused review’ but there was no additional comment on the issue causing such current concern, namely the future of other qualifications such as BTECs.

There are plenty of reviews, reports and evidence-based thinking going on at the moment as the education secretary promised but at some point people will be looking for answers.

For the moment then we are reliant on the continued flow of informed reports spelling out both context and options.

This week’s batch has sharpened perspectives on a number of current issues.

There have been three such important reports this week, or perhaps four if you include the Social Mobility Commission’s latest annual State of the Nation report with its focus on those stuck in ‘left-behind places.’

The three notable reports have included an update from the children’s commissioner, Dame Rachel de Souza, on the issue of children missing school, who they are and how, if at all, they are being monitored. Second, a sharp summary from CUP Director Tim Oates of some of the many challenges continuing to face schools in the aftermath of the pandemic. And third, a report from the AoC on mental health pressures among college students with some ‘shocking’ data on suicide among young college people.

A word on each starting with the children’s commissioner’s report into the growing problem of children missing school.

It’s something that the present education secretary has vowed to tackle and this report provides what the commissioner described as valuable “new evidence about the pupil characteristics, educational histories, and educational destinations of children known or suspected to be missing education.”

In summary many such children come from deprived backgrounds, have a range of unmet needs and slip easily through nets. The report calls for a mixture of prevention through better data, and tracking and better cure through improved support, with a list of ‘must-dos’ to go with it all. How far these will happen remains to be seen.

Next, Tim Oates’ report, written for the ASCL and looking at the emerging picture of evidence about the impact of the pandemic for schools, arguing that ‘there are serious dangers in simply assuming that schools are back to normal – they are not.’

In his words, “COVID-19 impact is not a thing of the past – it is moving like a series of different waves up through the system.” Different year groups, let alone different individuals, have, and continue to be affected in different ways. Responses such as the National Tutoring Programme can help but what is needed is a long-term, coordinated response. “It will be a long slog, not a walk in the park.”

And third in a report described as “beyond upsetting,” the AoC highlighted a worrying volume of attempted or considered suicides among young college students over the last year, with much of it thought to be linked to cost-of-living pressures.

Many more colleges are now working with local mental health support teams but the report calls for a more coordinated and better funded strategy. As it explains “colleges cannot do this alone.”

In wider government news, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) published its latest report on the risks and sustainability of UK finances based on data from around the time of the Spring Budget. It listed three pressures that could put the public finances on “an unsustainable path,” namely climate change, healthcare and poor productivity. It may well have caused the Chancellor to tighten her knuckles.

The new Labour Market Advisory Board, set up to help the government prepare a white paper on getting people back to work, met for the first time this week. A ‘Back to Work’ white paper is due out later this autumn, with a youth guarantee one of the likely recommendations.

In other news, Helen Hayes MP was elected as Chair of the Education Committee with SEND, the school curriculum and skills said to be among her priorities.

The Lords Industry and Regulators Committee re-opened its call for evidence on apprenticeships and training, and MoneySavingExpert Martin Lewis told MPs, ‘loudly and plainly’ apparently at a Parliamentary event at the start of the week that “we need financial education in EVERY school, for EVERY child.” Emphasis on the EVERY.

What else been happening elsewhere in education this week?

In schools, the government published a more detailed provisional readout of this summer’s KS2 results with revised figures and school level data to follow in December. The NAHT, ASCL and others pointed to the importance of work going on to close the attainment gap “which remains about as wide as it did a decade ago.”

The government began its anticipated furniture shifting with the Education and Skills Funding Agency closing from next spring and its School Financial Support teams moving out to work more closely with the Regional Improvement Teams from the start of next year.

The Education Endowment Foundation announced three new projects looking at ways of tackling teacher recruitment and retention including providing for preparation time to be undertaken offsite and trialling a flexi work pattern of a nine-day working fortnight. It would mean teachers could have an extra day off once a fortnight. Fridays might be popular.

And the Australian government outlined plans for setting age limits on the use of social media. The idea is to trial age verification before potentially introducing a minimum age of between 14 and 16 for use of social media apps such as TikTok and Instagram. “I want to see kids off their devices and onto the footy fields and the swimming pools and the tennis courts,” the i-newspaper reported the PM as saying.

In FE, the issue of FE staff pay, left out of the recent award for school teachers was raised in a question to ministers by Green Party MP Siân Berry.

She was told that while this was a matter for colleges rather than the government, it (the government) “would continue with plans to invest in FE teachers, as part of the c.£600 million funding across the 2024/25 and 2025/26 financial years that was announced last autumn.”

In other news, The Guardian examined the current debate around the future of BTECs and the whiff of snobbery while the NFER looked at the impact of technology on the labour market as part of its major Nuffield-funded Skills Imperative project. “This latest piece of research highlights that millions of workers are in occupations which are likely to decline due to anticipated changes in the jobs that will exist in future and the skills needed to do them,” according to one of the research authors.

Elsewhere, FE Week has been reporting on how Team UK has been doing at the latest WorldSkills competition, suggesting that they ‘kicked off with a bang.’

And the NEU announced the launch of a strike ballot for eligible sixth form college members who missed out on the recent pay award.

While over in HE, the QAA looked at where we are with credit transfer, a key component for the Lifelong Learning Entitlement but according to this report ‘not going anywhere anytime soon.’ A lot more groundwork, it reckons, is needed yet..

The British Academy got in early with its submission to the Treasury ahead of next month’s Budget. “The higher education and research landscape faces serious challenges which are posing a direct threat to their health and future.” It called for a review of HE funding and better international collaboration among other things.

And for those about to start uni for the first time, The Guardian helpfully tapped into the views of second- and third-year students about what to pack and what not to bother with. As the article put it “From food containers to first aid kits, coat hangers to extension cables, here are the things you need to pack – and what you can leave at home – by the young people who really know.” For those hovering over a crammed suitcase, it’s all here.

As we round off the week, MPs are now packing their cases and heading off to various parts of the country as the Conference season gets fully underway. The Lib Dems kick off this weekend followed by Labour the weekend after and the Conservatives after that.

MPs will not meet formally again until early October. Things are unlikely to be quieter by then.

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

The top headlines of the week:

‘Impact of Covid lockdown to disrupt England’s schools into the 2030’s, report says’ (Monday).
‘Hundreds of SEN kids missing from school – report’ (Tuesday).
‘Sixth-form teachers to vote on strikes over pay’ (Wednesday).
‘Ofsted Academy crackdown on ‘pirated’ materials’ (Thursday).
‘Children’s commissioner orders compulsory survey of schools’ (Friday).

General:

PM’s address. The Prime Minister addressed the TUC Congress where he thanked them for their support in helping win the General Election, explained how tough things were going to be for a while because of the inheritance left behind but urged members to work in partnership with the government in what he called ‘the common cause of national renewal.’
National debt. The House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee published its report into the UK national debt arguing it was becoming ‘unsustainable’ unless tough decisions about cuts or tax rises were made, calling among other things for the OBR to issue an annual report on any progress being made.
Public finances. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) reported on the sustainability of public finances in its latest Fiscal Risks report based on the outlook at the time of the Spring Budget and arguing that the national debt could triple over the next 50 years without three major risks, on climate change, the nation’s health, and productivity respectively were tackled.
Tax options. The Resolution Foundation looked at the options for raising taxes facing the Chancellor ahead of next month’s Budget, pointing to reforms to Inheritance Tax, Capital Gains Tax and NI along with a rise in fuel duty as options that wouldn’t break her Party’s promises but would raise the £20bn+ needed to fill the so-called black hole.
Getting back to work. The government reported that the new Labour Market Advisory Board, the body of experts set up to help advise the Work and Pensions Secretary on strategies for helping people back into work, had met for the first time this week to offer thoughts ahead of a government white paper later this autumn.
Labour market picture. The ONS published the latest data on the labour market which subject to error showed continued high levels of economic inactivity, an increase in average earnings but also a rise in youth unemployment, providing in the words of the CBI ‘mixed signals’ on the economy.
Labour market analysis. The Institute for Employment Studies (IES) published its assessment of the latest labour market data describing it as ‘a mixed bag’ with unemployment remaining low but employment growth weak, wages broadly positive but concerns about rising numbers, particularly among the young, not in work.
Social mobility. The Social Mobility Commission published its 2024 State of the Nation report using more nuanced indices covering mobility outcomes in early life and at local authority level, showing London and the Home Counties the most ‘favourable’ areas for mobility while for education some FSM children now performing better than some non-FSM children and the socio-economic enrolment gap having narrowed at university level.
Digital Poverty. The Digital Poverty Alliance marked the second annual End Digital Poverty Day by outlining some of the progress made in this area over the past year including the launch of a National Delivery Plan, the Charter for Digital Inclusion and the Tech4 programmes.
AI. The Institute for the Future of Work launched a call for industry partners to join its ‘Responsible AI Sandbox’ testing out scenarios of AI applications in the workplace to ensure the promotion of ‘Good Work.’
AI support. Coram-I, part of the children’s charity Coram, and the AI consultancy, Engine, announced a formal partnership to provide bodies such as local councils that work with children with AI powered data and process solutions.
Delivering Devolution. Demos and PwC helped further the government’s thinking on devolution by publishing their latest Good Growth for Cities Index showing cities across the S.W. such as Plymouth and Bristol performing the highest but inequality of access to housing, jobs and education generally as key concerns.
Education at a Glance. The OECD published its latest comprehensive annual survey of the performance of member countries’ education systems showing for the UK a mixed picture on attainment with those at the upper end performing strongly but continuing gaps for young people especially regionally with parental levels of education a considerable factor and with poorer levels of spending on early years than many other countries. along with access to early years provision.
European competitiveness. Former ECB President, Mario Draghi, presented his ‘plan’ for European competitiveness, commissioned by the European Commission, setting out three ‘transformations’ including accelerating innovation and finding new growth engines, creating a joint plan for decarbonisation and competitiveness, and increasing securing and reducing dependencies, all as part of a new industrial strategy for Europe but at an eye-watering cost of €80bn pa.

More specifically ...

Schools:

KS2. The government published more detailed provisional figures for this year’s KS2 assessments with revised figures due in December but showing currently that 61% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, up 1% on last year.
Pandemic effect. ASCL highlighted the long-term effect of the pandemic on schools in a report commissioned by them and written by Tim Oates, suggesting that it was a misnomer to believe that things were back to normal and that what was needed was a long-term strategic response at all levels.
Missing out on education. The children’s commissioner called for a concerted effort including better data, definition and systems to tackle the growing problem of children and young people missing school, as she published a new report showing that such children often had special needs and tended to fall through the cracks.
School survey. The children’s commissioner for England launched what was described as ‘the biggest ever survey of schools and colleges in England’ to discover more about the extent of children and young people in need, the support and resources available and what more could be done to improve their lives.
Financial support. The government announced that the ESFA would close from next March with the first part of the move from next month seeing the Agency’s Schools Financial Support teams lining up to work with Regional School Improvement Teams as part of a more focused school support model.
Teacher R and R. The Education Endowment Foundation announced the launch of three new projects looking at ways of tackling teacher recruitment and retention including one led by Ambition Institute looking at flexi work, one led by researchers from the IoE and Chartered College looking at taking PPA time offsite and one led by Teacher Tapp on strategies to attract teachers working in disadvantaged schools.

FE/Skills:

Mental health. The AoC called for “a reinvigorated national strategy” as it published the outcomes from its latest mental health survey carried out earlier this year and showing a disturbing number of attempted suicides and mental health referrals to A&E, many linked to cost-of-living pressures.
ESFA. The government announced that the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) would close by next March with core functions re-located to the DfE with the aim of ‘providing a single point of contact for financial management and support.’
Budget submission. The AELP published its submission to the Treasury ahead of next month’s Budget stressing the importance of skills and proposing a number of recommendations around apprenticeships including the introduction of a foundation programme and a ringfenced budget, which they argue could increase the number of apprenticeships to 500,000+ a year.
Call for evidence. The House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee which has been looking into apprenticeships and training and future skills generally, re-opened its call for evidence in light of a new government and new skills policies.
Future skills. The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) published the latest in its series of Working Papers as part of the Skills Imperative 2035 programme, looking at groups most at risk from emerging technology with workers in some admin, sales and trades roles most at risk and likely to need support in developing essential employment skills to move into future high demand occupations.
Pay ballot. The NEU announced that members who work in sixth-form colleges and who missed out on the recent pay award would be invited to vote in a strike ballot running from 14 September – 7 November.

HE:

Study visas. The government published the latest figures for study visas for the period January – August this year, showing a 17% drop on last year’s figures following the rule changes that came in at the start of this year.
Credit transfer. The QAA examined the current state of credit transfer policies in UKHE, suggesting the practice is still some way off full adoption with the continued dominance of the three-year degree a major barrier and some of the information on websites and language used difficult to access.
R/D Budget submission. The British Academy submitted its thoughts to the Treasury ahead of the Budget next month, calling among other things for ‘an urgent review of HE funding,’ an open immigration system for international students, a push to boost the UK’s role as a G7 leader of R/D, and the reduction of barriers to international collaboration.

Tweets and posts of note:

“It feels like I’ve been back at work for 9000 years already. Spent all summer getting rid of my bags, only for them to appear again this morning” -@Shabnamagram.
“I’m still seeing senior teachers being allocated only top sets when teachers new to the school are getting mainly ‘bottom’ sets. Seen it time and time again in many schools. And we all know who’ll be getting ‘concerns’ raised about their practice. Please stop the hypocrisy” -@norchcity.
“Teachers: I have just seen a school reporting their Ofsted inspection as saying that if it had been a graded inspection, it would have been Outstanding” -@teachwellall.
“My unironic top career for young people in any career is: get really good at emails. Answer them quickly, politely, and accommodatingly. This will earn you huge amounts of brownie points in the eyes of the geriatric millennials who will be your bosses for the next decade or so” -@se_kip.
“Grateful to the teen for phoning me whilst I was working 120 miles away to tell me there was (like, literally) no food in the house. What would we do without them?” -@thosethatcan.
“I accidentally signed off an email with ‘see you spoon’ to someone very important today and the cringe aftershocks may follow me into the grave” -@drhingram.
“My little lad was trying to use the word ambidextrous today. Instead he said my wife was ambitrocious. And, I very much like this new word” -@secretHT1.

A selection of quotes that merit attention:

“We will deliver the New Deal for Working People, banning exploitative zero-hours contracts, ending fire and rehire, making flexible working a day one right and new rights to trade union access to workplaces” – the Labour Party Chair addresses the TUC Congress.
“Working cross-party, this Committee will continue to champion the interests of children, young people and parents in every corner of England and from every background, as well as adults who seek to retrain and learn new skills” – Helen Hayes MP, the newly appointed Chair of the Education Committee.
“A common theme is economic opportunity and the quality of jobs across the country, but there are also deeply entrenched issues around educational underperformance among families and communities which are more acute in some places than others” – the Chair of the Social Mobility Commission introduces the Commission’s latest State of the Nation report.
“Where is the next generation of innovation going to come from? It’s not going to come out of a sandwich shop” – science secretary Peter Kyle argues the case for more people going to university.
“Think before you click” – the Student Loans Company reminds students to beware of smishing scams as they start to click on their first maintenance loan payments.
“We know that, for too many children and families, the system is just not working” – the education secretary responds to MPs’ questions about SEND provision.
“We believe this is an opportunity to strengthen regulation by bringing the different regulatory functions of the ESFA and Department for Education Regions Group together” – the Confederation of School Trusts responds to the transfer of the ESFA to the DfE.
“At the start of the 2022/23 academic year, 18 out of 21 countries for which data are available faced teacher shortages and had been unable to fill all their vacant teaching posts” – the OECD highlights the wider problem of teacher shortages in its latest international survey of education systems.
“At present, policy actions do not seem to match the nature of the public policy challenge” – Tim Oates reports on the continuing challenges facing schools post-pandemic.
“I think people would be stunned that there are that many children in this country that we do not know where they are" – the children’s commissioner releases a new report on children missing school.
“My career has taught me that the best learning happens in a classroom under the supervision of a qualified and competent teacher who knows their subject, not an overburdened parent struggling to remember their own decades-old schooling while trying not to burn the fish fingers” – a secondary school teacher calls for homework to be scrapped.

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

0.5%. The amount by which the UK economy grew in the 3 months to July 2024 compared with the 3 months to April 2024, albeit with no growth through June and July according to latest ONS figures.
33,700. The number of applications for Skilled Worker visas between April and August 2024, 12% up on the same period last year according to the Home Office.
5.1%. The annual growth in employees’ average regular earnings for the period May – July 2024, lower than the previous quarter according to the latest data from the ONS.
£8bn. The amount that Amazon is promising to invest in the UK over the next five years, according to the Chancellor.
75%. The percentage of employers in a survey who support the government’s proposals to strengthen employment rights, according to a poll by Opinium.
278,590. Updated figures on apprenticeships for August 2023 – June 2024, up1.1% on the same period last year according to latest government figures.
68%. The percentage of colleges in a survey increasing their resources available for mental health, according to a report from the AoC.
9%. The percentage of teachers leaving the profession currently annually in England, ‘at the upper end of the wider range’ according to data from the OECD.
6,000. The number of attacks against students, professionals and education institutions worldwide in 2022/23, roughly eight a day according to UNESCO.
20%. The number of people in the UK who have turned the heating on so far, according to a poll from YouGov.

Everything else you need to know ...

What to look out for next week

Lib Dem Conference (Saturday 14 – Tuesday 17 September).
Launch of the Final Report from the Commission on the Future of Employment Support (Wednesday 18 September).
UCAS Clearing data one month on from Results Day (Thursday 19 September).

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.