Steve Besley's Education Eye: week ending 18 July 2025

What's happened this week?

Important stories across the board:

An end of term feel this week.

The Education Secretary issued her end of term report late last week, telling her audience, “there were difficult decisions in year 1 and there will be difficult decisions in year 2.”

She listed four, none particularly finessed.

They included rebuilding relationships, closing the attainment gap, spreading excellence, and, of course, SEND. As she acknowledged in the case of the latter, ‘a complex policy problem’ but one the government won’t shy away from.

There’s lots more to come of course with key reports and white papers expected in the coming weeks and months on child poverty, curriculum and assessment reform, 16-19 provision, and HE, but rounding off with a vote of thanks to all and sundry the Education Secretary managed to end the school year on a positive note. 

The Shadow Education Secretary offered some end of term thoughts of her own in a comment piece on conservativehome this week but the sense was more of holding to account than of holding forth.

“Labour must be held to account for their failure to keep their promises – and I will relentlessly highlight where they are letting pupils and parents down.”

Little sense of any vision as yet.

Politics apart not everyone is wildly excited about the impending summer break.

The media for instance has been reporting on the latest survey from Parentkind this week which saw 53% of parents call for a four rather than six-week summer break.

Part of the problem is rising costs. The charity Coram reckoned from their survey released this week that ‘working parents now face an average bill of £179 per child, per week over the summer.

There’s lots of advice and information out there for parents and families. Parentkind for instance has what it calls ‘The Ultimate Summer Pack for Parents’ but as Jason Elsom, the boss of Parentkind noted, ‘a six-week break can feel more like survival than a holiday.’ There’s only so many puzzles you can do at home as one tweeter put it.

What price teachers perhaps?

On to what’s been happening across education this week.

In schools, Ofsted dug a bit deeper and announced further measures this week to try and reassure users about its new inspection regime due in from this November.

More training, enhanced quality assurance, phased scheduling, experienced leaders and so on. Will it convince the doubters? Not yet, it seems according to this response from ASCL. “The fact remains that the timeline is far too rushed and the five-point grading system proposed is fundamentally flawed.”

On to relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) the subject of new statutory guidance from the government this week.

Not an easy topic of course and not getting any easier either but the government seems to have found a smooth path although some eyebrows were raised over the introduction of sex education in primary.

Non-compulsory “but we recommend that primaries teach sex education in years 5 and/or 6, in line with content about conception and birth, which forms part of the national curriculum for science.” And parents should be consulted and can request an opt out.

Elsewhere for primary, the focus on compulsory relationships is to be on ‘the building blocks of healthy, respectful relationships.’

At secondary, “relationships and sex education should provide young people with the information they need to develop healthy, safe and nurturing relationships of all kinds.”

Incel culture, the dangers of misogyny, sexual ethics and women’s health are among the new features included for the secondary curriculum.

Reactions have generally been supportive. "We are broadly supportive of the need for additional topics in RSHE,” wrote the NAHT, “and welcome the focus on increasing awareness of the malign influence of misogyny and deepfakes.”

In other news, the Education Policy Institute and Sutton Trust have both highlighted sharpening divides emerging in the schools system this week.

In its latest annual report, the Education Policy Institute argued that “we are making little progress in closing the gap between vulnerable groups of pupils and their peers.”  All groups seemed to be affected with early years, SEND pupils and 16-19 yr olds among those worst hit.

The Sutton Trust in its report pointed to a growing digital divide emerging across the school system.

“It’s startling how rapidly an AI digital divide is opening up in schools,” the boss of the Trust said hinting at a ‘digital wild west’ with less advantaged schools falling behind. To take just one example ‘private school teachers were more likely than their state school counterparts to use AI for writing pupil reports (29% vs 11%.)’

Evidence from Teacher Tapp and elsewhere suggest three factors are critical when it comes to narrowing digital divides: preparedness, training and evidence. Left unaddressed they can make things worse.

The government is working with schools to ensure they meet the designated ‘six digital standards’ including connectivity, online safety and digital leadership by 2030 but tackling the wider issues of disadvantage and attainment gaps raised by the Education Policy Institute may take longer.

And finally for schools, with exam results days looming ever nearer, Ofqual and UCAS sought to reassure students with their annual ‘how to prepare for results day and what to do if things don’t quite go as planned’ missive. “When getting ready for results day, it’s always worth doing a bit of research about your options.”

Ofqual also confirmed it was withdrawing its official stats on access arrangements for 2014 – 2024 GCSE, AS and A levels, citing issues with the data, not it hastened to add, with the arrangements. “There is potential for error in the information provided by exam boards,” it declared.

In FE, it’s all been about them young people this week.

Not just votes for young people but a report calling for a new social contract with young people, UNESCO’s latest World Youth Skills Day, and at the end of last week,  the creation of a young people’s panel to help determine the government’s Youth Guarantee.

It all came as the latest labour market figures pointed to youth unemployment figures remaining a big concern.

As the Learning and Work Institute explained, “the unemployment rate for young people aged between 16 and 24 in the March to May 2025 quarter was 14.2%, 0.4 percentage points higher than the rate in the same quarter one year earlier.”

Unsurprisingly given this context, “young people are not primarily looking for gimmicks, or virtue signalling on progressive issues.” Rather, their concerns are more practical; how to get a job, how to support a family, how to get on the housing ladder.

That was how the think tank Policy Exchange saw things in their report on young people published this week as part of its Portrait of Modern Britain series.

It pointed to ‘disillusioned’ young people and called for a new social contract embracing affordable housing, more training opportunities including apprenticeships, and cuts to NI.

Elsewhere in FE, the Army and Royal Navy topped the rankings again in the Sunday Times’s listing of Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers 2025 published last weekend. They recruited 5,399 and 2,305 new apprenticeship starts respectively this year, one of the criteria for success.

On to HE where ahead of an anticipated government report on HE and with fears of a levy on international students, the Russell Group spelled out the realities of delivering on an ever tightening budget.

The standard undergraduate tuition fee now worth 26% less, the support (Strategic Priorities) Grant down 19%, research funding struggling to keep up, inflation up, costs up, international student numbers under threat, the list goes on.

The briefing called for a sustainable funding model and stable policy environment.

The latest picture on 2025 applications through UCAS out this week may bring some reassurance.

Numbers up for both the core groups of domestic 18 yr olds and international undergraduate applicants.

In the words of UCAS, “(our) analysis shows universities and colleges have made just over 2 million offers for undergraduate study this year, a record high and an increase of 3.8% compared to last year.”

As before, however, much will depend on how these numbers play out among individual institutions over the summer months.

Elsewhere in HE, AI reared its head again with the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) reporting on some recent case summaries involving its use or misuse.

Part of the problem is that current detection tools appear limited. As the Times Higher reported, “it is important that decision-makers understand the strengths and limitations of detection software, and weigh this evidence carefully against other available information.”

The OIA called on institutions to have clear procedures and stick to “an educative rather than punitive approach for minor or first instances of academic misconduct,” given the current state of developments.

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

The top headlines of the week:

• ‘Reprehensible rise in assaults and abuse against teachers’ (Monday)
• ‘Schools to teach anti-misogyny lessons in bid to tackle manosphere’  (Tuesday)
• ‘Real-terms value of tuition fees down by a third – Russell Group’ (Wednesday)
• ‘UK jobs market weakens as unemployment rate rises’ (Thursday)
• ‘Faster school population fall means 400,000 fewer pupils by 2030’ (Friday)

General:

• Life Sciences. The government launched its Life Sciences Sector Plan, one of the eight key sectors featured in the Industrial Strategy, with the Plan promising ‘six bold actions to kickstart change’ including helping doctors use cutting edge tech, backing British manufacturing, and helping companies invest and grow.
• Unpaid internships. The government issued a ‘Call for Evidence’ on unpaid internships, with the 12-week call designed to gather evidence that could protect young people from being exploited and ensure ‘fair career pathways’ for all.
• Young Futures. The government announced that the first Young Futures Hubs, designed to bring local services together to prevent young people being drawn into gangs and knife crime, would be set up later this year.
• Labour market picture. The ONS published latest quarterly data on the UK labour market showing unemployment up and vacancies down but the economic inactivity rate lower and average earnings up but slowing.
• Recruitment update. The British Chambers of Commerce pointed to a flat recruitment picture as it published its latest Quarterly Recruitment Outlook showing 60% of firms surveyed retaining current staffing levels and only 25% expecting to increase their workforce over the next three months.
• EU Budget. The EU put forward its budget for the next seven years from 2028, proposing a sum of €1.816 trillion focused on building and protecting a stronger Europe, fostering education and democratic values, and investing in people and places.
• Online protection. The EU Commission announced new guidelines for the protection of minors online along with the prototype of an age-verification app which would allow users to prove they’re over 18 when accessing restricted content and which will be trialled and further developed in the coming months.
• Early years. The innovation agency, Nesta, set out a blueprint for early years support for families and children, comprising ten elements including a national early years core offer with complementary digital service and local delivery, which it argued could act as a further layer to the government’s recent Best Start strategy.

HE:

• UCAS applications 2025. UCAS published an update on UCAS applications as of the 30 June deadline, indicating a rise in the total number of applications so far compared to last year, including for UK 18 yr olds and for international students.
• Falling worth. The Russell Group published a new briefing highlighting the fall in real-terms value of both the undergraduate tuition fee and the Strategic Priorities Grant, with both badly hit in recent years by rising costs and inflation leaving universities under mounting financial pressure.
• AI have a complaint. The Office of the Independent Adjudicator reported on the growing issue of academic misconduct related to the use of AI, referencing a number of recent case studies to make the point that institutions need to work with students on agreed practice.
• Higher level skills. The Social Market Foundation highlighted the importance of higher level skills to government growth plans but argued in a new report that its approach was ‘muddled’ and poorly understood, calling for clearer planning and collaboration between employers, universities and government.
• Reform or. The outgoing President of the British Academy called for radical reform of the HE sector including a new regulator and a cross-party commission to determine the way forward for British universities as the government seemed ‘unclear’ about how to proceed.
• Quality Code. The QAA published the first three collections of advice and guidance designed to accompany its latest Quality Code for UKHE, covering issues like adopting a strategic approach to managing quality and standards, engaging with students and working in partnerships.

Tweets and posts of note:

• “Parents want four-week school summer holidays to ease costs | The Times” –@schoolsontap.
• “It’s all fun having two weeks off in May until everyone else finishes on Friday and you still have over 2 weeks left!” -@MrsMc_teaches.
• “What % of our children live in air conditioned houses nationally? <1% maybe. School is as cool as anywhere” -@vicgoddard.
• “I do think if there’s a serious drive to support SEND then the insistence that a SENDCo must be a teacher should be revised. I’ve seen & worked with some stellar support staff who would make for amazing SENDCos but can’t have the badge. This seems madness to me” -@Strickomaster.
• “The open plan classroom was the brainchild of people who never actually taught in one. Well done to NZ for binning them, as every country should” -@tombennett71.
• “Classes for next year were told their teachers today.. their reaction to having me was just overwhelmingly lovely” -@missrogers1793.
• “I'm not saying I'm old... but when I was in school, we made ashtrays for our parents in art class” -@ThrillaRilla369.

A selection of quotes that merit attention:

• “Working together, we have begun to put education back at the centre of national life” – the Education Secretary issues her end-of-term report.
• “When it comes to schools, the government have behaved disgracefully“ – the Shadow Education Secretary with an alternative end-of-term report.
• “The real threat from AI is not that it takes your job, it is that your job is taken by someone who understands how to use AI to do your job better” – David Willetts on the dilemmas posed by AI.
• “Work should stop above a maximum temperature of 30°C, or 27°C for those doing strenuous jobs” – the TUC reports on hot weather working conditions.
• “The ONS data suggests that the jobs market is continuing to loosen as unemployment rises, vacancies fall again, and wage growth slows” – the British Chambers of Commerce reacts to the latest labour market report.
• “The portrait painted by this report is not a positive one. Many young people are profoundly discontented with a social contract which isn’t working for them” – the Policy Exchange think tank calls for a new social contract with young people.
• “It must all be taught sensitively and inclusively, with respect to the backgrounds and beliefs of pupils and parents” – THE Education Secretary issues new guidance on relationships, sex and health education.
• “Almost half a decade on, and we see precious few signs of recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic” – the Education Policy Institute points to widening attainment gaps in its latest annual report.
• “Just like I always did as a child, I guarantee that a month in, my children will be mooching around, wondering what to do with themselves” - One parent’s foreboding as the long summer holiday looms.
• “There is still more to do. We urge the government to make it as easy as possible for 16- and 17-year-olds to use their democratic voice, by scrapping voter ID laws, implementing automatic voter registration and promoting political literacy in schools and colleges” – the NUS responds to the announcement of votes being extended to 16 and 17 yr olds in England.

Education Eye will appear briefly over the summer break as news dictates.

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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.