Steve Besley's Education Eye: week ending 03 October 2025

What's happened this week?

Important stories across the board:

Primary school libraries, unemployed young people, new progression ambitions for young people, an enhanced FE system, re-introduced student maintenance grants, a future ‘substantial’ pay increase for care workers.

Plenty of education headlines at this week’s Labour Party Conference. A lot of details still to come but equally a lot of boxes ticked as well.

More on these in a moment.

In other education news this week the Covid 19 Inquiry heard disturbing evidence about the impact of the pandemic on young people, the wider FE sector reeled in the news that it was no longer a Cinderella service, and 42.2% of respondents in a new HE staff survey said they’d recommend a career in HE against 24.5% who said they wouldn’t and 32.1% who weren’t sure.

Oh, and The Independent reported that the PM used 6,305 words in his Conference speech. Someone was counting.

Back to those Conference headlines and what was said or in some cases, not said.

On school libraries, Rachel Reeves, who neatly pointed out that both her parents were primary teachers and that both she and her sister had grown up with school library spaces constricted, did her bit for young people and the profession by announcing money for primary school libraries in England.

“I am committing here today to providing a library in every single primary school in England by the end of this parliament.”

The money, £10m+, will come from asset funds announced earlier this summer.

The move was widely welcomed, particularly by the National Literacy Trust which has been spearheading a ‘Libraries for Primaries’ campaign and which recently published some worrying findings about a lack of such libraries in parts of the country. 1 in 7 state primary schools in England don’t have the space apparently.

It also ties in neatly with next year’s DfE ‘National Year of Reading’ initiative.

The issue now, as many pointed out, is how to ensure schools have the space and the people to make it all work.

Next and in the less clear box, the announcement, also from the Chancellor, of a guarantee of paid work for eligible young people who have been on universal credit for 18 months.

Described as a Youth Guarantee, funded from ‘existing budgets,’ and to be delivered through the revamped DWP, the ambition was certainly there with a promise to eradicate youth unemployment altogether.

This was to be achieved through what was described as “a targeted backstop” of guaranteed paid work for those eligible.

“Our guarantee means that any young person out of work, education or training for more than 18 months, will be given a paid work placement, real work, practical experience, new skills.”

What’s less clear at the moment is exactly which age group will be covered, what restrictions might apply and when it will all start. Details are promised in the now even more eagerly anticipated November Budget.

As the IfS said “the key test for this policy will be whether it helps young people move into sustained jobs, rather than simply providing temporary placements.”

948,000 16-24 yr olds in the UK were not earning or learning according to the latest (April – June) estimates from the ONS, up from 923,000 in the first part of this year.

Employers gave it a cautious welcome.

“Businesses will be keen to find out more about the practical details of this new scheme so they can get involved and ensure it is as effective as possible,” the steady verdict from the British Chambers of Commerce.  

On to the new progression ambitions for young people and enhanced FE system, announced by the PM in his Conference speech.

The new progression ambition was perhaps the standout, shifting the Blair ambition set 26 years ago of 50% of young people going on to HE, to a wider, and more skills based, set of options/ambitions for young people.

To be precise, two-thirds of young people to “get higher level skills, either through university, further education or a gold-standard apprenticeship by age 25” with 10% ‘pursuing higher tech education or apprenticeships by age 25 by 2040.’

As The Guardian put it, “seeing Blair’s 50% and raising it to 67%.”

To support all this would be a beefed-up FE system, described by the PM “as a defining cause for the government,” with more Technical Excellence Colleges, a greater focus on English and maths resits, dedicated Regional Improvement Teams and with a uniform funding model for all L 4-6 courses across FE/HE. Hat tip here to Philip Augar.

‘Augers well,’ as many wryly noted.

Rebalancing academic and vocational provision for young people has been an aspiration for some time. A changing economy with concomitant skill needs may have forced the issue but it’s a bold and important move by the government and has been widely welcomed.

In the words of David Hughes for the Association of Colleges (AoC,) “It is great to see a prime minister speak so passionately about the power of further education and skills and to back those words with actions that can truly make a difference.”

Also in the ‘fine details yet to come’ box was the announcement by the Education Secretary of the reintroduction of maintenance grants for some university students in England on priority courses by the end of this parliament.

Campaigners have been calling for the reintroduction of such grants for some time and the Education Secretary proudly claimed that she had taken ‘the decisive steps on university finances needed.’

But as the Times Higher explained, ‘the sting in the tail’ here is that the money is to come from the contentious levy on international student fees. “A terrible policy” according to the Chief Exec of the Russell Group.

The UCU dismissed it as ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul.’

The NUS was more enthusiastic. “We are ecstatic that maintenance grant funding is back on the table and we know it has to be the first step of many.”

Again, more details expected in the Budget let alone the forthcoming Post-16 White Paper.

Away from the Conference what else has been happening across education this week?

In schools, the key role that schools play in the lives of children and young people has been vividly brought home this week as the Covid 19 Inquiry began taking evidence on the impact of the lock down on young people.

Schools closed at the last minute without guidance, “children deprived of much of the fun that makes a childhood,” some left vulnerable to abuse, and when it came to remote lessons, 'people would answer the remote lesson call in bed and would have the camera off and would be posting on their Instagram stories, literally watching The Only Way Is Essex.'

As the children’s commissioner put it “the accompanying lockdowns and the fracture of wider support services for children, have fundamentally changed the nature of childhood in England.”

The Inquiry will continue to take evidence on this topic for a further three weeks.

In other news, Ofqual reported a slight drop in cyber security incidents in schools over the past year but a sharpening of the nature of such incidents.

SchoolDash published its latest tranche of data Insights with some interesting charts on matters such as school occupancy, SEND demand and ‘the uneven distribution of unqualified teachers.’ All usefully mapped out.

And finally for schools, the HMC has been in Conference this week and the NFER is taking on an important research project into SEND numbers across mainstream schools.

“This project is about more than numbers and policies – it’s about shining a light on how children with SEND are supported in mainstream schools.” 

Moving on to FE where the positive vibes from the Labour Conference have been making all the news.

As indicated in the summary above, the concern now is to see all this promise translated into reality.

As Tom Bewick has argued, this could be a moment to revamp the post-18 system around a more uniform model able to respond quickly to changing economic and social needs. Although whether new V levels is the answer remains to be seen.

There’s some talk that the long-awaited Curriculum and Assessment Review may not end up being as radical as envisaged. Let’s hope that the forthcoming Skills and HE Papers don’t go the same way.

In HE, Wonkhe reported on its survey of HE staff, carried out over the summer, looking here at the workplace.

On the positive side, two-thirds said they didn’t regret working in HE, a similar number were ‘satisfied’ with the pay and conditions, 80% were content with their work-life balance and over 95% agreed that they had good working relationships with their colleagues.

On the downside, those on academic contracts, the disabled and some ethnic groups found things more difficult, concerns generally were raised about support and wellbeing and most respondents reported that their institution had taken “material steps” to reduce costs over the past year.

Elsewhere this week, the V.C. of Newcastle University made the case for civic universities in a paper for Universities UK, setting out their importance in a linked explainer.

“Whilst calling yourself a ‘civic university’ or establishing a Civic University Agreement are optional,” this explained, “all universities will have an economic impact in their place simply through the income and activity they attract and generate.”

And the House of Commons Library Service set the scene for the next Horizon Europe research programme which is due to start in 2028 with a budget of €175 billion.

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

The top headlines of the week:

• ‘Maintenance grants to return for some students’ (Monday)
• ‘PM sets new targets for under 25s in university, college or apprenticeships’ (Tuesday)
• ‘Ofsted finds gaps in SEND training for trainee teachers’ (Wednesday)
• ‘1,000 school employers urged to protect staff against 'Ofsted risk’ (Thursday)
• ‘Reform SEND system now or face billions in extra costs, ministers warned’ (Friday)

General:

• PM’s Conference address. The Prime Minister tackled some of the many perceived challenges facing both the Party and the country in his Party Conference speech while also highlighting choices for the future, including significantly new ambitions for young people and support for the FE and skills sector.
• Chancellor’s Conference address. The Chancellor adopted an upbeat tone in her address to the Party Conference, promising ‘a stronger economy’ and ‘a country of opportunity,’ pointing to what had been achieved so far from the living wage to free school meals and highlighting future ambitions including on school libraries, youth employment, industrial strategy, entrepreneurs and investment while staying schtum on any future tax rises.
• Education Secretary’s address. The Education Secretary made delivering social justice the theme of her address to the Party Conference, listing the work of the dept in this area over the past year from rolling out breakfast clubs to recruiting new teachers and ending with a promise to bring in targeted maintenance grants for some students.  
• Employment Rights. The Work Foundation called on the government to reject amendments from the House of Lords to its Employability Rights Bill as it published an assessment of the Bill, highlighting the importance of two key proposals including day one unfair dismissal rights and the scrapping of ‘exploitative’ zero-hour contracts.
• Business confidence. The Institute of Directors (IoD) reported that business confidence had ‘plumbed new depths’ as it published its September Economic Confidence Index showing businesses particularly concerned about labour costs, supply chain inflation and energy costs.
• Labour market. The recruitment company Adzuna pointed to a slowing labour market with healthcare workers and teachers two of the hardest hit categories, along with graduates generally, as it published its latest monthly market outlook.
• Covid and young people. The Covid 19 Public Inquiry which began its Module in May looking into the impact of the pandemic on children and young people, started a 4-week evidence session hearing from key witnesses.

HE:

• Maintenance grants. The Education Secretary announced plans to introduce, by the end of this parliament, ‘targeted, means-tested maintenance grants for HE students’ in England on priority courses, with the money to come from the international student fee levy.
• Staff survey. Wonkhe reported on the results of its recent survey of HE staff where many continue to operate within the context of financial constraints, finding a mixed picture with many positive about working in and valuing HE but also concerned about a lack of career progression and institutional support.  
• Horizon Europe 2028-2034. The House of Commons Library Service published a briefing paper on what is known so far about the next round of the important European (Horizon) Research and Innovation Programme for which the UK is looking to be an associate member and which is due to start in 2028 with four likely ‘pillars,’ including Excellent Science, Competitiveness and Society, Innovation and European Research Area.
• Consultation response. Universities UK said it broadly agreed with the proposals put forward by the OfS in its consultation on new regulatory requirements for franchised provision as it published its formal response, although it pointed to concerns about the regulator being able to impose further directions without an investigation.
• Civic universities. Professor Chris Day, Vice-Chancellor of Newcastle University, outlined the importance of civic universities in a briefing for Universities UK, pointing to their role in supporting communities and the local economy and in helping make devolution an effective reality.

Tweets and posts of note:

• “It turns out teachers are more likely to experience imposter syndrome and it hits retention, wellbeing and promotion choices hard” -@jon_severs.
• “Hearing the number of days their child has missed is "more meaningful" than attendance percentages, parents told a new study” -@Schools Week.
• “Had to get a bunch of adults sat down after a workshop session this morning. Cracked out the "Everyone sitting down in 5, sitting down in 4, in 3, 2, just waiting for two more people, waiting for one more person, and one". Worked like a charm” -@MBDscience.
• “The guy who comes into my department and does beginner trombones before school every Wednesday deserves a pay rise. No idea how he puts up with that at 8am, it's bad enough 2 rooms away” -@LibbySquires96.
• “It’s a good thing I’ve enjoyed teaching long division as I have three people observing me teach it tomorrow” -@hollieteaches.
• “If you want to live dangerously, laminate without using the cardboard pouch. You’ll never feel more alive” -@SecretHT1.
• “No one is intrinsically ‘maths anxious’. What they’re scared of is ‘doing badly and looking dumb.’ The solution to maths anxiety is ‘teaching mathematical foundations more robustly’ not spurious interventions aimed at the fear itself. Competence breeds confidence” -@tombennett71.
• “Conker championships spared the axe... by French nuts” -@Telegraph.

A selection of quotes that merit attention:

• “The grafters – finally included in our country’s highest aspirations” – the PM sets new progression ambitions for young people in his Conference speech.
• “I remember as a kid that my school library was turned into a classroom because there were more students than space” – the Chancellor promises money for primary school libraries.
• “See the light in children’s eyes as Labour’s choices light their world.  See the relief in their parents’ faces that they have, at last, a Government driving down costs and on their side” – the Education Secretary talks up the government’s education achievements at this year’s party Conference.
• “Of course, we can welcome the intention for government to boost support for students facing the biggest financial barriers through the reintroduction of maintenance grants, but this is not the way to do it” – the Russell Group responds to the announcement that the international student fee levy will be used to fund maintenance grants.
• “For decades, I have been fighting to place further education at the heart of economic growth and inclusion and I am personally pleased the prime minister has pledged his personal commitment to that” – the AoC’s David Hughes responds to the PM’s announcements on FE and skills.
• “In particular, his expertise across the skills landscape, especially on Apprenticeships, will be especially vital in helping the sector tackle one of the biggest challenges it faces in building a talent pipeline for the future” – Make UK welcomes former minister Rob Halfon as its new Executive Director for Policy.
• “In general, it was an extremely isolating and lonely experience because it was just me and my mum” – young people describe the impact that the pandemic had on them as a key witness session to the Public Inquiry gets under way.

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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.