Steve Besley's Education Eye: week ending 21 November 2025

What's happened this week?

Important stories across the board:

A workforce “in the grip of a wellbeing crisis,” a new ‘roadmap’ for local skills planning and a university sector facing ‘continuing challenges’ over its finances.

Three of the top headlines of the week.

In other news, the government invited schools to apply for the national roll out of free breakfast clubs. JISC published a new strategic framework to help colleges reach AI maturity. The government announced a new ‘Work and Study’ visa route as part of its asylum plans. And the British Council’s latest annual ‘Perceptions’ survey of young people globally found a ‘striking’ shift as young people turn from favouring liberal democracies to authoritarian states.

More on many of these as we run through the week’s news in a bit more detail.

Schools first, where the government trumpeted its free breakfast club programme as it invited applications for the national rollout from next April.

With an announcement on the Child Poverty Strategy due in next week’s Budget, the focus is very much on supporting children from poorer backgrounds as the PM explained.

“We’re prioritising those communities feeling the sharpest squeeze, tackling both the cost of living and child poverty head-on.”

Mainstream schools will get £1 per child that attends and £25 a day to cover costs.

And talking of money, the Education Secretary acknowledged delays in announcing the funding for schools for next year but did suggest it would come next month while publishing National Funding Formula (NFF) details in the interim.

Delays are down to a busy spending review and late Budget apparently.

The other big headline for schools this week has the publication of the latest Teacher Wellbeing Index revealing a workforce under extreme pressure.

“Our ninth index reveals that the people who educate our children are operating under intolerable pressure,” explained the Chief Exec of the Education Support charity which compiles the Index..

The key issues appear to be too much to do, in too little time, with too few resources.

Added to that were the growing ‘emotional needs’ of learners. 87% of staff help them at least monthly, according to the survey report.

The charity called for dedicated staff retention strategies that prioritise staff wellbeing along with a ‘national debate on accountability and inspection systems.’

The NAHT pointed to ‘leaders, teachers and support staff taking on ever more tasks, working intolerably long hours, and feeling burned out.’

Elsewhere for schools this week, the Schools and Academies Show held its latest annual event, the Education Endowment Foundation announced some new partnerships for schools to help with maths, and the government and others unleashed a data dump of stats covering among other things special considerations in this summer’s exams, pupil suspensions and exclusions, and attainment in this summer’s multiple tables check.

On to FE which has also had a busy week with the annual get together of the clans at the AoC’s annual Conference and a buzz of important reports and documents.

Let’s start with the documents where two stand out.

First updated guidance from the government and Skills England for the second round of LSIPs.

The guidance reflects changes to the skills scenario since the first LSIPs in 2022 with the government keen to stress the importance of local collaboration, including that of HE and FE, in meeting local skill needs and delivering on the recent Skills White Paper and Industrial Strategy.

Developing new three-year updated local skills plans now comes under the beady eye of Skills England which will have responsibility for “monitoring progress and providing support as necessary to enable LSIPs to meet their objectives and helping to tackle any issues.”

Plans are to be ready by next summer.

Second, a new strategic framework to help colleges develop AI maturity.

The framework, which comes from JISC, outlines ‘three key pillars,’ around skills, technology and governance that can help college leaders looking to build what they called “an AI-infused future.”

In other news, FFT Education Datalab had an early stab at trying to understand who/what might be taking/offering V-levels.

“While not a direct replacement, we might expect V-Levels to fill the position currently being taken by small Level 3 VTQs, including BTECs, OCR Cambridge Technicals and other qualifications,” they concluded.

The AoC launched a new campaign, ‘Adult Learning Pays,’ to encourage more adults, particularly those on low wages, to prepare for changes in the workplace arising from AI and green skill developments by undertaking more training.

“It’s really worrying that our research shows that adults, especially those who are on low wages, aren’t actively pursuing training with their employer or elsewhere to ensure they can keep their jobs,” explained the Chief Exec of the AoC.

The Gatsby Foundation and Learning and Work Institute examined how employers/ employees made decisions about higher tech training.

In a word, employees need clearer progression pathways and employers don’t always understand the system let alone find it works.

“Many employers lack a clear understanding of the qualifications system and its terminology, particularly around levels 4 and 5.”

It all poses further questions for the Lifelong Learning Entitlement.

And the Education and Training Foundation launched its ‘Your Voice in FE and Skills’ survey, designed to understand the issues and challenges of those working in FE and skills so that the organisation can better support them.

The deadline is next Wednesday.

In HE, the OfS announced the outcomes of its earlier bidding exercise for capital funding but the big news has been the Office’s latest sobering financial update.

“Nobody should be under any illusion that the challenges that have gripped the sector in recent years have evaporated,” it said as it assessed the latest picture following this autumn’s recruitment programme.

Many institutions reported healthy student recruitment but not all.

“There remains significant variation in the sector, both in terms of overall financial performance and student recruitment,” the OfS went on to say and “without mitigating actions, 124 institutions, representing 45 per cent of those included in the analysis face a deficit in 2025-26. This has increased from 34 per cent from provider forecasts in May.”

A big concern for many is the impact of any potential international student levy. The Russell Group reckon this could cost the sector over £760m pa and push many more to the brink.

In other headline news, the government incorporated a new ‘Protection Work and Study’ route into its new asylum proposals announced this week.

It would offer those gaining employment or enrolling on a course of study an option to secure settled status quicker than under the core proposals, while also potentially being able to sponsor family members to come to the UK.

“Once on this route, they will become eligible to ‘earn’ settlement sooner than they would under core protection alone.”

The study would need to be at ‘an appropriate level’ and those eligible would need to pay a fee.

And three other interesting reports for HE this week.

First, with the Reform Party likely to have an impact at the next general election, the Public First consultancy looked into what likely Reform voters had to say about higher ed.

Based on some recent focus group sessions, they found “participants were concerned with the financial burden that HE places on students while they pursue degrees that fail to provide them with the skills they need for the jobs that are available to them.”

Their conclusion was that Reform voters, like many other voters, needed to see the ‘tangible benefits’ of HE before they could get behind the sector.

Second, and still with Public First, the OfS published the consultancy’s earlier commissioned research into how far students understood their rights as consumers of HE.

Not that well it seems despite the fact that most received a lot of timely information ahead of enrolment.

But on the key question of how many understood and could describe their rights, 50% said they did and could while 40% said they didn’t and couldn’t.

As Jim Dickinson argued on Wonkhe “it’s hard to argue it represents a protection regime that’s working as intended.”

And third, HEPI and the University of Lancashire reported on the growing picture of students combining their studies with p/t work.

Typically students work an average of 17 hours a week, largely in casual and low paid work, with the report suggesting that anything over 20 hours could be detrimental to their studies.

The report called for a closer relationship between HE providers and local employers to make things easier for students.

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

The top headlines of the week:

• ‘New study route for successful asylum claimants in UK’ (Monday)
• ‘Staff wellbeing at its lowest since 2019, data shows’ (Tuesday)
• ‘Ofsted school inspection window could be tightened’ (Wednesday)
• ‘Radical action needed as half of providers still face deficits’ (Thursday)
• ‘Special schools fear being an ‘afterthought’ on curriculum’ (Friday)

General:

• Treasury submission. The TUC published its pitch to the Treasury ahead of next week’s Budget, setting out a range of measures it would like to see, including helping working people with the cost of living, supporting young people into paid work, implementing the employment rights bill and investing in public services.
• Economic Forecast. The EU published its Autumn 2025 Economic Forecast indicating that growth had outperformed expectations for the first three quarters of the year at 1.4%, that inflation looked set to stabilise and unemployment to fall slightly but with risks to future growth remaining high.
• Social Mobility. The House of Lords Social Mobility Policy Committee published its Report into issues around social mobility highlighting the importance of education as a factor, pointing specifically to concerns around NEETs, functional skills and alternatives to university, and making a number of recommendations including strengthening careers guidance, setting targets for NEETs, retaining qualifications like BTECs until alternatives are proven, and increasing the maintenance loan for university students.
• Global Perceptions. The British Council published its latest Global Perceptions Report based on survey evidence from 20,000+ 18-34 yr olds across 18 G20 countries, showing a notable decline in perceived attractiveness of liberal Western democracies albeit with the UK remaining second choice for international students but with its overall influence looking ‘fragile.’

HE:

• New visa route. The government announced a new Protection ‘Work and Study’ visa route, which would see new arrivals ‘able to earn settlement sooner’ if they gained employment or undertook a course of study, as part of proposed new asylum plans.
• Financial update. The OfS issued a financial update for the sector, factoring in this autumn’s recruitment data and concluding on the basis of modelling, a likely increase in the number of providers expected to report a deficit next year. 
• Capital funding. The OfS announced the allocation of capital funding for 2025/26 following the recent bidding process with most of it (£80m) going to specific providers supporting some 60 projects.
• Know your rights. The OfS published commissioned research undertaken by the consultancy Public First looking into how far students know their rights as consumers when it comes to HE, finding that while most were happy that their learning experience matched what was promised, many not fully aware of their rights and not convinced it was worth complaining if necessary anyway.
• Working and studying. HEPI and the University of Lancashire reported on the growing number of students having to combine study with p/t work, with time pressures and the quality of the p/t work issues for many, calling as a result for better support, both financial and practical, from all sides.
• Reform views on HE. Public First reported on views about HE from likely Reform voters with focus groups, suggesting that such voters were unconvinced about the value of HE although ready to welcome income from international students.
• UK/Germany collaboration. The Russell Group called for stronger links with Germany following a recent high-level visit, arguing that exchanges, short-term placements and joint PhDs could all help ‘unlock the full potential of R/D links between the two countries.’

Tweets and posts of note:

• “Teachers should whinge more" says Jess Phillips. @jessphillips - start following me, seriously, I can out whinge the best of them” -@RogersHistory.
• “All the roles of a Senior Leader in schools: Teacher Parking Attendant Accountant HR H and S Data Protector Social Worker Therapist School Attendance Officer Dead Rat Remover First Aider Cleaner What have I missed?” -@Headteacherchat.
• “I arrived to school later today as I’d been at an appointment. I was met by so many students asking where I’d been. Some said they’d missed seeing me on the gate! It was a lovely reminder of the importance of belonging. It applies to staff just as much as it does to students!” -@MrColesDrama.
• “My daughter told me there’s a small get together at school on Friday. I asked her “how small?” She said "Just you, me, and the principal” -@israeldfirzt.
• “A glass of wine on a Tuesday evening has become the norm for a house with two headteachers” -@BraaiKing_Bad.

A selection of quotes that merit attention:

• “We believe inflation has passed its peak and will continue to slowly trend downwards, but will nevertheless remain above 3 per cent over the next 6 months” – the NIESR responds to the latest monthly inflation figures.
• “While increased student recruitment is positive news, this report shows the continuing challenges facing the higher education sector” – the OfS issues a financial update on the HE sector.
• “I think it will hurt the sector. I think it’s not in the long-term interests of the UK either” – the VC  of the University of Manchester confronts the international student fee levy.
• “This new guidance sets the roadmap for making that happen” – Skills England leads on new guidance for the development of the second round of Local Skills Improvement Plans.
• “The overall state of our educators’ wellbeing is not improving” – the conclusion from the latest annual Teacher Wellbeing Index.
• “So while a Year 8 diagnostic test could, in principle, provide valuable information, the technical and design challenges are considerable” – FFT Education Datalab highlight the challenges involved in designing a Yr 8 diagnostic maths test.
• “These appointments further strengthen AQA’s Executive Team at a crucial period in the education sector” – AQA announces the appointments of Natalie Perera and Dale Bassett to key roles in its organisation.
• “When I turned six, the thing I wanted more than anything in the world was a doll that ate and cried like a real baby. I hoped against hope that my great aunt Mary, my mother’s favourite aunt, might buy one for me for my birthday. Instead, she gave me a copy of The Orchard Book of Greek Myths” – Shadow Minister Latie Lam on the importance of the Classics.

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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.