Steve Besley's Education Eye: week ending 05 December 2025

What's happened this week?

Important stories across the board:

Some familiar headlines this week with SEND and Ofsted both making the running.

In other news, the Bank of England and OECD both reported on the wider economic climate as we head towards the end of the year. “Risks to financial stability have increased during 2025,” the Governor of the Bank of England said.

The government launched its long awaiting Child Poverty Strategy promising a number of measures to ‘lift children out of poverty by 2030.’ “Our strategy isn’t just about reversing the failures of the past, it sets a new course for national renewal, with children’s life chances at its heart,” the Prime Minister said.

In schools, the Digital Poverty Alliance opened out debate about banning phones, arguing that it mustn’t mean we throw the baby out with the bathwater and cut off opportunities for young people to learn the digital skills they need in life.

A point endorsed by Pearson’s School Report highlighting the need for AI training in schools. “Almost a quarter (23%) of teachers say they are not confident using AI, and only 9% feel confident teaching it. In response, 42% say AI should be included in teacher training.”

In FE, Edge and the Education and Training Foundation both had new reports out, on SMEs and apprenticeships and capturing social value in FE respectively.

Headlines have been quieter around HE.

Details on all of these below but first a deeper look at those two top stories of the week: SEND and Ofsted.

SEND is rapidly becoming a totemic issue both over the nature of reform and, in light of the Budget, future funding.

Future funding cropped up in Committee questions to Bridget Phillipson this week and in MPs questions at the start of the week with the Education Secretary keen to allay fears that school budgets would be cut to pay for council shortfalls.

“It is not coming from the core schools budget—I could not be more clear. It will come from across Government budgets, and it is a matter for the next spending review,” she stated in her best teacher voice.

But as the IfS explained this week, it’s not that straightforward.

SEND numbers are rising, costs are up, council deficits are growing and reform is difficult.

The government, the IfS suggested, is running out of time to sort things out before it assumes funding responsibility from councils in 2028/29. By which time, they reckon, councils’ cumulative SEND deficits will have reached £14 billion.

In its summary this week, The Independent reckoned that “in the end, a compromise is likely to be thrashed out which will involve some savings from “reform”, and some additional funding allocated to the education department – just enough to keep the year-on-year changes in real per-pupil funding above zero.”

A pretty plausible scenario.

On a more positive note, however when it comes to reform, the government is calling on many of those in the frontline for SEND – parents, teachers, experts and others – for their views through a series of national listening events over the coming weeks.

“We want this to be the biggest national conversation on SEND in a generation, and I urge parents, teachers and all those with views to participate and help us deliver lasting reform.”

On to Ofsted which this week published its latest Annual Report covering the period Sept 2024 to August 2025 and based on some 38,000 inspections and visits to early years and child care providers, schools and FE.

The Report, slightly lower key this year after recent vicissitudes but complete with a picture of the Chief Inspector perched on a reception class chair, pumped up the potential of the new inspection process while focusing on the ‘related themes of inclusion, disadvantage and vulnerability.’

There were plenty of positives. 98% of early years and childcare providers and 86% of FE and skills providers rated good or outstanding when it comes to overall effectiveness. 83% of state schools rated good or outstanding on the quality of education inspected.

Essentially, no great change from last year. “This year, outcomes for each of the key judgements are very similar to those seen in 2023/24.”

Key concerns include ‘workforce challenges for early years,’ provision of and in children’s homes, and school absences. “Most concerning of all, 19% more children are missing education entirely, compared to last year’s figures. This is a sharp year-on-year rise,” the Report notes.

Pupil behaviour, safeguarding and children with complex needs are also what the Report describes as “some challenges of particular concern,” while on the vexed subject of SEND, it’s a mixed picture. New intake training and strong local partnerships are among the positives.

Disappointingly there was very little on FE and skills.

On to what’s been happening in various parts of education this week starting with schools where the government reported initial trainee teacher numbers up this year.

Although as ASCL added, “while there are certainly some positive signs here, the fact remains that the target for ITT recruitment in secondary subjects has once again been missed.” That’s the case for some ten secondary subjects.

FFT Education Datalab dug into the data on pupil absence in Yrs 10 and 11 GCSE attainment, concluding that “we’ve not shown that absence necessarily causes low attainment, as there are a wide range of factors which correlate both with high absence and low attainment. Though it certainly is the case that pupils with high rates of absence are at risk of low attainment.”

As mentioned, the Digital Poverty Alliance argued that “any policy restricting personal devices must be accompanied by funding for alternative digital access - such as laptops - to ensure students can still acquire digital hard skills.”

Oak confirmed that its fully updated curriculum is now available freely on line and Westminster’s Youth Select Committee took evidence from the DfE and others on PSHE in secondary schools.

The 4-Day Week Foundation did some desk research on how far such a model would work in schools in England, concluding that it, well, needs more research.

Much of the existing research on a 4-Day Week comes from the US and even there “the research paints a mixed picture.” Some positive cost benefits and it can help with teacher recruitment but some question marks remain over pupil attainment, it seems. Let alone the impact on schools attendance, child protection and development needs.

“More research is needed to understand how spending one additional day away from school might impact pupils in the UK,” the report concludes.

And to round off on Ofsted again, the inspectorate released a little explainer for parents about what the various new inspection grades mean.

“We hope the new report cards give you clear and useful information to help you make choices about your child’s future – or to reassure you that they are receiving the support and education that’s right for them.”

In FE, the OfS set out proposals for simplifying the regulatory process for colleges offering HE.

“In disapplying requirements where DfE already has robust oversight, we hope to make the registration process as smooth as possible for these institutions and ensure our regulation remains proportionate and risk-based.”

Edge and partners called on the government to help SMEs take on more apprentices through better funding, support and brokerage.

“We welcomed the Chancellor’s decision in the Autumn Budget to fully fund all apprenticeships for under-25s in SMEs. This is an important step towards easing training costs for small and medium-sized businesses. However, training costs are only one of several barriers that limit SME engagement with apprenticeships.”

The Skills Commission celebrated its 30^th birthday with a run through of its various incarnations over the years and a promise of more to come.

“We are pleased to be entering a fourth decade with an exciting collection of new inquiries that are set to report in 2026 – Industrial Strategy; NEET Youth; Primary Care; Medical Education and Training.” 

Finally, with limited headlines for HE this week, a quick roundup instead of the main education questions raised by MPs this week which included two questions of current importance to HE.

First, the international student levy, defended by the Education Secretary as “we are backing our universities with the measures that we have set out on tuition fee increases, which will give our institutions stability.”

And second, Chinese influence in universities to which the ministerial response was, “we are clear that any attempt by a foreign state to intimidate and coerce universities in the UK will not be tolerated.”

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

The top headlines of the week:

• ‘Half of Manchester students to be learning online in 10 years’ (Monday)
• ‘Ofsted chief’s warning over ‘scandal’ of children missing education’ (Tuesday)
• ‘University to shut campus and cut 400 jobs’ (Wednesday)
• ‘Trainee teacher numbers rise by 11%, but secondary target still not met’ (Thursday)
• ‘Ministers SEND listening campaign ‘futile,’ say parents’ (Friday)

General:

• Setting the record straight. The PM highlighted a list of the government’s achievements to date, from cutting NHS waiting lists to providing school breakfast clubs, as he set out to defend the government’s economic policies, and to point to areas like regulation, welfare and trade where they were rebuilding for the future.
• Alternative view. The Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) argued in a new report that many working households end up with worse take home pay than their non-working neighbours on benefits, calling among other things for the withdrawal of UC health and PIP from those with mild anxiety, a 30% tax cut of a NEET’s salary to businesses hiring them, and using part of the international student levy to fund construction apprentices, to help improve access to the labour market.
• Child Poverty. The government launched its anticipated Child Poverty Strategy bringing together a number of new, such as extended eligibility on childcare costs and capping b and b stays, and current, initiatives such as the lifting the two-child cap, with the aim of lifting ‘550,00 children out of poverty by 2030.’
• Business confidence. The Institute of Directors (IoD) reported that business confidence had largely fallen post Budget with revenue expectations, headcount expectations and investment intentions all down in their latest poll of members.
• Financial risks. The Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee published its latest Financial Stability Report pointing to an increase in risk over the year largely due to ‘geopolitical tensions and fragmented financial market,’ generating fears of cyber-attacks and company defaults.
• Economic Outlook. The OECD projected that global growth will slow over the next 18 months to 2.9% and for the UK to 1.2% as ‘underlying fragilities remain,’ albeit with inflation in the UK at least dropping 1% to 2.5% next year.

HE:

• Financial challenges. The Innovation and Research Caucus (IRC) highlighted the extent of financial challenges facing English higher ed, indicating from recent research that some 85% of institutions were facing difficulties, with low research institutions and some creative disciplines the most exposed to risk and with staffing and research notably feeling the pinch.   
• No strike action. The Times Higher reported that a recent ballot by UCU members for national strike action over pay and job cuts had failed because the turnout fell short of required numbers.
• Civic University Agreement. The OU announced the launch of a new Civic University Agreement for Milton Keynes involving the local college, Cranfield University and the OU itself, designed to strengthen skills and research opportunities not just around MK but also for the wider Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor.

Tweets and posts of note:

• “I'm a primary school teacher, and I just found out that a child from my first ever class is now a grandparent” -@dsprimed.
• “Is it me or is it a bit much to expect a class teacher to provide a Christmas tree and decs for their class? Surely the school should pay if it’s an expectation” -@lifeatthenest.
• “If teachers are reporting that 7 mins in every 30 is wasted due to poor behaviour that equates to 5h 50m a week (a whole school day) or 44 school days per year (over one half term) or 190 days (one school year) over the span of a child’s education. Behaviour matters!” -@HeadfirstRoly.
• “The weather outside is frightful..but most teachers appear to be in warm classrooms! However, of the 80% who said the school had put their heating on, only 26% have working radiators in their room” -@TeacherTapp.

A selection of quotes that merit attention:

• “And look - when it comes to economic growth and living standards…We’re confident we can beat the forecasts” – the PM defends the government’s economic policy in a post-Budget rallying speech. 
• “In the FPC’s judgement, many risky asset valuations remain materially stretched – particularly for technology companies focused on Artificial Intelligence” – the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) raises concerns about global overspend on AI.
• “We are soon to release a report, Rewiring Education, which finds Britain’s abysmal vocational system disadvantages those who struggle academically, drives skills shortages, and directs young people into becoming NEET” – the Centre for Social Justice prepares to get to grips with the NEETs issues.
• “The qualifications that we are defunding are large qualifications that directly overlap with T-levels. The Government’s policy is very clearly to back T-levels as a good choice for students in colleges” – the minister responds to MPs’ questions about defunding BTECs and other qualifications.
• “The Treasury has been clear that the cost will be covered across overall budgets – the Education Secretary responds to an MP’s question about future SEND funding.
• “Today’s figures are further evidence of the strong progress in teacher recruitment after years of crisis, with growth in critical STEM subjects particularly encouraging” – the Education Secretary welcomes the increase in the latest initial teacher training numbers.
• “Under our new framework, I would like to strike a better balance between evaluating the policies and processes of the school and understanding the realities on the ground for pupils and teachers. In particular, using our focus on inclusion to look at how attendance and behaviour policies are working for different groups of children” – the Chief inspector reflects on pupil attendance and behaviour in Ofsted’s latest Annual Report.
• “However, inspection is, at best, a mirror to the system, and not a solution in itself” – ASCL holds a mirror up to inspections.
• “Although lengthening the school day has generally been evidenced to have a positive impact on pupil attainment, the effects are not necessarily proportionate to the time added, and importantly, how the time is spent plays a key role in the effectiveness of the strategy” – the 4-Day Week Foundation examine the case for such a model in schools in England.

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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.