Steve Besley's Education Eye: week ending 17 April 2026

What's happened this week?

Important stories across the board:

A mix of headlines to greet the new term.

The government heralded an era of healthy school dinners. ‘Ice cream scooped off the menu,’ as Schools Week put it. MPs took evidence on SEND reforms and rejected (again) a Lords amendment on banning social media for young people. And a survey found secondary school teacher recruitment flat.

Elsewhere, the government announced a new wave of TECs but disappointed colleges by limiting funding for 16-19 yr olds. And student loans remained a hot topic as the OfS consulted on stronger student protections.

In other news, the IMF published a downbeat assessment of the world economy. “Risks are decisively on the downside,” it rather gloomily spelt out, with forecasts for the UK notably slashed.

And a major survey of the pioneering social media ban for young people in Australia found ‘more than 60% of Australian children still using social media,’ raising questions about the value of such bans.

Here’s some details from behind the headlines.

In schools, Teacher Tapp and SchoolDash suggested a sluggish teacher recruitment market this year for secondary schools, in a new report timed to coincide with the traditional high season for staff movement.

“Taking the job advert and headteacher turnover data together, we conclude that secondary school staff turnover and hiring are currently at very low levels, albeit with some differences by subject, type of school and part of the country.”

Although as Teacher Tapp added, it doesn’t mean everyone can now sit back and relax. ’Fewer ads doesn’t mean fewer problems.’ Much depends on the region and school subject and noticeably, there’s a drop in the number wanting to pick up the reins as headteachers.

Another area of the workforce facing concerns is educational psychologists (EP).

In a report this week, the Education Policy Institute revealed an EP workforce facing a retention crisis, leading to “a stark disparity in provision” and concerns about how the needs of SEND and other vulnerable pupils might be met.

ASCL called it ”a timely warning of a critical issue.”

On to school dinners where the government issued a consultation on changes to School Food Standards to ensure healthier options are available for children.

It came amid continuing concerns about child obesity and dental decay.

The Education Secretary described it as “the most ambitious overhaul of school food in a generation” and the announcement seemed to please most audiences, including notably Jamie Oliver, who reckoned that “twenty years ago, dog food had higher standards than school dinners.”

Elsewhere, with the PM calling in the big tech companies for a ‘frank’ discussion on young people’s online safety, the Molly Rose Foundation called on the government not to follow other countries and ban social media use for young people, calling instead for some strengthening of the Online Safety Act.

It came as the Foundation published new survey evidence showing that the ban in Australia was having only a limited impact.

61% of 12-15 yr olds there who previously had restricted accounts are still able to access them according to the Foundation’s research. Not only that, 70% reckoned it was quite ‘easy’ to skirt round the ban. Hence the Foundation’s concerns.

And finally for schools, two stories on careers guidance.

First the Ada Lovelace Institute and Nuffield Foundation reported on the role of AI in careers guidance suggesting this needed more oversight and support.

And second, the boss of the Careers and Enterprise Company confirmed the company’s intention to bid as the leading provider under the government’s expected plans for careers provision.

“CEC welcomes the opportunity to bid to continue as the national careers body through any future tender process.”

In FE, two troubling stories have seized the headlines.

First, the government announced that it couldn’t meet the full funding needed for the increased numbers of 16-19 yr olds this year.

“We will provide approximately three-quarters of the funding expected based on arrangements published in August 2025.”

It left the AoC reflecting ruefully that “these learners and colleges are simply not viewed as high priorities” and calling for ‘a proper demand-led’ system.

Others were equally scathing.

The ASCL, for instance, said the decision sat “uneasily with the government’s repeated claim that it is prioritising the further education sector, as set out in the recently published skills white paper.”

And interestingly, the news came as Alan Milburn pointed to some of the ‘blunt truths’ likely to emerge from his review into NEETs and youth unemployment as he prepares to release some interim findings next month. 

“Parents and schools need to better equip young people in the UK with the “character attributes” employers require,” he told the FT this week.

Second, members secured an independent inquiry into the contentious sale of City and Guilds’ commercial arm.

The six month inquiry was heralded by Council member Neil Bates on behalf of the members, as ‘a turning point’ and will be closely followed by many.

In more hopeful space for FE, the government announced funding for the next wave of TECs launching this month.

Ten TECs were announced last summer and the aim is to train up ’65,000 learners in high-demand jobs in key growth sectors’ like advanced manufacturing and digital, identified under the government’s Industrial Strategy.

And the Social Mobility Commission published a think piece on English and maths resits, calling for the current system to be built on, albeit with better support and funding, rather than dismantled and rebuilt.

In HE, submissions closed this week for the Treasury Committee Inquiry into the student loan regime, with funding experts London Economics reporting on the impact of the current Plan 2 model and the NUS and HEPI putting forward a stepped system of repayments.

“This report highlights a fundamental truth at the heart of the student finance system: there is no perfect solution, only a set of trade-offs,” as HEPI reiterated.

The report came as the issue of loans for weekend courses and how far these were mis sold or not took a new twist, with a number of universities involved preparing to take legal action against the government.

Elsewhere, the QAA published a further batch of revised Subject Benchmark Statements while the OfS launched consultation on proposals to ensure better ‘consumer’ protection for students.

The aim is to provide clear and accessible rights and responsibilities, including even ‘clear red lines on things universities must never do,’ such as blocking or discouraging complaints.

The proposals include “a new ongoing condition of registration (C6) that would require every registered university or college to treat its students fairly in relation to its higher education provision and the services that support it.”

The OfS also reported back on its call for evidence on regional access partnerships, proposed as successor programme to the Uni Connect scheme which it now hopes to implement from Sept 2027.

And to round off this week, back to the announcement about school dinners and perhaps the strangest headline of the week.

It came in the Telegraph. ‘Spotted ***** gave me the strength to survive school.’ You can read how, here.

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

The top headlines of the week:

• ’Deep-fried food banned in new plans for school plans’ (Monday)
• ‘Two-thirds of teachers working almost an extra day a week’ (Tuesday)
• ‘Parents and schools need to better equip young Britons for work, former minister says’ (Wednesday)
• ‘Nine universities start legal action over student loan error row’ (Thursday)
• ‘Back to books - Sweden’s schools cutting back on digital learning’ (Friday)

General:

• Economic Outlook. The IMF indicated that the energy crisis arising out of the Iran War will hit the UK hardest among leading economies as it published its latest World Economic Outlook, pointing to the UK having the lowest predicted growth among leading economies this year, albeit with things set to pick up next year.
• Cyber threats. The government wrote an open letter to businesses highlighting the shifting nature of cyber threats emerging from ‘a new generation of AI models,’ and reminding them of the importance of following essential cyber hygiene measures, including the Cyber Governance Code of Practice. 
• Social media. The PM hosted a meeting of leading tech companies setting out the government’s position and calling on the companies take greater responsibility over its sites, as its major consultation on online safety and the case for any ban reaches the halfway stage.
• Social media bans. The Molly Rose Foundation called on the government to strengthen the Online Safety Act rather than ban social media for young people, as it published new survey evidence showing that the ban in Australia was being widely circumnavigated with big tech companies failing to close down underage accounts.

HE:

• Student loans. HEPI and the NUS put forward a more progressive, ‘stepped’ system of loan repayments ranging between 3% and 7% and spread over 30 years, following analysis from London Economics showing that under the current Plan 2, graduates end up paying more while the Treasury reaps higher returns.
• Student protection. The OfS launched consultation on a set of proposals intended to ensure better ‘consumer’ protection for students with, for example, a list of things HE providers must and mustn’t do, the adoption of ‘clear fairness principles’ and easy access to key documents on institutional websites.
• Regional access partnerships. The OfS reported on its call for evidence issued last year on regional access partnerships, the proposed successor programme to Uni Connect, outlining some of the key themes that emerged around collaboration and design and confirming that implementation will now shift to Sept 2027.
• Erasmus+. The government confirmed the signing of the formal agreement for the UK to adopt the Erasmus+ scheme from next year, enabling a hoped for 100,000+ young people in the first instance to benefit from work and study abroad, with the British Council set to become the lead agency for the scheme.

Tweets and posts of note:

• “I’m 46. Been teaching for 21 years. Am I jaded and disgruntled? No. I still love the job. Adore the feeling of seeing kids flourish and blossom. Why do I still teach when expectations and pressure is ridiculously high? I still teach as I adore education and making children fly” -@Teacherglitter.
• “If my child’s school asked me to pay to cover some of the costs of student Chromebooks I’d say no. If they asked me to pay to cover some of the costs to go back to paper & (text)book-based teaching I would say yes. In a flash” -@Doug_Lemov.
• “On bbc radio 4 someone is saying that university isn’t the only way, (it isn’t) and many should apply for apprenticeship- the competition for apprenticeships is very very tough, Schools aren’t just advocating uni, they are trying to help students with advice but it’s very hard” -@balleter6.
• “I did secondary abroad and we didn’t change classes for most of the time, the teacher came to us, between that, we had time to go to the toilet, we had 2 breaks one of 30 mins and a longer one of 45mins, we did 8.45 to 2.45 each day. Maybe that was better day school” -@cierzo1.
• “I don’t need ChatGPT, my wife knows everything” -@Dadsaysjokes.

A selection of quotes that merit attention:

• “Downside risks dominate the outlook” – the IMF sets the tone in its latest World Economic Outlook.
• “If your board has not recently discussed cyber risk, do so at your next meeting and then regularly. This is not an issue to delegate to your IT team and forget about” – the government calls on business leaders to take the new breed of cyber threats seriously.
• “These colleges put technical skills front and centre, opening up high‑quality jobs in the industries driving Britain’s future” – the PM confirms the next wave of TECs.
• “The current growth is significantly above the budget available for in-year payments, and so we cannot fully fund this growth” – the government makes a painful retreat from full 16-19 funding.
• “A 2027 transition has always been part of our scenario planning and is now considered the most likely outcome” – the ONS reports on when the new Labour Force Survey is due to be ready.
• “School food is the UK’s most important restaurant chain” – Jamie Oliver welcomes government plans to make school dinners more healthy.
• “Emerging evidence reveals a mixed picture of opportunities and risks, and large research gaps” – the Ada Lovelace Institute and Nuffield Foundation examine the role of AI in career guidance for young people.
• “These results raise major questions about the effectiveness of Australia’s social media ban and show it would be a high stakes gamble for the UK to follow suit now” – the Molly Rose Foundation reports on issues in Australia’s social media ban.

Everything else you need to know ...

What to look out for in the next couple of weeks: