Tackling technical legacy in higher education
There is a misconception about ‘technical legacy’ in UK higher education: that it is a niche IT concern, best left to specialist teams to resolve.
Belonging beyond the metrics
Belonging has become one of the most important concepts in higher education.
What assumptions should we rethink about today’s students?
Much of the discussion surrounding the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) focuses on the future.
The LLE has its legal framework. Now it needs a readiness test
In most UK universities, a student who successfully finishes a module and leaves a programme is considered a non-completer.
Rebuilding trust in education for white working class communities
Today we publish the report of the independent Inquiry into White Working Class Educational Outcomes.
Parents – not the State – should raise children, say most Brits
New polling for the Centre for Social Justice reveals growing concern that the boundary between family responsibility and state responsibility is being eroded, with taxpayers increasingly picking up the bill.
Half a million extra out of work benefit claimants for each PM losing job since 2019, analysis reveals
Britain has added more than half a million people to the out of work benefit caseload for every Prime Minister to occupy No10 since 2019, according to new analysis published today by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ).
The moment we may be missing: How AI is quietly reshaping childhood
Some moments in history do not announce themselves with disruption or alarm.
What might Andy Burnham mean for future skills policy?
If, as many expect, Andy Burnham makes it to Number 10, the biggest change in skills policy is unlikely to be a single flagship reform. It is more likely to be a shift in governing philosophy.
Targeted subsidies, rather than wasteful tax breaks, are needed for firms to tackle Britain’s NEETs crisis
Firms have a critical role to play in hiring Britain out of its NEETs crisis – but targeted subsidies, rather than expensive tax breaks, are the most cost-effective way of supporting employers to get young people into work, according to new Resolution Foundation analysis,...
A Ministry for Manchesterism: Rewiring Whitehall for locally-driven prosperity and change
With Andy Burnham on the road to Downing Street, John Blake proposes a new Department for Skills, Research, and Prosperity to deliver his agenda by empowering communities to build the further and higher education and training they need to thrive.
Will the education white paper proposals hamper student access? (And what is going on with maintenance loans?)
The Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper was published in October 2025. (For colleagues who are not policy wonks, White Papers from the Government set out plans for future legislation.)
Professional, technical, and operational (PTO) staff - developing the definitions
New and better descriptions of jobs in higher education mean we can retire the “non-academic” label.
Knowledge is never neutral: Hegelian reflections on contemporary education
Education faces a philosophical stalemate. On one side is an ‘objective obsession’ with standardised metrics.
Germany and the UK can advance an ambitious European science agenda
10 years on from the Brexit vote, leading universities in Germany and the UK today called on EU leaders to preserve the openness of Horizon Europe and ensure UK researchers can continue to strengthen Europe’s research excellence and competitiveness.
Workforce warning signs
Despite encouraging signs that teacher recruitment and retention are recovering, significant pressures remain across the school workforce, particularly for support staff.
Trust inspection and system reform: Are we asking the right questions?
As another academic year draws to a close, attention is increasingly turning towards one of the most significant developments in the future accountability landscape: the introduction of trust inspection.
Landmark work experience research report published in answer to Milburn Review
A new report by Education and Employers has found that young people who experience the highest levels of employer engagement before the age of 16 have 80% lower odds of becoming NEET (not in education, employment or training) compared to those who had the least experience.
Teach First awarded multi-year contract to train 1,000 new teachers annually
Teach First has been awarded a new contract from the Department of Education to deliver the next iteration of a training programme that will bring 1,000 new teachers into the profession every year.