Highlights of the week ending 17 December
Omicron continues to dominate as ministers wrestle with its implications for the education sector. Education Select Committee Chair, Rob Halfon, asked an urgent question on school opening in January. Skills Minister, Alex Burghart reiterated the government’s commitment to keeping schools open and this was followed by Secretary of State, Nadhim Zahawi calling on retired teachers to help provide cover.
As we reach the end of term the government and its agencies have been busy pushing out announcements, reports, and guides. One such item was funding for maths and English catch up for programmes identified by the Education Endowment Foundation. Friday saw a slew of skills related pieces, including the announcement of the nine new Institutes of Technology and over 100 short courses to help people retrain or upskill. Student finance will be available, marking the next steps on the development of the lifelong loan entitlement.
Ofsted published its findings on how the pandemic continues to impact on children and students’ learning and personal development. Many schools were found to be helping pupils catch up, whereas in further education the pandemic continues to cause disruption.
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