Policy Watch is our regular policy update service, covering national and international developments in the world of education. We try to keep things simple, sharing the latest news and information with you through weekly updates, monthly summaries, papers and events.
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Education has featured prominently in this week’s parliamentary business. The new ministerial team at DfE faced MPs at education questions for the first time. Topics covered included the level 3 review, the National Tutoring Programme and when the response to Augar will be published.
Ahead of next week’s Budget and Spending Review, Michelle Donelan set out higher education student finance arrangements for the 2022/23. As already announced, tuition fees will remain at £9250. All eyes, however, will be on the Chancellor next week and the expected details on the future of higher education funding. Will we finally get a full response to Sir Philip Augar’s review, which reported back in 2019?
This week saw an impassioned Report Stage debate as members of the House of Lords continued their scrutiny of the Skills and Post-16 Education Bill. Former ministers, Lord Baker, Lord Blunkett, and Lord Willetts spoke in favour of retaining a broader qualification choice at age 16 and warned of the impact of the proposed reforms at level 3 (as they currently stand). Peers voted to amend the Bill to ensure students can take two BTEC (or similar qualifications) and a longer-term (4 year) timetable for removal of funding for any qualifications. The Bill will pass to MPs later this year where the Lords’ amendments will be debated.
The Conservative Party conference has dominated much of this week’s news. Monday saw new Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi give his first speech in which he announced a schools White Paper in 2022.
The Secretary of State and Ofqual announced adaptations to A levels and GCSEs ahead of next summer’s exam season, including changes to choice within certain subjects. Contingency arrangements for vocational and technical qualifications have also been published. And results days will be separate once again. Though the detail was welcome, many within education questioned the timing, saying it had come too late in the day.
