Policy Tracker - Keeping track of what happened in the world of education in July 2013

MPs may have headed off for the summer but they’ve left us plenty to think about.

For schools, this includes updates on the National Curriculum and performance tables both published during July, for FE apprenticeship funding and Tech Level quals stand out while for HE, this month saw the interim Witty Report published and new regulatory arrangements outlined.

Key headlines from the month

• Primary accountability. Government launches consultation
• National Curriculum. Last round of changes for KS 1-3 published
• PSHE. PSHE experts revise programme of study
• Pupil premium. Government appoint John Dunford to champion
• Disadvantaged white pupils. Education Committee launch an Inquiry into performance
• Assessment. NAHT to set up community of school practitioners
• Performance Tables. Arrangements for this year published
• School places. Government announce more funding
• School Hols. Government moves to de-regulate
• School dinners. Healthy eating on the menu of latest plans
• Tech Level Qual. New route for 16-19 yr olds confirmed for Sept 2014
• 16-24 yr olds. New system Review announced
• Traineeships. Extended to 24 yr olds and young disabled
• Apprenticeships. Government launch consultation on funding options
• LSIS Services. Lights switched off
• Adult VQs. Funding for number of low-volume VQs cut
• Local Growth Deals. Government issues guidance for LEPs
• Sector Skill Plans. 5 more (Construction, Automotive, PBS, Agri-Tech, Education) out
• HE fees. Average fee level now hits £8,650 pa
• HE students. Gain a stronger voice as new Unit prepares to open this autumn
• HE and regulation. Latest arrangements published
• HEFCE chief. The HE Funding Council confirms its new Chief Exec.

Reports/Publications of the month (in order of publication)

• Evaluation of Pupil Premium. DfE commissioned research finds the premium has helped boost support for disadvantaged pupils in 80% of secondary and 67% of primary schools
• Consultation on the reform of L3 VQs for 16-19 yr olds. The Government issues its response and confirms the creation of a new Tech Level route
• Cultural Education. The Government outlines the current range of cultural opportunities now available to schools following last year’s Henley review
• National Curriculum Review. The Government issues the latest versions of programmes of study and attainment targets for Sept 2014 on
• Access for All. The Strategic Society Centre examines young peoples’ attitudes to the cost of university education in the build-up to the new fee system
• Access Agreements 2014/15. OFFA suggests that £700+m will be available for widening participation following this year’s round of deliberations on access agreements
• Preliminary findings. Sir Andrew Witty publishes the initial findings of his review into what role of universities should play in supporting local growth
• Operating framework for HE in England. HEFCE and the RPG outline the latest arrangements as the regulatory framework continues to evolve
• Annual Report and Accounts. Ofqual reports on a busy current year and highlights priorities for 2013/14
• The School Food Plan. The authors of this latest plan find a strong correlation between diet and performance and call for the junking of packed lunches
• Review of College Governance. BIS and AoC set out a number of recommendations from their recent review
• Traineeships. BIS extends  its guidance to include 24 year olds
• EFA Business Plan. The Education Funding Agency for young people sets out its key deliverables for the next couple of years
• The future of STEM education. Is improving but needs to improve faster if needs are to be met according to research by the National Science Learning Centre
• School and College Performance Tables. The Government sets out what it’s looking to include in this year’s league tables for schools and colleges
• Primary assessment and accountability under the new national curriculum. The DfE launches its summer consultation on holding primary schools to account
• Making public service markets work. The Institute for Government takes in secondary education and the Work Programme as it examines the delivery of public services
• Alive in the Swamp. NESTA reports on work to develop a new Innovation Index that will help managers and practitioners assess the impact of digital learning
• London 2012: Delivering the economic legacy. The Government publishes a series of reports to vindicate its claims that the legacy is starting to work through
• Good Childhood Report. Family, friends, health and appearance top the priorities/worries for young people according to this latest Report from the Children’s Society
• Between the Cracks. The RSA highlights some of the detrimental effects of switching schools too often mid stream
• Consultation on Funding Reform for Apprenticeships in England. The Government launches consultation on three potential funding options
• International Education: Global Growth and Prosperity. The Government releases its latest industrial strategy aimed at capitalising on a UK market worth at least £17.5bn a year.

Speeches of the month

• Vince Cable’s 3 July LGA speech spells out how seriously the Government is taking local growth and skills planning
• Lord Nash’s 6 July NGA speech announces further support for school governors
• Elizabeth Truss’s 11 July ISSF speech sets out how fast technology is changing the world and the sorts of skills needed to support this.

Quotes of the month

• “The Indian Planning Commission’s 12th Five Year Plan has set a target to create capacity for an extra 10 million students over the next five years on top of the existing 25.9 million in the system in 2011-12.” The THES reports on HE expansion in India
• “Inevitably some people are already saying that this fund is trifling compared to Lord Heseltine’s proposal for a £50bn single pot.” Vince Cable takes up the cudgels for the new smaller Single Local Growth Fund
• “We have repeatedly made it clear that we will not introduce for-profit schools. This story is absurd.” The DfE spells it out
• “There may well be a piece of fluff in some corner of the curriculum that we did not manage to get to but I hope we have managed to hose down the stables effectively.”  The Education Secretary on the cleansing effects of the National Curriculum reforms.

Word or phrase of the month

• ‘Woolly empathy.’ What’s been taken out of the History curriculum under Nat Curr reforms
• ‘Secondary ready.’ The new acid test of primary education.