Policy Tracker – Keeping track of what happened in the world of education in October 2015

Teacher recruitment, exam performance data, apprenticeships and the funding of high-level skills top the headlines this month where ‘quotes of the month’ pretty much capture the current mood.

Key headlines from the month

• iPads. A third of pre-school kids now have one according to research
• Reception assessment. NUT leads the handing in of a petition against baseline assessment
• Foundation stage. 70% of pupils at required levels in latest government figures
• Primary schools. Come in for praise in Chief Inspector’s monthly commentary
• Numeracy projects. EEF trials new resources to help with primary mental maths
• School absences. PM announces new tougher truancy rules
• School holidays. LGA call for more reasoned approach  
• School types. Education Secretary approves new grammar school site in Kent
• School sizes. Local councils plan to increase intake in many secondary schools
• School funding. Likely to be down by 8% over next 4 years according to IfS
• Exam appeals. Ofqual due to consult on possible changes
• Performance data. Government publishes interim figures from this year’s exams
• Destination data. Latest unofficial data shows 73% participation by 18 yr olds
• Work experience. BCCs call for restoration of this for under 16s
• Careers. Careers and Enterprise Co launch new £5m Investment (support) Fund
• Mindfulness. New report published calling for training in schools
• Teachers. NUT survey suggests workload proving unbearable for many
• Maths teachers. 10% more trainees needed next year under latest government modelling
• Teacher recruitment. Education Committee to hold one-off session
• Workload Challenge. 3 new groups under way
• Education and Adoption Bill. Moves to 2nd Reading in the Lords
• Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill. Progresses to 2nd Reading in the Commons
• Functional Skills. BIS calls on ETF to lead new development programme
• FE. BIS confirm latest area-review schedule
• Apprenticeships. Ofsted critical of some provision for younger people
• Apprenticeship levy. Consultation closes with employers expressing concerns
• Devolution. Sheffield City latest region to sign up for local  growth deal
• HE applications. UCAS and others commit to anonymous forms to remove bias
• 2016 applications. UCAS report latest figures as of 15 Oct deadline
• University websites. Which? complain that some fail to have up-to-date info on fees.  

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

• Making Apprenticeships Work. C/G’s Industry Skills Board includes a UCAS style application system among its 25 proposals to reform the apprenticeship system
• Levels of Success. The Sutton Trust examines the earnings potential of apprenticeships v degrees and finds many best apprenticeships offer better returns than some non-Russell degrees
• Funding for disadvantaged pupils. The Public Accounts Committee reports on its review into the pupil premium and concludes that although its helped, more could be done to close the gap
• Annual Qualifications Market Report for 2013/14. Ofqual reports on the size and nature of the market which saw 16m certificates issued and 166 regulated awarding bodies in place
• The Contribution of FE and Skills to Social Mobility. BIS’s commissioned report highlights the contribution of FE in general and voc quals in particular in hitting core social mobility targets
• University Technical Colleges. The DfE updates its guidance for new applicants
• FE Statistical First Release. BIS publishes latest data on learner participation and attainment showing apprenticeship starts up but only modest increases at 16-19 and at higher-level
• Provisional GCSE and equivalent results 2014/15. The DfE publishes provisional data earlier this year showing a slight increase (to 52.8%) in numbers getting 5 A*-Cs
• A level and other level 3 results 2014/15. The DfE also publish early picture of A level performance showing familiar traction of slight drop in A*s but overall pass rate up to 98.7%
• Education and Adoption Bill. House of Lords Library explains all in a helpful summary of the Bill’s proposals for their Lordships
• Higher, Further, Faster, More. The think tank Policy Exchange urges the BIS Dept to consider re-assigning HE funds to support FE higher-level skills training
• Apprenticeships: developing skills for future prosperity. Ofsted points the fingers as it finds apprenticeships failing to meet the needs of some young people and employers
• Intervening in failing, underperforming and coasting schools. The DfE updates guidance on schools causing concern and issues consultation on new coasting and intervention criteria
• Why Teach? Pearson/LKMco ask the question and conclude that for many teachers it’s being able to make a difference to young people’s lives that really counts
• It’s the finance, stupid. HEPI collates essays from leading commentators on the decline in p/t student numbers and, as the title argues, suggests money’s got a lot to do with it
• Higher Education Review: 2014/15 Findings. QAA reports back on its latest round of peer reviews of 24 HEIs and 62 FECs and finds enhancement of learning a concern for the latter. 

Speeches of the month

• George Osborne’s 5 October Conference speech announces the creation of a new National Infrastructure Commission to help oversee the push towards local skills and growth
• Nicky Morgan’s 6 October Conference speech promises greater provision of childcare opportunities and further ‘raising of the bar’ on standards
• David Cameron’s 7 October Conference speech includes commitments to more academies and Free Schools and a registration scheme for religious supplementary schools
• Glenys Stacey’s 8 October HMC speech sets out to soothe independent sector concerns about exam marking arrangements, appeals procedures, qualification reform and much more
• Glenys Stacey’s 22 October FAB Conference speech highlights the changing nature of the qualification system with its impact on regulation and awarding organisations
• Sir Michael Wilshaw’s 22 October CBI speech challenges schools, FE providers, employers and government to help improve apprenticeship arrangements for young people. 

Quotes of the month

• “Learning is about so much more than just filling in the right bubble.” President Obama reacts to concerns from American teachers about too much testing
• “Early indications from the regions showed that colleges could be forced into shotgun marriages.” Labour’s FE Minister on marrying in haste as a result of area-based reviews
• “We want to see a new politically independent Levy Board setting the rate based on clear evidence with the funds ring-fenced.” The CBI respond to the apprenticeship levy consultation 
• “We do not believe that coasting should be about isolated dips in performance but about identifying schools which have consistently not stretched their pupils sufficiently over a number of years.” The DfE incorporates the stretch challenge in its coasting consultation
• “This does not reflect a change in this government’s position on selective schools.” The Education Secretary on the decision to allow a new grammar school site 
• “It is not clear to me that paying markers more of its own will deliver improvement although of course we don’t argue against this.” Ofqual Chief Executive confirms it’s not all about the money
• “This is a goldilocks scenario. It must be neither too fast nor too slow. We need a gap of at least 2 years between design and implementation.” The NAHT’s Gen Sec on school funding reform
• “Schools shouldn’t be places where business people drop their kids off at the beginning of the day like they drop off their dry cleaning.” The Chief Inspector on employer engagement. 

Word or phrase of the month

• ‘Gig work.’ No 9-5 jobs anymore, more gig work instead‘
• Self-serving generation.’ Kids who turn to google for anything from careers to homework.