Policy Eye - highlights of the week ending 24 May

Plenty going on in Westminster but no shortage in education either this week.

For higher education, Oxford University outlined proposals to widen access, the HE Policy Institute (HEPI) published a Paper on staff wellbeing and the Russell Group revamped its guidance on subject choice for entry to uni. For FE and skills, another report on apprenticeships was launched, the government flexed up its proposals on industry placements for T levels and a new report was published on skills policy.

For schools, aside from a couple of government landscape announcements and an interesting report on school choice, a campaign was launched to ban mobile phones in schools. In between all this, the Chancellor made a keynote speech identifying four challenges for our time, Brexit apart, and the exams season trundled on with a number of the heavyweights featuring this week.

Here’s a bit of detail behind some of these stories.

For HE, there’s been considerable interest in what Oxford described as ‘a sea-change’ in its admissions policy with the announcement of two schemes, an Opportunity scheme and a Foundation programme, to help widen access. The aim is to see a quarter of its undergrads coming from disadvantaged backgrounds by 2023. That’s an increase of 10% on current figures and has been generally welcomed though one commentator saw it as a ‘drop in the ocean.’ Equally important perhaps may well be the changes made by the Russell Group to its listing of so-called facilitating subjects for university entry. In a new announcement this week, the Group indicated that it was shifting from listing designated subjects to providing a more comprehensive and interactive website that will appeal to a wider audience. A move welcomed by many.

Next FE and skills where it’s been equally busy this week. The Public Accounts Committee published a new report on apprenticeships, making it eight major themed reports so far this year, not all critical but with a steady list of priorities such as improving access and take-up at L2, now building up. Elsewhere the government responded to a concern around T levels by loosening up some of the arrangements around industry placements and offering employers the prospect of some funding for expenses. And putting skills policy in perspective, the latest Sense and Instability report reminded us just how much churn there is in this area.

Finally, in a week in which a survey reported that teenagers check their phones every two minutes, the Parents and Teachers for Excellence group called for a ban on mobile phones in schools altogether.

• ‘Call for new body to oversee skills and education policy.’ (Monday)
• ‘Oxford wants one in four students to be from poorer backgrounds.’ (Tuesday)
• ‘PAC: Apprenticeships are failing to deliver.’ (Wednesday)
• ‘Most parents reject nearest school.’ (Thursday)
• ‘English test students may have been wrongly accused, says watchdog.’ (Friday)
  

• 4 challenges for our time. The Chancellor, Philip Hammond, outlined four congruent challenges (ageing societies, technological impact, climate change, productivity) facing modern economies in a speech to CBI’s Annual Dinner event
• Digital connectivity. The government announced the start of a national programme of rolling out full fibre broadband to more remote locations including Cornwall, Cumbria and Northumberland where primary schools will, for instance, be able to connect to local hubs to boost connectivity
• Vulnerable children. The Children’s Commissioner for England reported on the growing numbers of vulnerable children being detained in mental health units, often far away from home where the quality of care can be questionable
• AI one year on. The government reported on progress as the Artificial Intelligence Sector Deal reached its first birthday, pointing among other things to growing investment and business support and the development of a skills and talent package including new Turing AI fellowships and AI Masters
• Investigation into English Language test issues. The National Audit Office issued its report into the issues around possible cheating in an English Language test administered by ETS raised by the media a few years ago, expressing concern about the scale of the government reaction and the treatment of some students 
  

• Responding in kind. The Education Secretary welcomed the response from a number of universities to his challenge about the use of unconditional offers and confirmed that despite criticism, he would always speak out on issues where necessary
• A degree of reliability. Higher education institutions across the UK working with the Standing Committee for Quality Assessment agreed to a set of principles and commitments designed to strengthen the procedures for awarding degrees ahead of the launch a common degree classification framework
• Informed choices. The Russell Group of universities announced it was moving away from providing a list of preferred or facilitating subjects at A’ level for entry to its universities and instead setting up an Informed Choices website with a broader choice of information and guidance more accessible to a wider student audience 
• Pressure vessels. The HE Policy Institute (HEPI) reported in a new Occasional Paper on the growing incidence of mental health among higher ed staff, pointing to increased workloads, short-term contracts and demanding performance management as contributory factors
• Augar in context. David Kernohan reflected in a comment piece on Wonkhe on reviews of higher education and the context facing the current Augar review as rumours grow that a pronouncement on the review may be imminent 
• Dreaming aspires. Oxford University announced two new schemes to start next year, intended to help ensure that by 2023 at least a quarter of its students come from disadvantaged backgrounds
• Adviser portal. UCAS launched its new adviser portal designed to bring data and details together in one place so that undergraduate applications can be easily tracked and ongoing advice and support given
• Sheffield steel. The FT reported that Sheffield University had overtaken other leading universities in attracting research income and investment in engineering to become a leading engineering research centre

• T level placements. The government announced new flexibilities to the industry placement model at the heart of the new T levels along with guidance, support and some project funding to help employers cover costs
• New apprenticeship report. The Commons Public Accounts Committee reported on progress in the apprenticeships programme, highlighting many familiar concerns and calling for action on such matters as widening participation, L2 take-up and end-point assessment arrangements 
• Standards review. The Institute for Apprenticeships reported on the outcomes of its (apprenticeship) standards review into the Digital Route, retaining and revising some standards, withdrawing others and proposing to examine the impact of gender neutral language on take-up 
• Further standards reviews. The Institute for Apprenticeships reported that it would conduct standards reviews into four other sectors before the end of the year, starting with Hair and Beauty and Creative and Design in July
• Policy churn. City and Guilds published its latest report on the impact of skills policy in the UK, noting that there’s been little improvement since its last report and calling for a new, independent body to oversee developments, along with clearer success and value for money measures
• Love Our Colleges. Rob Halfon MP and Lucy Powell MP rounded off the recent Love Our Colleges Week with a comment piece praising colleges and calling for increased future investment
• The view from here. David Hughes, chief exec of the Association of Colleges, reflected on the FE landscape citing some reasons to be cheerful as college leaders gather for their spring conference

• Careers Hubs. The government announced funding for a second wave of Careers Hubs that bring together schools, colleges, universities and employers to build networks and share good practice 
• Specialist maths schools. The government announced the development of two new specialist maths schools for 16-19 year olds, one backed by Lancaster University and the other by Surrey University, with two more said to be in the pipeline
• Retention support. The government launched a new scheme to provide incentive ‘retention’ payments for early career maths and physics teachers in Opportunity Areas including in the North East
• Early career support. The government announced the creation of an expert group led by Prof Sam Twiselton at Sheffield Hallam, to review teacher training programmes and develop guidance for teachers in the early stages of their careers ahead of the DfE proposed Early Career Framework
• School choice. Researchers from the Universities of Bristol and Cambridge reported on their latest research into secondary school choice in England showing that while many parents opt for their first choice school to ensure a place, many more opt for what they consider to be a high-performing school even if it is further away 
• Phone-Free. The Parents and Teachers for Excellence Group called for a ban on mobile phones in school as part of a new ‘Phone-Free-School’ campaign, urging schools to give kids a break from their phones

• "In the 20th century, you could go to a dictionary for reliable answers. Today, we go to Google, but nobody tells you if the answers are right or wrong. The concept of literacy needs to change" -@OECDEduSkills 
• “Is this the ultimate graduation gift? Students in Atlanta were left stunned when a billionaire technology investor told them he would wipe out their $40m (£31.4m) debts” - @SkyNews
• “I will also continue in my current role as Minister for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation- indeed I hope to also highlight the vitally important work that science, research and our universities are doing in tackling climate change and innovating for clean growth” -@CKSkidmoreUK
• “David Attenborough would spontaneously combust if he saw how much plastic wrapping was used in the sealing, storing and sending of SATs papers” - @Sothwest_head 
• “I doubt there is a more perfect children’s book then The Tiger who came to Tea. It was a huge part of my children’s life and I loved reading it for them. RIP” -@wossy

• No noise here. In what one commentator called a sign of the times, a number of universities are modifying their student accommodation to provide quiet living spaces. It seems that the livelier aspects traditionally associated with student life are not for everyone and some would like a more placid environment. The mystudenthalls.com site has identified a list of features that need to be met in order to qualify for its Quieter Halls badge.  
• Plastic free. Concerns about plastics and packaging appear to have hit some exam papers this year. The TES calculated that some SATs schools might well have received some 55 plastic bags just for the KS2 tests and a number of teachers have questioned on social media whether more should be more recyclable. In fairness, work on this is already under way but it’s a useful reminder. 

• “I make no apology for speaking out as I have done. I could not stand idly by watching questionable practices spread and educational standards slide” - The Education Secretary defends his right to speak out and intervene on such practices as the use of unconditional offers
• “Standards will be maintained. It’s our way of saying Oxford is open and we want more diverse students to apply to us” – Samina Khan, director of undergrad admissions at Oxford on Oxford’s new admissions plans for disadvantaged students
• “Technology may have transformed academics’ ways of working but it has not necessarily lightened the load” – Dr Liz Morrish, the author of a new HEPI Paper on poor mental health among HE staff
• “The benefits that colleges bring to individuals, communities and our country transcends party politics and referendum lines” Rob Halfon MP and Lucy Powell MP join together in praise of colleges 
• “Breaches of this rule, without expressed permission in exceptional circumstances, are sanctioned in line with the school’s usual disciplinary procedures” – the Parents and Teachers for Excellence Group campaign for a ban on mobile phones in school for Yr 11 students and below
• “One in four (schools) has a lunch break of just 35 minutes, barely enough time to down a butty and a Capri Sun” – education commentator Laura McInerney on the growing inequality in school break times

• 70. How many different Secretaries of State there have been over the last nearly 40 years with responsibility for skills compared to 20 for schools and 21 for HE, according to a report from City and Guilds
• £52bn. The extent of the funding gap English councils appear to be facing over the next few years unless more funding is provided, according to the County Councils Network
• 9,615. The number of people working in education and suffering from stress and wellbeing issues who were referred to the Education Support Partnership for counselling over the last year, an increase of 28% according to the charity 
• 764,000. The number of young people (16-24 yr olds) classified as NEET (not in education, employment or training) in the quarter up to March 2019, down 0.3% on the same period last year, according to latest ONS figures
• £650,000 - £700,000 pa. How much the multiplication tables check in schools are likely to cost each year, according to an answer given in Parliament 
• 97%. How many pupils check their phones while doing their homework, according to the latest survey on mobile phone use reported in the TES

• Parliament and many schools on half term