Highlights of the week ending 5 March 2021
Rishi Sunak’s Spring Budget dominated events in the House of Commons this week. The Budget included widely trailed announcements on skills and apprenticeships.
The Chancellor announced that employers who hire a new apprentice will receive £3,000 per new hire, double what they currently receive under the existing scheme. There will also be an additional £126 million in England for high quality work placements and training for 16–24-year-olds in the 2021/22 academic year.
Read Cindy Rampersaud’s response to the Budget
Elsewhere, a new report by the Education Policy Institute, funded by the Nuffield Foundation has found that poorer students in sixth forms and colleges trail their more affluent peers by as many as three A Level grades when taking the qualifications. The report calls for additional government funding to fill the attainment gap.
Finally, admissions officers have warned that the Government’s announcement last week of teacher assessed A-Level grades could cause UK university admissions to become unstable for a second year in a row.