Highlights of the week ending 5 May
In a short week ahead of the coronation, we’ve still had chance to see the Lifelong Learning (Higher Education Fee Limits) Bill complete its passage through the Commons. Opposition attempts to required ministers to publish an annual review of the LLE were defeated and the Bill now moves onto the Lords.
The Education Select Committee’s report on post-16 qualifications was published last Friday. The group of cross party MPs called for ministers to pause the defunding of existing Level 3 qualifications (such as BTEC) until T Levels have been able to prove themselves.
Pearson launched Spotlight on Local Skills, the latest paper in our Spotlight policy series. The paper examines how local authorities can be empowered to deliver the most successful skills policies for their area, drawing on expert opinions and public polling, as well as Pearson’s predictive AI capabilities with a case study on the West Midlands.
MP for Walsall North Eddie Hughes joined us at the launch, contributing to an insightful roundtable discussion on the topic. You can read our findings and recommendations and find the full Spotlight on Local Skills paper here.
The Department for Education has published the annual targets for the number of trainees to start postgraduate initial teacher training (PGITT) in the 2023 to 2024 academic year. Schools Week has reported that “according to the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), latest recruitment figures for April suggest the government is on course to meet just 47 per cent of its secondary teacher target.”