Highlights of the week ending 7 July
This week saw Sir Keir Starmer provide further details on what the Labour Party would do in education should they win the next election. In outlining his fifth and final national mission, Starmer announced a review of the curriculum, a pause to the defunding of BTECs and other AGQs, and plans to tackle teacher recruitment and retention.
In parliament, the Education Committee took evidence on child exploitation and delivery a critical reaction to the government’s response to their report into post-16 qualification reform. The Women and Equalities Committee published its report into attitudes towards girls and women in educational settings, which made a number of recommendations to government, including ensuring teachers and teachers in training have the funding and time they require to learn how to deliver RSHE effectively. The APPG on Youth Unemployment released a report on “The impact of place based approaches to tackling youth unemployment”, and a collaboration between the APPGs for Students, and Further Education & Lifelong Learning published research into the impact of the cost of living crisis on students in FE.
The annual Festival of Education took place at Wellington College, with keynote speeches from Amanda Spielman, Jo Saxton, and Andy Burnham. Pearson were there too, hosting sessions covering this year’s School Report, sustainability education, and technology in assessment.