Education News

BBC report that, “the percentage of top A-level grades has arisen for the first time since 2021 across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Overall this year 27.8% of all grades were A* or A – up from 27.2% in 2023, although it is a different story in each individual nation.”

32.1% of all English 18-year-olds have been accepted into university with 75.7% of applicants being accepted into their first choice university up from 71.6% in 2023 and 74.5% in 2019. The gap between the most and least disadvantaged 18-year-olds in England has widened as has the gap in regional entry rates.

“The Office for Students (OfS) will bring in new requirements for universities to protect students from harassment and sexual misconduct, as a survey published today finds that 20 per cent of students have experienced unwanted sexual behaviour.”

HM Treasury issue technical consultation on the VAT and business rates changes affecting private schools. The Government are announcing that the VAT exemption for private schools will disappear on 1 January 2025 and will apply to all pre payments made on or after 29 July 2024.

“The Secretary of State for Education has stopped the implementation of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 and re-affirmed the government’s firm commitment to freedom of speech, with universities expected to deliver on their duty to protect it. The Education Secretary will consider options for the Act in the long term, including repeal. The move to stop implementing the Act reflects widespread concern that the legislation is disproportionate, burdensome and damaging to the welfare of students while not addressing hate speech on campuses.”

Report commissioned by local authorities because “The SEND (special educational needs and disability) system in England is ‘failing to deliver for children, young people and their families’ and ‘despite the continuing and unprecedented investment, the system is not financially sustainable.’”  The key findings of the report are that reform of the SEND system is essential, unavoidable and there is a need for national reform.

Catherine McKinnell was appointed Minister of State at the Department for Education on 8 July 2024.

Bridget Phillipson was appointed Secretary of State for Education on 5 July 2024

Education (Co-ordination of School Admission Arrangements and Miscellaneous Amendments) (Wales) Regulations 2024 (SI 2024/698) come into force. The regulations require each local authority in Wales to formulate a qualifying scheme for co-ordinating school admission arrangements for maintained schools in their area (excluding maintained nursery schools or maintained special schools). A qualifying scheme must comply with the requirements in the Schedule to the regulations. They also require that information about the local authority’s qualifying scheme be included in the local authority school prospectus from the admission year 2026 to 2027. The information to be included in the prospectus includes a description of how school admission applications can be made, when offers will be communicated and how applications outside the normal admission round will be determined, a description of when admission refusal appeals will be heard, and a copy of the common application form for the scheme.

Labour party publish their election manifesto.  On the issue of education, the manifesto makes the following statements:

• Recruit 6,500 new expert teachers in key subjects;
• 3,000 new primary school-based nurseries;
• Free breakfast clubs in every primary school;
• Labour will end the vat exemption and business rate relief for private schools to invest in our state schools;
• We will enhance the (Ofsted) inspection regime by replacing a single headline grade with a new report card system telling parents clearly how schools are performing;
• We will also bring Multi-Academy Trusts into the inspection system and introduce a new annual review of safeguarding, attendance, and off-rolling;
• Labour will take a community-wide approach, improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, as well as ensuring special schools cater to those with the most complex needs;
• We will make sure admissions decisions account for the needs of communities and require all schools to co-operate with their local authority on schools admissions, SEND inclusion, and place planning;
• Labour will provide access to specialist mental health practitioners in every school;
• Labour will transform Further Education Colleges into specialist Technical Colleges;
• Labour’s post 16 skills strategy will set out the role for different providers, and how students can move between different institutions, as well as strengthening regulation.

Government releases data in respect of education, health and care plans.

The total number of Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans has continued to increase. The number of children and young people with EHC plans increased to 576,000, as at census day in January 2024, up by 11.4% from 2023. The number of EHC plans has increased each year since their introduction in 2014.

The number of new EHC plans issued in the calendar year has continued to increase. 84,400 new EHC plans were made during the 2023 calendar year. The number of new EHC plans made during the calendar year has increased each year since their introduction in 2014.

The number of initial requests for an EHC plan in the calendar year has continued to increase.  There were 138,200 initial requests for an EHC plan during 2023, up from 114,500 in 2022. Apart from a decrease in 2020, an atypical year when the pandemic was disrupting both education and local authority services, initial requests have increased each year since EHC plans were introduced.

The proportion of new plans issued within 20 weeks has increased. In 2023, 50.3% of new EHC plans were issued within 20 weeks. This is an increase compared to 2022 when the figure was 49.2%.

Green Party publish their election manifesto.  On the issue of education, the manifesto makes the following statements:

• Advocate an increase in school funding with a £8bn investment;
• Removing charitable status from private schools and charging full vat on fees;
• Retain a full, evidence-based and age–appropriate programme of Relationships, Sex and Health Education, including LGBTIQA+ content and resources;
• Push for £5bn to be invested in special needs (SEND) provision within mainstream schools;
• Protect provision of free school breakfast clubs to all primary school pupils;
• Fully restore the role of the school nurse;
• Fully fund every higher education student, restoring maintenance grants and scrapping under graduate tuition fees;
• Our long-term plans include seeking to cancel the injustice of graduate debt.

Conservative and Unionist Party publish their election manifesto. On the issue of education, the manifesto makes the following statements:

• Give young people the skills and opportunities they deserve by introducing mandatory National Service;
• Fund 100,000 high quality apprenticeships;
• Ban the use of mobile phones during the school day;
• Ensuing parents can see what their children are being taught, especially on sensitive matters like sex education;
• Introducing the Advanced British Standard enabling young people to receive a broader education;
• Mandate 2 hours of PE every week in primary and secondary schools;
• Legislate to create a register of children not in school;
• Expand strong academy trusts;
• Delivering 60,000 more school places and a further 15 new free schools for children with special educational needs;
• Close university courses in England with the worst outcomes for their students.

Liberal Democrats publish their election manifesto. On the issue of education, the manifesto makes the following statements:

• A fair deal where every child can go to a good school and have real opportunities to fulfil their potential;
• Creating a teacher workforce strategy to ensure every secondary school child is taught by a specialist teacher in their subject;
• Broaden the curriculum and make qualifications at 16 and 18 fit for the 21^st century;
• Improve the quality of vocational training;
• Strengthen careers advice;
• Expand provision of extracurricular activities, such as sport, music, drama, debating and coding, starting with a new free entitlement for disadvantaged children;
• Implement a new parental engagement strategy;
• Tackle persistent absence;
• Tackle the crisis in special educational needs provision;
• Establishing a new National Body for SEND to fund support for children with very high needs;
• Tackle bullying in schools by promoting pastoral leadership in schools and delivering high-quality relationships and sex education;
• Safeguard the future of our world-leading universities and the wellbeing of every student;
• Giving higher education institutions a statutory duty of care for their students.

Institute for Fiscal Studies publishes “The state of education: what awaits the next government?” The report includes findings that, “England is one of the best-performing countries in terms of school-age attainment. Over the past decade, the literacy and numeracy skills of 15-year-olds in England have improved significantly relative to other high-income countries. While England is middle-of-the-pack on inequalities, among the OECD only Canada, Estonia, Ireland and Japan manage to deliver both stronger average attainment and lower inequality than England.” There is also a finding that, “The number of children on an Education, Health and Care plan – the highest tier of support for special educational needs – has risen by 60% since 2016. This increase is even more striking since there is evidence of schools and local authorities rationing support; 98% of appeals are successful at tribunals. Not unrelatedly, the rise in EHC plans has been faster among less disadvantaged families.”

Institute for Fiscal Studies publishes “School spending in England: a guide to the debate during the 2024 general election”. The report includes a statement: “The number of pupils assessed as having the highest levels of special educational needs (i.e. with an Education, Health and Care Plan) increased by over 60% from about 220,000 in 2015 to about 360,000 in 2022. This was mostly driven by a near[1]doubling in the numbers of pupils with autistic spectrum disorders, speech and language needs, and social, emotional and mental health needs. This has placed huge pressure on school spending. The £3.5 billion increase in the high-needs budget since 2015 has taken up nearly half of the £7.6 billion increase in school spending since 2015.”

BBC report their own “investigation has found the number of children moving to home education in the UK is at its highest level since the pandemic. Councils received almost 50,000 notifications in the last academic year from families wanting to take their children out of school. This does not include children already being home educated. The latest government figures suggest mental health is the biggest reason for the rise.”

As part of the Conservative Party manifesto for the forthcoming General Election on 4 July 2024, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that if returned to power a Conservative Government will close down under performing universities “that are letting young people down”.  The PM also said that independent studies show 1 in 5 people would be financially better off if they did not do a degree. He also said 1 in 3 graduates are in non graduate jobs.

Department for Education published an update to its statutory guidance for schools and colleges in England on safeguarding children and safer recruitment, Keeping Children Safe in Education. The final version will come into force in September 2024. The updated guidance contains relatively minor amendments including advice to schools to take a “cautious approach” in respect of children gender questioning.

BBC reports Nigerian students have been thrown off university courses and ordered to leave the UK because a currency crisis has left them unable to pay fees.