Highlights of the week ending 24 September
Political party conference season is upon us again and ahead of the Labour gathering in Brighton, leader Sir Keir Starmer set out his thoughts on education.
In an essay entitled “The road ahead”, Starmer is critical of changes to the education system over the last ten years, warned of the need for the skill system to reflect the changing world of work, and described class sizes as a “disgrace”.
The ONS published a report into remote learning during the pandemic. Findings included disadvantaged pupil losing out more than others in terms of material covered online and that remote learning was a ‘partial substitute’ at best.
UCL Institute of Education has found that National Curriculum Key Stage 2 tests taken by 10- and 11-year-old children in England to assess progress in English and Mathematics do not seem to affect children’s wellbeing.
Finally, the new Secretary of State, Nadhim Zawahi ‘broke ground’ on one of the first 100 schools to be rebuilt under the Prime Minister’s ten-year School Rebuilding Programme at West Coventry Academy.