Highlights of the week ending 31 March
There has been a lot going on this week, with publications and data drops as the government approaches the Easter recess. This included a policy paper from DfE on AI in education, schools capital announcements, and support for disadvantaged pupils (more in Top Stories).
In Parliament, Skills Minister announced that the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) will be officially removed as the designated quality body (DQB) from 1 April 2023. And the Lords Committee on Education for 11-16 year olds hold another evidence session, hearing from Pearson, Cambridge Assessment, AlphaPlus and the University of Oxford on the current assessment system and alternatives for the future.
In Scotland we witnessed a new First Minister, Humza Yousaf, announced, followed by his new Cabinet including Jenny Gilruth MSP as the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills. In Wales, proposals were published to enable all pupils in Wales to become confident Welsh speakers by 2050.
Meanwhile, UCAS released new figures suggesting that there could be up to a million higher education applicants in a single year in 2030, up from more than three quarters of a million in 2022.