Category: Education

The speech made by Michelle Donelan, the Universities Minister, on 21 April 2021.

Good afternoon and thank you for inviting me here today to speak about the vital role we can all play as we overcome Covid-19.

I regret that we cannot be together today, that instead we are speaking through screens in a manner that has become familiar to us all by now. This pandemic has forced us all to adapt – and adapt fast in order to keep students learning during this historic pandemic.

So, I want to start by thanking everyone across our universities and higher education institutions for all that you have done across the last year. And with our fantastic vaccine roll-out, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

But levelling-up Britain cannot wait. We need to double down on eliminating equality gaps in higher education today.

Those of you that know me will know just how passionate I am about social mobility – and Covid-19 has not diluted that one bit.

I want to be clear that as Universities Minister, this is my top priority.

That means making sure access and participation in higher education is open to all that have the ability and desire.

It means making sure those who grow up in the most disadvantaged households have the same opportunities to go to university as their peers – and succeed when they are there.

It also means that they should be just as likely to study courses with good graduate outcomes and complete those courses.

That is why when I first heard of TASO, I was truly excited to hear about the evidence it is gathering to bolster these efforts.

I support TASO’s mission to develop that strong evidence around effective approaches to access, student success and progression to good quality employment and further study.

Because we all know that evidence-led policy and practice in university access and successful participation is at the very heart of levelling up and providing equality of opportunity.

And we know that we need to measure what matters, not just what is easy to measure.

It is easy to get people on to courses by making unconditional courses, without considering whether they are academically suitable; or to reduce the attainment gap by grade inflation and offering more firsts. But let me be candid: that does not and will not deliver effective change and we need to seriously question these practices.

It is more difficult, but much more meaningful, to improve access by working closely with schools and pupils to raise academic performance, and to drive improvement in outcomes by giving all students the support that they need to succeed, whatever their background. So, I hope that this conference can be a watershed moment in establishing what works for higher education – and as TASO develops a clearer understanding of what works in access and participation.

Already I’m pleased to see how far TASO has come since the Department for Education’s Social Mobility Action Plan committed to an Evidence and Impact Exchange for widening access and successful participation in Higher Education back in 2017.

Since its launch in 2019, both under Susannah’s [Susannah Hume – interim Director] and now Omar’s leadership, TASO has been quick to make an impact, gathering and synthesing evidence, and leading projects in a range of key areas and understanding impacts on different groups of learners. I know from speaking to vice chancellors how valuable this work is already, with good practice being shared around the sector.

Many of you will by now know that I was the first in my family to go to university. I know first-hand how it can change lives, because it changed mine, and I can confidently say I would not be speaking to you today had I not graduated. My mission to bring about real social mobility is shared across this Government – and with the sector, we want to enable every person to fulfil their potential.

To do so, we must together ensure that work on access and participation focuses on delivering real social mobility. We need to equip students will the tools they need to make the right choices for them and their futures, including making sure they can get onto and succeed in high quality courses that are valued by employers.

The hard truth is that at times some students are tempted onto courses that offer them nothing come graduation. The fact is that at times some students will pay thousands of pounds for a degree that leads them nowhere.

We need to guard against encouraging more and more students onto courses which do not provide good graduate outcomes, because it is self-evident that this does not provide real social mobility and serves only to entrench inequality. It will be obvious to those listening today that there is a direct link between success at university and prior attainment at school.

That is why our school reforms are raising standards of attainment for all – and why we are asking universities to take on a more direct role in raising attainment in schools.  But our work does not stop at school.

We need to develop a society where training, re-training and learning throughout your life is second nature. We all need to stop thinking about education as something you tick off and move on from and start thinking about it as something we can draw from throughout our lives. There has been a need to do this long before Covid-19, because as we all know these are long-term structural issues.

That is why the Prime Minister has announced plans to introduce a Lifelong Loan Entitlement as part of the Lifetime Skills Guarantee.

This will give people the opportunity to train, retrain and upskill throughout their lives to respond to changing skills needs and employment patterns. It will have a massive, transformative impact on post-18 study, delivering greater parity between further and higher education.

And it will do what it says on the tin. Introduced from 2025, the Lifelong Loan Entitlement will provide individuals with a loan entitlement to the equivalent of four years of post-18 education to use over their lifetime. These steps will make it easier for students to navigate the options available, create a more streamlined funding system and encourage provision to better meet the needs of people, employers and the economy.

Flexibility is the name of the game today and will continue to be as the future unfolds. That is why it is been so important for people to be able to develop new life-changing skills as the economy changes. Equally important, though, is giving people the flexibility to study when they want and how they want.

This new loan entitlement means people can space out their studies, transfer credits between FE and HE institutions, and take up more part-time study. As part of the pathway towards the Lifelong Loan Entitlement, we will stimulate the provision of high-quality higher technical education and introduce pilots to incentivise more flexible and modular provision.

We will consult on the detail and scope of the Lifelong Loan Entitlement this year to make sure that it works as effectively as possible. Where necessary, we will put forward legislation in this parliament.

What is clear already though is that modular education will need to be front and centre of any changes we make. This modular education will be at the heart of our Lifelong Learning Entitlement, revolutionising our education offer – both in higher and further education.

Why? Because we need a real alternative to the traditional three-year degree, that remains out of grasp of too many. Because it is hard – if not impossible – to take three years out of full-time employment when you have a mortgage, children or caring responsibilities.

Think for a minute about your friends and family, and those who have not been able to take up a place at university because of existing commitments. Those who, by doing the right things for their families, are held back from making a better life for themselves. We are a Government that will always back people who want to make a better life for themselves.

But right now we are seeing entrants to part-time study falling. The number of entrants to part-time study at English Higher Education providers fell steeply after 2012 and continued to decline at a slower pace.

So, I want all institutions, staff, and students to know that I will be taking action to incentivise more flexible and modular provision. From 2022, we will be trialling loan-funded access to tuition fees for certain modules at a number of institutions across England.

What we learn from this trial will inform our approach to lifelong learning, and is a key step towards our delivery of the Lifelong Loan Entitlement, as well as supporting some students to participate on shorter modular courses in England as early as 2022. But I can say today that this is real, transformative change. Change that will make us a fairer society, change that will make us a high-skilled society.

This starts now because we have a choice today between carrying on with business as usual, or making bold, brave changes that mean we can be even prouder of our universities. But perhaps more importantly, we will make changes that benefit students for generations to come. I look forward to working with you to make this a reality. Thank you.

The statement made by Michelle Donelan, the Minister for Universities, in the House of Commons on 13 April 2021.

The Government recognise the disruption that covid-19 has caused for many students and their families because they have not yet been able to return to their university. Last academic term we advised that all students on practical and creative courses could return to in-person teaching from 8 March and committed to reviewing further returns by the end of the Easter holidays.

Today, my Department has announced that remaining students will be advised to return to in-person teaching alongside step 3 of the road map, when restrictions on social contact will be eased further and the majority of indoor settings can reopen. This will take place no earlier than 17 May, following a further review of the data against the four tests. As was announced in February, students and higher education providers will be given a week’s notice of any further easing of restrictions as it affects them in accordance with the timing of step 3. Until then all students should continue to learn remotely and remain where they are living, wherever possible.

Universities have a strong track record of delivering excellent remote learning, students in higher education are well equipped to study and meet their learning outcomes remotely. The Government remain clear that the quality and quantity of taught hours must be maintained and that all learning must be accessible.

The Government and I recognise just how difficult and disruptive the last year has been for students. However, the road map is designed to maintain a cautious approach to the easing of restrictions, to ensure that we can maintain progress towards full reopening. By step 3, more of the population will be vaccinated, and there is also more time to increase testing to reduce risk further.

The movement of students across the country poses a risk for the transmission of the virus—particularly because of the higher prevalence and rates of transmission of new variants. Students who have returned to higher education settings should not move back and forward between their permanent home and student home during term time unless they meet one of the exemptions.

Our advice remains that some students, such as those with inadequate study space and/or mental health and wellbeing issues, may need to return to their term-time address despite their teaching still being online. We have asked providers to consider opening facilities to support those who have returned to their term-time accommodation alongside those who have resumed in-person teaching and learning; this is to safeguard students’ wellbeing and to prevent isolation and mental ill health.

We are supporting universities to provide regular, twice-weekly, asymptomatic testing for all students residing in their term-time accommodation, or accessing university facilities, and to all staff. In May 2021, we will be making home test kits available to universities to supply to their staff and students as appropriate. In addition, staff and students can make use of the universal testing offer by ordering home tests online or visiting a pharmacy. Students returning to university should undertake three supervised tests at an on-site test facility. They should then test twice a week, either using home test kits or at an on-site facility. This is in line with the expectation in most other education settings and will help break chains of transmission of the virus. We strongly encourage all universities to ensure that all students and staff get tested regularly and report their result when testing at home.

I realise that a delay to a return to university may cause some students to face additional costs. With this in mind, I have now announced that we will be making a further £15 million of funding available for student hardship this academic year. This is in addition to the £70 million of funding already distributed in the previous financial year. As with the £70 million, international and postgraduate students will be eligible for this funding along with domestic undergraduates. We will work with the Office for Students to allocate these funds and will set out the details of this shortly.

I recognise that these unprecedented circumstances are also affecting student and staff mental health and wellbeing, and I am committed to addressing these concerns. The Mental Health in Education Action Group, which I convened with the Minister for Children and Families, Vicky Ford, will continue to prioritise the mental health and wellbeing of students and staff, alongside the HE Taskforce Mental Health and Wellbeing subgroup. We have continued to ask universities to prioritise mental health support and have worked with the Office for Students to provide Student Space, which is a mental health and wellbeing platform designed to work alongside existing services, to support students throughout the pandemic. I have asked the OfS to look at extending the platform and I am delighted it has done so for the 2020-21 academic year. This resource, which is funded by the OfS, provides dedicated one-to-one phone, text and webchat facilities as well as a collaborative online platform. In addition to this, the Office for Students has recently published its consultation on the distribution of the £15 million for student mental health support in the coming academic year, focusing on supporting transitions to university.

We are continuing to explore other ways to provide further support for students and particularly appreciate how vital it is that we support graduates and new students as they move into their next stage. We are working in parallel with Universities UK, the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services, the Institute of Student Employers, the Office for Students, and the wider sector to understand what we can do to complement their planned support. We know that providers are best placed to lead on this and have assured them that we will work with them to signpost students to useful resources, share good practice, and communicate effectively with schools, colleges, and employers.

More broadly, the Government are doing all they can to help people who are at the start of their career journey. The Department for Work and Pensions has successfully recruited over 13,500 new work coaches as of the end of March 2021. This will ensure that high-quality work search support is available to those who need it. We are also investing additional funding in the National Careers Service up to March 2022. This investment will support delivery of individual careers advice for those whose jobs/learning have been affected by the pandemic (by end of FY21-22).We have also added additional courses to the skills toolkit to develop “work readiness” skills that employers report they value in their new recruits.

I want to assure all students, staff and parents that student welfare continues to be a priority and I will continue to work closely with the sector to ensure that our additional hardship funding and our transition support reaches those who need it most. As always, I want to thank students for their resilience and university staff and student unions for their determination to ensure that students are supported at this challenging time.