Tag: Department for Education

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 12 October 2023.

The privy council has confirmed today that they have approved Sir Martyn Oliver as the next HMCI for Ofsted.

The education secretary today (12 October) announced the appointment of Sir Martyn Oliver as the next His Majesty’s chief inspector (HMCI) of education, children’s services and skills.

The privy council has confirmed his appointment through an order in council, after a thorough recruitment process conducted in line with the requirements set by the commissioner for public appointments.

Sir Martyn was recommended as the government’s preferred candidate by the education secretary earlier this year and was also endorsed by the education select committee following a pre-appointment hearing last month.

He is an accomplished school and trust leader with a track record of driving up standards in areas with high levels of disadvantage. Sir Martyn is currently the chief executive of Outwood Grange Academies Trust (OGAT), a large multi-academy trust which has grown under Sir Martyn’s leadership from 17 academies to 41 primary, junior, secondary and alternative provision academies in the north of England. He was honoured for his services to education in the recent queen’s birthday honours list in 2022.

Secretary of state for education Gillian Keegan said:

Sir Martyn Oliver is an accomplished school and trust leader with a tremendous record of driving up standards and I’m delighted to announce that he has been confirmed as Ofsted’s next chief inspector.

I want to thank Amanda Spielman for her work over the past seven years. She successfully led Ofsted through a series of significant reforms in education and children’s services, alongside championing a broad and balanced curriculum.

We look forward to building on this vital work with Sir Martyn Oliver to ensure Ofsted continues to evolve.

Sir Martyn Oliver, chief executive officer of Outwood Grange Academies Trust, said:

I was deeply honoured and hugely privileged to be recommended for this role by the secretary of state, and am delighted that the privy council has today approved my appointment.

I am looking forward to engaging with all parts of the sector that Ofsted regulates and inspects through a Big Listen, so that Ofsted is very much of the system and by the system for the benefit of children and parents.

I promise to be empathetic, compassionate and understanding of the challenges that those of us working in education, children’s services and skills face, especially in terms of the recovery post-covid, and will ensure that we always take a holistic view for the good of all children, especially the most vulnerable and those who are disadvantaged.

Sir Martyn will start his five-year term on January 1st 2024 after Amanda Spielman’s term ends on December 31st 2023 following seven years of service.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 10 October 2023.

Teacher recruitment will see a huge boost this academic year with £196 million to attract more teachers across key subjects.

Teacher recruitment will see a huge boost this academic year with £196 million to attract more teachers across key subjects. This will fund scholarships, bursaries and salary grants to help thousands of candidates through their initial teacher training (ITT).

Scholarships for those training to teach mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing will now be brought up to £30,000 tax-free, in order to attract more talented teachers in these key subjects to support the delivery of the advanced British standard (ABS), announced by the prime minister last week.

The ABS is a new single qualification for 16- to 19-year-olds that will bring together the best of A Levels and T Levels, giving students the freedom to take a mix of technical and academic subjects, boosting their skillset and giving students more flexibility over their future career options. Students will also spend more time in the classroom, increasing taught hours to a minimum of 1,475 hours over two years.

In his speech, the prime minister committed an initial investment of £600 million over two years to lay the groundwork for delivering the advanced british standard, which would double the levelling up premium, helping retain talented teachers in priority subjects.

This means that, existing teachers, who are in the first five years of their careers teaching priority subjects in disadvantaged schools will receive £6,000 tax-free per year. This will include for the first time further education colleges and will recognise and reward the valuable jobs that teachers play in our society.

Overall, the next recruitment cycle will see a £15 million increase on the financial support available to trainee teachers compared to the last cycle, which will encourage the brightest and the best into teaching, helping support the delivery of the ABS and beyond.

As part of the increase existing bursaries for biology and design & technology will also be brought up to £25,000 and additional bursaries for subjects that are compulsory to the curriculum have been introduced, including one in music. This means those applying to train to teach music will receive a £10,000 bursary. This brings the total number of eligible subjects available for financial support to 12.

Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan said:

Last week the prime minister set out a new vision for our education system. The new advanced british standard will expand the range of what our 16 to 19 year olds learn and finally end the artificial divide between academic and technical education.

We know teachers will be key to its success – just as they have been to raising standards since 2010. That’s why we need the best and the brightest teaching throughout our schools. These bursaries give trainee teachers even more choice and support to help them start their journey into the classroom.

Since its launch the department has made considerable progress delivering its teacher recruitment and retention strategy to attract, retain and develop the highly skilled teachers needed to inspire the next generation.

Recent data has shown that schools in England now have more teachers than ever before nearly 470,000 teachers in the workforce, a 27,000 increase on 2010.

To help tackle teacher and school leader workload, the workload reduction taskforce has been established, which will help support the government’s ambition to reduce working hours for teachers and leaders by five hours per week.  In addition, we have created 12 flexible working ambassador multi-academy trusts and schools (FWAMS) this year to support schools with flexible working and have published our flexible working toolkit, which provides resources to help implement practices like job shares, part-time working and ad-hoc flexibility, such as the occasional personal day.

To further attract teachers to the profession, the international relocation payment (IRP) pilot will continue for a second year, supporting the highest-quality candidates to teach priority subjects and ensuring that England remains an attractive teaching destination worldwide.

More great teachers in classrooms helps build a world class education system for children and builds on the government’s work to drive up standards. This follows on from England’s recent success in the progress in international reading literacy study (PIRLS), which saw it placed 4th in the world for reading among primary school children.

This winter, the department will publish a strategy update that builds upon its commitment to give every child a world class education delivered by great teachers.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 9 October 2023.

Hackathon to test how artificial intelligence could reduce workloads and drive up standards.

Teachers and school leaders from across England are set to participate in an artificial intelligence (AI) hackathon as part a two-day event to experiment with technology and identify how AI could supercharge education.

Artificial intelligence is already having an impact on society, helping to grow the economy and deliver better public services. In education, the technology has huge potential ranging from supporting teachers with administrative tasks to providing personalised feedback for students on their work.

In a bid to unlock these benefits, the Department for Education, in collaboration with Faculty AI, the National Institute of Teaching, and the AI in Schools Initiative, is set to host an AI hackathon in London on 30 and 31 of October which will bring together teachers and leaders from schools and trusts across England, including Harris Federation, Star Academies, Outwood Grange Academies Trust and Inspiration Trust.

Participants will be asked to experiment with AI to test its potential in several scenarios, for example whether it could write a lesson plan or accurately mark exam papers.

Secondary school pupils will also be invited to share their experiences and knowledge. The best of the solutions will be shared with the department’s workload reduction taskforce and a demo of the tools created will be made available for schools across the country to test and to use, supporting the government’s ambition to reduce working hours for teachers and leaders by five hours per week.

Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan, said:

During my career in the tech business, I have seen innovation in action.

Artificial intelligence has huge potential to transform the way we do things, from providing personalised support for pupils to helping tackle teacher workload.

But to reap the benefits in education, we need to improve our understanding of how AI works and safely. Participants of the hackathons will be supported by Faculty AI and the National Institute of Teaching to experiment and put forward solutions, paving the way for the future.

Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Michelle Donelan said:

This hackathon will help explore how AI can be harnessed to revolutionise education.

We want to see teachers using AI to speed up administrative tasks and planning so that they are free to focus on the things which make the biggest difference to students.

We are also equipping the next generation with the AI skills they need for the future, with our AI conversion courses helping students gain technical knowledge in this transformative technology so they can compete and thrive in the workplace.

Tom Nixon, Director of Government at Faculty AI, said:

Artificial intelligence is the defining technology of our generation – and now is the time to safely bring its vast benefits to schools.

From creating timetables and lesson resources, to supporting students with personalised feedback, AI has the power to cut workloads and improve young people’s education.

The hackathon will be an important step in moving from rhetoric to reality, and we’re excited to help get these tools into classrooms.

Dr Calum Davey, Executive Director of Research at the National Institute of Teaching said:

We want to see a school system that nurtures the teachers and school leaders who are making a difference for children every day. Emerging AI technology may help with their work, but if it’s going to be useful and have an impact then schools need to led identification of problems and development of solutions.

We are proud to work with Faculty to connect the experts in AI technology with the experts in the classroom. Our researchers will be listening to those involved and sharing what we learn.

The UK is already a world leader in AI, spearheading the safe and responsible development of the technology. Ahead of the UK AI Safety Summit on 1 and 2 November, this work will mark an important step in ensuring the UK remains at the forefront of AI globally.

As part of its work in this space, the Department for Education launched a call for evidence in June to gather views from educational professionals on risks, ethical considerations, and possibilities of AI in education. The results of the call for evidence will be published in November 2023 and alongside the results from this month’s hackathons, will support the government’s work to identify AI’s potential and ensure it advances in a safe, reasonable, and fair way.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 2 October 2023.

Consultation launched in response to concerns about the impact of strike action on university students and providers.

The government will launch a consultation on minimum service levels in universities, the Education Secretary Gillian Keegan announced today.

Students and universities will be encouraged to share their views on the impact of strike action.

The consultation will focus on stronger protections for final year students, key cohorts or those studying specialist subjects. If introduced, the minimum service level could ensure students get the education they pay for, protecting them from strike action, for example looking at how to guarantee continued services such as teaching contact hours and marking their work during walkouts.

Previous strike action has resulted in lost learning at critical times during students’ education.

The move builds on reforms announced earlier this year to improve the quality of university degrees for students by making sure universities are accountable for how students are progressing through their courses and what they will earn after graduation.

The Office for Students has been asked to limit the number of students universities can recruit onto courses that have high drop-out rates, don’t lead to good jobs and leave young people with poor pay and high debts.

Today’s announcement is another step in a series of long-term decisions to ensure a bright future for all children and young people, whether it be starting school, through to going to university or undertaking an apprenticeship.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 2 October 2023.

Mobile phone use to be banned during the school day, including at break times, new guidance recommends.

Mobile phone use should be banned in schools across England to improve behaviour, the Education Secretary Gillian Keegan announced today.

New guidance from the Department for Education will back head teachers in banning mobile phone use throughout the school day, including at break times, to tackle disruptive behaviour and online bullying while boosting attention during lessons. It aims to support the wider work the government is doing to raise standards in schools by increasing students’ focus and reducing distractions.

This ban supports the hard work of teachers and education staff – and continues to build on government’s reforms backed up by the highest level of funding for schools in history, in real terms, of nearly £60 billion by 2024-25.

The move will bring England in line with other countries that have already implemented a ban, including France, Italy and Portugal. It follows warnings from the United Nations on the risks of smartphones in schools and government data that found around a third (29%) of secondary school pupils reported mobile phones being used when they were not supposed to in most, or all, lessons.

If schools fail to implement the new guidance, the government will consider legislating in the future to make the guidance statutory.

Tom Bennett, school behaviour advisor said:

This is a fantastic move forward for ensuring that students are able to work, learn and grow in a place free from the distracting influence of mobile phones. Schools that have already banned them report that students are safer, happier and able to focus far more than they were before- and it’s popular with them too.

And heads should now be reassured that their efforts to keep schools mobile-free will be backed by the DfE. This is a positive and progressive step forward.

The guidance will set out limited exemptions where necessary – for example, where children require their phones for medical reasons.

The ban builds on a £10 million investment in behaviour hubs which support up to 700 schools to improve behaviour alongside the appointment of a new behavioural taskforce led by DfE’s behaviour tsar Tom Bennett.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 29 September 2023.

More children will have access to walk to school and cycle training programmes over the next 2 years, giving them better road skills.

Up to 2 million more children will have access to walk to school programmes and cycle training programmes over the next 2 years thanks to a multimillion-pound investment announced by Active Travel England (ATE) today (29 September 2023).

The £60 million package will help parents have more confidence to walk or cycle with their kids on the school run by funding initiatives that give more children better road skills and aim to help make it easier for parents to choose greener travel options.

The 2-year funding will include £50 million to expand Bikeability cycle training to a million more young people. This scheme has already delivered training to more than 4 million children since 2007.

A further £5 million will support walk to school programmes aimed at hundreds of thousands of pupils in schools across England via the charity Living Streets.

Chris Boardman, Active Travel Commissioner, said:

Giving kids transport independence and enabling them to walk, wheel or cycle on the school run is what they want, and what we want for them.

This £60 million funding package will help put the joy back into journeys and create a generation of young people who feel confident to make healthier and greener travel choices.

Decarbonisation Minister, Jesse Norman, said:

The government wants children up and down the country to benefit from the freedom as well as the huge mental and physical health benefits of cycling. That is why it is investing £60 million in this package of measures to support active travel for young people.

Schools Minister, Nick Gibb, said:

The journey to and from school is an essential part of the school day for every child, and it’s encouraging that Active Travel England is investing in active travel initiatives for children and young people that can improve their health and wellbeing.

Many schools are already encouraging these initiatives locally and this is being supported with our School Sport and Activity Action Plan, which was published earlier this year.

The plan supports initiatives to increase active and safe travel to school such as Walk to School Outreach, School Streets and Bikeability – and these include inclusive delivery for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

Also included in the package is £4 million to extend Cycling UK’s Big Bike Revival programme to March 2025. The scheme has already engaged over 80,000 people of all ages, helping them learn cycling basics and feel more confident while pedalling.

Meanwhile, an additional £500,000 will fund an extension to the Modeshift STARS and Active Travel Ambassador schemes. The STARS program provides recognition for schools, businesses and organisations that show excellence in supporting and delivering active travel plans in their community. Active Travel Ambassadors work with secondary school students to encourage their peers to travel actively.

Stephen Edwards, Chief Executive of Living Streets, said:

This funding will support even more families to choose active ways to travel to school, boosting the nation’s health, reducing congestion and improving air quality.

Our programmes have been incredibly successful, playing a huge role in helping more children walk to school. We look forward to more pupils and schools joining us and reaping the benefits that come from swapping the school run for a school walk.

Emily Cherry, Chief Executive of the Bikeability Trust, said:

What great news to wrap up Cycle to School Week. We and ATE share an ambition that every child has the confidence to cycle and can enjoy this skill for life. This funding will help us and our brilliant Bikeability instructors, training providers and grant recipients to work towards that ambition this and next year. Together, we can make sure that no child leaves school without the knowledge, confidence and opportunity to cycle.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 28 September 2023.

Government announces four new attendance hubs, widening the support to a total of 400,000 pupils.

Thousands more pupils will be supported in schools as the Department for Education today (28 September) announces four more attendance hubs.

Hubs are led by schools with excellent attendance which share practical ideas with other primary, secondary, alternative provision and special schools in England who need support to boost their attendance.

The Government has been clear that attendance is everyone’s business. Regular attendance is vital for children’s education, wellbeing and long-term development and evidence shows pupils with higher attendance tend to have higher attainment across all key stages.

The four new attendance hubs announced today are in Nottinghamshire, Grimsby, and two in Swindon and they will support schools across the country.

The new hubs are St Giles Special School in Nottinghamshire, John Whitgift Academy in Grimsby and Ridgeway School and Sixth Form and The Croft Primary School both in Swindon.

This brings the total number of hubs to 14 – which will support around 800 schools across the country responsible for the attendance of 400,000 children, and will start working with schools over the next two weeks for the rest of the academic year.

Lead hub schools share practical approaches to improving attendance with other schools. This could include advice about how to make their school warm and welcoming, building strong relationships with families, working effectively with wider services where there are complex reasons for absence, and using data to identify pupils at risk of not coming in, to intervene early.

Hub schools also share ideas for how to use extra-curricular activities such as school trips, sports teams or breakfast clubs to create a positive culture where children want to attend.

This term, the Department will also be looking for more schools to establish new attendance hubs.

Education Secretary, Gillian Keegan said:

Being at school helps children grow in confidence and ensure they get the education they need to reach their full potential.

That is why we are doing everything in our power to ensure children don’t miss out on these precious years that only happen once in a lifetime.

We are delighted to expand our ground breaking attendance hubs and continue to work with the wider sector through the Attendance Action Alliance to further reduce absence.

The first attendance hub was set up by Rob Tarn, CEO of Northern Education Trust and members of the Attendance Action Alliance, to provide other schools with techniques, resources and advice on how to improve attendance, as successfully trialled in Northern Education Trust’s North Shore Academy.

CEO of Northern Education Trust, Rob Tarn said:

Securing excellent attendance continues to be a day-to-day challenge for all schools around the country.

I am delighted to see the launch of 4 additional attendance hubs supporting hundreds more schools around the country– building on the hub model that we created at North Shore Academy.

Attendance hubs give school leaders more opportunities to learn from others, share best practice and engage in an ongoing professional dialogue about improving attendance.

As part of the Government’s mission to tackle barriers to attendance, the Government announced the expansion of the attendance hubs and the attendance mentoring programme in May, to support more schools in England to improve their attendance.

The Department for Education also established the Attendance Action Alliance of national leaders from education, children’s social care and allied services to work together to raise school attendance and reduce persistent absence.

Last month, Schools Minister Nick Gibb urged parents to play their part in continuing to support pupils to go to school, including when they have a minor cough or cold.

The Department also recently published a toolkit for schools providing tips and evidence-based adaptable templates for communicating with parents and carers on attendance. This is in addition to work with children’s charity Barnardo’s to deliver the attendance mentors programme – which works directly with persistently absent children and their families to help overcome their specific barriers to attendance and support them back to school.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 21 September 2023.

27 new areas join the staying close programme, which provides significant extra support to help care leavers move to independent living up to the age of 21.

Thousands more young people will soon receive additional crucial support when leaving care as today, 21 September 2023, the government announces 27 new local authorities to join the staying close programme.

The staying close programme provides a package of continued support and guidance to young people leaving care. This includes ensuring they have accommodation, resources and practical and emotional help provided by a member of staff from their former children’s home, to help them thrive as independent adults.

The 27 local authorities have been awarded £27 million to run the staying close programme, taking the programme to a total of 47 local authorities nationally, worth £53 million overall. This funding means more care leavers than ever before will have access to this support.

To further demonstrate the government’s commitment to supporting the most vulnerable children, it has today launched a consultation, seeking feedback on the national advocacy standards and statutory guidance. The standards seek to improve advocacy provision for children in care and care leavers and address gaps and barriers to services, to ensure all voices are heard.

The government also introduced a new standard on non-instructed advocacy for very young and non-verbal children and young people. These updates set expectations for what high quality advocacy provision should look like and place the voice of children and young people at the heart of the system.

Today’s updates are part of the government’s continued work to improve children’s social care, as set out in the children’s social care strategy, stable homes, built on love. Backed by £200 million over the next 2 years, the ambitious and wide-ranging strategy will transform the current care system to focus on more early support for families, reducing the need for crisis response at a later stage.

Children and Families Minister, David Johnston, said:

We are making significant strides in our ambition to transform children’s social care services for some of our most vulnerable children and young people across the country.

At the heart of today’s developments are the needs of children in care and care leavers. Our work on advocacy standards will make sure they’re listened to and supported, while the fantastic Staying Close programme is helping give them the tools they need to thrive as young adults.

Today, the department has also published the government’s responses to 2 consultations: the first response on the overall strategy for transforming children’s social care, stable homes, built on love, and the second on the national framework and dashboard. The national framework, when published later this year, will clarify expectations and outcomes for what local authorities should achieve in children’s social care.

Stable homes, built on love responds to recommendations made by 3 independent reviews:

• the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care
• the National Panel’s review into the murders of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson
• the Competition and Markets Authority’s children’s social care report

Stable homes, built on love set out how we will help families overcome challenges, keep children safe, and make sure children in care have stable loving homes, long-term loving relationships, and opportunities for a good life.

The strategy outlines 6 pillars of support to achieve this, which includes bolstering family help, bettering multi-agency working, better supporting children in care and care leavers, and ensuring the children’s care system continuously learns and improves, making better use of evidence and data.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 19 September 2023.

The Department for Education (DfE) have developed software to sort thousands of emails, reducing the time taken to communicate with the public.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 19 September 2023.

The Lifelong Learning Bill becomes law, paving the way for a radical transformation of the student finance system.

New measures have been enshrined in law that will transform the student finance system, allowing colleges and universities to charge different fees for different courses for the first time and opening up opportunities for adults to study in a way that works for them.

The Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) (formerly the Lifelong Loan Entitlement) will give all adults from 2025 access to loans, worth up to £37,000 in today’s fees, that they can use flexibly over their working lives to upskill or retrain.

The LLE will mean people will be able to take out a student loan to pay for full-time courses such as university degrees or higher technical qualifications (HTQs), as well as for some individual modules of courses.

People who have already taken out a loan for a degree will also be able to use the rest of their entitlement to study subjects that will help them gain additional skills that employers are looking for, making it easier for people to build up their skills over time. This includes studying individual modules of degree courses or HTQs to help them to do this in a way that fits round their lives and commitments.

To prepare for the introduction of the LLE, a new £5 million scheme has launched to encourage universities and colleges to develop and offer individual modules of HTQs in a flexible way. Under the scheme students will be offered the opportunity to study in-demand modules of HTQs, such as digital, health and science and construction, ahead of the launch of the LLE from 2025.

Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education Robert Halfon said:

Giving people the chance to access education and training over the course of their working lives, in a way that suits them, is crucial to enabling those from all backgrounds to climb the ladder of opportunity.

From higher technical qualification modules in cyber security to short courses in accountancy and university degrees in engineering, this new Lifelong Learning Entitlement will allow people to hop on and off their educational journey throughout their lives with a single ticket, towards the destination of rewarding, skilled employment. This will plug skills gaps and give employers access to a pipeline of talent to help them grow.

The new measures in the Lifelong Learning Act will allow universities and colleges to use a new method of calculating the maximum level of tuition fees they can charge for different courses. This will make the pricing of modules and short courses proportionate, so people can access education and training at a fair price.

Chair of the Post-18 Education and Funding Review Philip Augar said:

This legislation gives us a framework that fits our modern, fast-changing jobs market. The potential now exists for adults to transform life opportunities through lifelong learning and I hope universities, colleges and employers respond constructively in ensuring that this potential is fulfilled.

Policy Advisor at Coventry University Dr Elizabeth Norton said:

The Lifelong Learning Bill has not only provided the foundation for a radical overhaul of the student tuition fee loans system in England, but has also asked the entire higher education sector to look carefully at how and when students decide to learn on a timeline convenient to them.

Coventry University Group has prioritised and pioneered “life shaped learning” for many years, and with this bill receiving Royal Assent, legislation is reflecting the flexibility people need in accessing higher education funding throughout their careers.

Vice Chancellor of Nottingham Trent University Edward Peck said:

From initial discussion within the Augar Review Panel in 2018 through to Royal Assent in 2023, the idea of a Lifelong Learning Entitlement has built universal support because it will make higher education available to those who could benefit throughout their adult working lives.

Everybody who is committed to enhanced social mobility within an ever higher skilled economy will welcome the successful passage of this Bill onto the statute book.

Executive Director of Finance at Salford University Julie Charge said:

The Lifelong Learning Bill is an important tool to support the skills development of individuals over their careers helping them reach their full potential. The ability to access module learning will open up opportunities to those who can’t commit to full time education and otherwise would be excluded.

This Bill is a significant step in embedding life long learning in the UK which will help address employer’s skills and productivity needs as well giving students access to high quality courses throughout their lives.

David Hughes, chief executive of Association of Colleges, said:

I am pleased to see the Lifelong Learning Bill gain Royal Assent, having given written and oral evidence as it made its way through parliament. The Lifelong Learning Entitlement has the potential to be a game-changer, and I hope that this is the beginning of a significant cultural shift in the way post-18 education and training is delivered and taken up in England.

The need for a new lifelong learning culture and the system of funding and opportunities behind it is clear – with an ageing population, the skills needed by employers rapidly changing with technological change and the move to a net zero economy, we need every adult to have the capacity, motivation, and opportunities to carry on learning throughout their lives.

Vice Chancellor of Bath Spa University Professor Sue Rigby said:

Opening up higher education by allowing learners to dip in and out of study throughout their career is a dramatic and transformational move.  It will increase the skills base that drives the economy and allow people to learn what they need to thrive when they are ready to do so.

Higher technical qualifications – that sit between A levels and T levels, and degrees – give adults the skills employers need and are available in a range of in demand subjects including Digital, Construction, and Health and Science with more coming on board over the next few years. From this September, HTQs have been put on par with degrees with students able to access maintenance loans, especially for those studying part time, helping learners fit study around work and other commitments as we move towards the flexibility envisioned by the LLE.

Following engagement with the higher education sector, the government has decided to change the name of the Lifelong Loan Entitlement to the Lifelong Learning Entitlement, so it better reflects its core purpose of offering learning opportunities throughout people’s working lives, making education and training more accessible to people from all backgrounds.