Tag: Department for Education

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 25 September 2024.

Professor Becky Francis has launched a call for evidence seeking views on the current curriculum and assessment system to help shape the future of education.

Young people, parents, employers and education staff, leaders and experts are being invited to take part in a ‘national conversation’ about how the curriculum and assessment system can better prepare young people for life and work, as a call for evidence is launched today (25 September).

The 8-week consultation aims to bring everyone into the conversation about what’s working well and what could work better in the curriculum and marks the next step in the government’s independent review.

Responses will be invaluable in shaping the direction of the review and pivotal to the recommendations Professor Becky Francis and her expert panel put forward in 2025.

Today’s call for evidence covers a range of specific areas, including how best to provide an excellent foundation in English and maths, support for children from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, and access to a broad and balanced curriculum.

The review will also take written and oral evidence from key stakeholders, alongside a series of regional engagement events from mid-October to meet and take input from young people and staff on the frontline.

Spanning from key stages 1 to 4 and 16 to 19 education, the review will look closely at the key challenges to attainment for young people, and the barriers which hold children back from the opportunities and life chances they deserve – in particular those who are socio-economically disadvantaged, or with special educational needs or disability (SEND).

Professor Becky Francis said:

The curriculum belongs to the nation. And especially, it must work for the young people who follow it, and the teachers and lecturers that communicate it.

As such, it’s imperative that we hear perspectives and evidence from as wide a range of people as possible including children, young people, parents, education professionals and other stakeholders.

The launch of our call for evidence today enables that. And we have sought to keep questions broad and wide-ranging, to enable people to have their say.

There is much that is working in the present curriculum, but this is a chance to refresh, to address areas which aren’t working well, and to ensure excellence for all. I hope as many as possible will respond and I look forward to reading the responses.

The review will look at ensuring all young people aged 16 to 19 have access to rigorous and high-value qualifications and training that will give them the skills they need to seize opportunity, as well as ensuring they are ready for the changing workplace.

It will also look at whether the current assessment system can be improved for both young people and staff, while protecting the important role of examinations.    Following the review, all state schools – including academies which currently do not have to follow the national curriculum – will be required by law to teach the national curriculum up to age 16, giving parents certainty over their children’s education.

The Improving the curriculum and assessment call for evidence runs from 25 September to 22 November 2024.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 13 September 2024.

Disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND to receive support to progress their musical talent and interests.

Pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds or with SEND will get targeted support to unlock their musical potential, thanks to a new scheme designed to break down the barriers to opportunity and advance their talents.

The government’s Music Opportunities Pilot will expand on Young Sounds UK’s existing programme – Young Sounds Connect – which offers pupils across primary and secondary schools the opportunity to learn to play an instrument of their choice or how to sing to a high standard by providing free lessons and supporting young people to progress, including taking music exams.

Backed by £5.8million, co-funded by the government and partners including Young Sounds UK, Arts Council England and Youth Music, the programme aims to inspire the next generation of British musicians across 12 areas including Sunderland, Bury, Bradford and Stoke on Trent to help ensure the arts remain a cornerstone of the nation’s identity.

From the roaring crowds at Glastonbury to intimate performances at local venues, music is the beating heart of British culture, shaping society, enriching lives and fuelling a creative economy that is the envy of the world.

Culture is an essential part of supporting children and young people to develop creativity and find their voice. There is huge potential for growth in the creative industries that benefit every corner of the UK, and the industries are worth £125 billion in economic value to the UK, employing 2.4 million people in 2022.

School Standards Minister, Catherine McKinnell said:

The arts are one of the most important ways to help children and young people to develop creativity and find their voice. Music opportunities should be available to all pupils – no matter their background or circumstance.

Following a summer filled with vibrant festivals and creative acts that filled the streets with energy, it’s clear the role music plays in enriching lives. By investing in our young people we not only nurture individual talent, but also secure the future of the UK’s rich music scene by fostering a deep appreciation for music from an early age.

Alongside our Curriculum and Assessment Review, the Music Opportunities pilot will help break down the barriers to opportunity by widening access to the arts for more young people across the country.

Hester Cockcroft, Chief Executive of Young Sounds UK said:

Young Sounds Connect is designed to help young people from low-income families lead their own musical learning after whole-class lessons end, connecting them to funding, opportunities and each other, so they can keep on progressing as musicians. 15 years since it was first piloted, we’re delighted to be able to supercharge the programme model over the next four years through the Music Opportunities Pilot.

Collaborating with parents/carers, music educators, and an amazing group of Music Hubs and national partners, we’ll continue to learn together, and share our learning, so that many more young people’s musical lives can flourish in the future.

Arts Minister Sir Chris Bryant said:

Music should never be the preserve of a privileged few. I want everyone to have a chance to realise their talent regardless of their background.

This support will help to make sure that every child has access to high-quality creative education, with the opportunity to learn musical skills that may become the foundation of a lifelong passion or a future star of the UK arts scene.

Supporting young people to become musicians is invaluable in various creative and other industries. It fuels innovation and excellence in the broader creative landscape, contributing to the UK’s world class reputation as a global hub for the arts.

The pilot scheme will run over 4 years and is jointly funded by a £2 million investment from the Department for Education and £3.85 million funding from Young Sounds UK and its partners. Young Sounds UK will work in collaboration with local Music Hub partners that support and enable access to music education for children and young people in England in order to deliver the programme.

The government’s Curriculum and Assessment Review has also been launched to drive high and rising standards for all pupils and tackle the barriers which hold them back, including pupils with SEND. As part of the review, it will seek to deliver a broader curriculum so that children and young people do not miss out on creative subjects such as music, art and drama, as well as sport.

By re-establishing the arts as an integral part of the curriculum the government is raising the status of studying creative subjects and the creative industry, ensuring the arts remain a powerful force in shaping the nation’s future.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 6 September 2024.

Government reminds schools to ensure all children have equal access to PE and school sport with support from the Inclusion 2024 programme.

Schools Minister, Catherine McKinnell, is calling on schools to enhance physical education (PE) and school sport opportunities for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), in the spirit of the Paralympic Games.

The government’s Inclusion programme is available to all schools in the country, through both expert support and free resources, and can help schools enhance opportunities for young people with SEND to engage in PE and school sports, including some of the 22 sports featured in the Paralympics.

Now in its fourth year, the programme works with a network of 52 lead schools to support local counterparts, including mainstream schools, special schools, and alternative provision settings, providing advice and training to upskill the school workforce to make their PE and sport more inclusive.

The government recently launched a Curriculum and Assessment Review to drive high and rising standards for all pupils and tackle the barriers which hold them back, including pupils with SEND. The review will consider how best to open up access to subjects such as PE and sport, music, art, and drama.

School Standards Minister, Catherine McKinnell said:

Following a summer of major sporting events including the Olympics and Paralympics, the profound impact sports can have on young people has been clearer than ever – shaping their character and fostering a sense of belonging.

Every child, regardless of their circumstances, background and abilities should have access to, and benefit from, quality sporting opportunities both inside and outside of school.

It’s fantastic to see so many organisations coming together to break down barriers to opportunity and improve the quality and accessibility of PE and school sport provision for pupils with SEND.

Delivered by a consortium of the Youth Sport Trust, ParalympicsGB, Swim England, Activity Alliance and nasen, the programme offers a unique opportunity for young people to draw inspiration from the Paralympic spirit and be encouraged to participate in physical activities within their schools.

Over the last three years of the programme:

• Almost 15,000 young people have taken part, with over 3,000 trained as leaders.
• Over 4,000 schools have been given advice, training, and guidance.
• Almost 850 events for young people have been delivered.

The programme has achieved this by sharing best practice and creative thinking on how schools can adapt their PE and school sports delivery to meet the needs of all their pupils.

The Inclusion programme is not the only initiative supporting young people to get involved in sport. For example, School Games Organisers (SGOs) are essential in ensuring that all children have the opportunity to take part in local sport and physical activity competitions.

In the 2022/23 academic year, the country-wide network of 450 SGOs provided 2.2 million opportunities for school children to engage in local and inclusive sporting competitions across 40 different sports and activities.

Ali Oliver MBE, Chief Executive Officer at the Youth Sport Trust, said:

The Inclusion 2024 programme embeds the four core values of the Paralympic Movement – determination, equality, inspiration and courage – across PE and school sport. With the eyes of the world on the incredible athletes taking part in the Paralympic Games, now is the time to harness the nation’s love of para sport to leverage change, so every child can experience the joy and life changing benefits of play and sport at school.

Inclusion 2024 is led by schools and informed by a consortium of network partners with expertise in inclusion and creating opportunities. I’m proud to say over the last three years, Inclusion 2024 has supported the development of inclusive PE and sport in 5,000 schools through 55,000 interactions – including competitions, staff training, volunteer development and local events.

In our mission and with support from the Department for Education, we are united in our belief that every child should be able to participate in PE and school sport, and we are determined to work together to make this a reality.

David Clarke, Chief Executive of ParalympicsGB, said:

Physical education is fundamental to children’s happiness, allowing them to have fun whilst they develop motor skills, build confidence, and improve physical and mental health. This is particularly the case for pupils with SEND.

ParalympicsGB, as part of the launch of the Equal Play campaign, heard from many education experts that teachers often feel unprepared to deliver inclusive PE due to insufficient training and support. Initiatives like Inclusion 24 are essential to ensure teachers are equipped to support the inclusion of young disabled pupils. We need all schools to be supported to ensure that no disabled child is left on the sidelines.

Schools are supported with a free range of resources as part of the Inclusive Education Hub to help make their PE and sport more inclusive.

The Inclusion 2024 programme works to reimagine the role PE and school sport can play for pupils with SEND, with a focus on links to character education and extending positive impacts to broader school engagement, including attendance and behaviour.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 5 September 2024.

Sir Ian Bauckham CBE announced as the Government’s preferred candidate for the position of Ofqual Chief Regulator.

The Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson, has announced Sir Ian Bauckham CBE as the Government’s preferred candidate for the position of Ofqual Chief Regulator. His selection, made today (5 September), follows approval by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.

Later this year, Sir Ian will attend a pre-appointment hearing before the Education Select Committee.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said:

High and rising standards are at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity, so that we can deliver better life chances for all children.

Sir Ian’s extensive experience of the education and qualifications systems makes him the ideal person to guide Ofqual in ensuring all learners have access to rigorous, high value qualifications and training that will give them the skills they need to seize opportunity.

Ofqual is the independent body responsible for regulating qualifications, exams, and assessments in England. It plays a crucial role in maintaining standards and public trust in GCSEs, A levels, and vocational and technical qualifications.

The Chief Regulator’s key responsibility is to ensure that Ofqual meets its statutory objectives and duties, including upholding standards and fostering confidence in qualifications and assessments.

Sir Ian was chosen for the role after an open recruitment competition and assessment process, conducted by a panel in line with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.

Knighted in January 2023 for his services to education, Sir Ian has been a member of the Ofqual Board since 2018. He served as Chair from January 2021 until January 2024, when he became the interim Chief Regulator. Previously, he was the Chief Executive Officer of the Tenax Schools Academy Trust, a position he stepped down from to assume his current role. Since 2020, Sir Ian has also chaired the board of Oak National Academy.

Following his pre-appointment hearing, the Education Select Committee will release its recommendations. The Education Secretary will review these recommendations before making the final decision, which will then be submitted to The King in Council for approval.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 2 September 2024.

Government pushes ahead with reform agenda by scrapping single headline Ofsted judgements for schools with immediate effect.

Single headline grades for schools will be scrapped with immediate effect to boost school standards and increase transparency for parents, the government has announced today.

Reductive single headline grades fail to provide a fair and accurate assessment of overall school performance across a range of areas and are supported by a minority of parents and teachers.

The change delivers on the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and demonstrates the Prime Minister’s commitment to improve the life chances of young people across the country.

For inspections this academic year, parents will see four grades across the existing sub-categories: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and leadership & management.

This reform paves the way for the introduction of School Report Cards from September 2025, which will provide parents with a full and comprehensive assessment of how schools are performing and ensure that inspections are more effective in driving improvement. Recent data shows that reports cards are supported by 77% of parents.

The government will continue to intervene in poorly performing schools to ensure high school standards for children.

Bridget Phillipson, Education Secretary, said:

The need for Ofsted reform to drive high and rising standards for all our children in every school is overwhelmingly clear. The removal of headline grades is a generational reform and a landmark moment for children, parents, and teachers.

Single headline grades are low information for parents and high stakes for schools. Parents deserve a much clearer, much broader picture of how schools are performing – that’s what our report cards will provide.

This government will make inspection a more powerful, more transparent tool for driving school improvement. We promised change, and now we are delivering.

As part of today’s announcement, where schools are identified as struggling, government will prioritise rapidly getting plans in place to improve the education and experience of children, rather than relying purely on changing schools’ management.

From early 2025, the government will also introduce Regional Improvement Teams that will work with struggling schools to quickly and directly address areas of weakness, meeting a manifesto commitment.

The Education Secretary has already begun to reset relations with education workforces, supporting the Government’s pledge to recruit 6,500 new teachers, and reform to Ofsted marks another key milestone.

Today’s announcement follows engagement with the sector and family of headteacher Ruth Perry, after a coroner’s inquest found the Ofsted inspection process had contributed to her death.

The government will work closely with Ofsted and relevant sectors and stakeholders to ensure that the removal of headline grades is implemented smoothly.

Jason Elsom, Chief Executive of Parentkind, said:

We welcome the decision by the Secretary of State to prioritise Ofsted reform. The move to end single-word judgements as soon as practical, whilst giving due care and attention to constructing a new and sustainable accountability framework during the year ahead, is the right balance for both schools and parents.

Most parents understand the need for school inspection, but they want that inspection to help schools to improve as well as giving a verdict on the quality of education their children are receiving. When we spoke to parents about what was important to them, their children being happy at school was a big talking point and should not be overlooked.

Parents have been very clear that they want to see changes to the way Ofsted reports back after visiting a school, and it is welcome to see a clear timetable being set out today for moving towards a report card that will give parents greater clarity of the performance of their children’s school. We need to make sure that we get this right for parents, as well as schools.

There is much more we can do to include the voice of parents in Ofsted inspections and reform of our school system, and today’s announcement is a big step in the right direction.

Paul Whiteman, General Secretary of National Association of Headteachers, said:

The scrapping of overarching grades is a welcome interim measure. We have been clear that simplistic one-word judgements are harmful, and we are pleased the government has taken swift action to remove them.

School leaders recognise the need for accountability but it must be proportionate and fair and so we are pleased to see a stronger focus on support for schools instead of heavy-handed intervention.

There is much work to do now in order to design a fundamentally different long-term approach to inspection and we look forward to working with government to achieve that.

Where necessary, in cases of the most serious concern, government will continue to intervene, including by issuing an academy order, which may in some cases mean transferring to new management. Ofsted will continue to identify these schools – which would have been graded as inadequate.

The government also currently intervenes where a school receives two or more consecutive judgements of ‘requires improvement’ under the ‘2RI’ policy. With the exception of schools already due to convert to academies this term, this policy will change. The government will now put in place support for these schools from a high performing school, helping to drive up standards quickly.

Today’s changes build on the recently announced Children’s Wellbeing Bill, which will put children at the centre of education and make changes to ensure every child is supported to achieve and thrive.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 30 August 2024.

Hundreds of thousands of parents of children from nine months old take up new 15 government funded hours of early education from Monday.

From Monday 2nd September, hundreds of thousands of eligible working parents of children from 9-months-old will begin to access 15 hours of government-funded early education per week.

For parents of primary school aged children, new “wraparound” childcare places will be available before and after school, sounding the starting gun on long-term reform to deliver an early education and childcare system from the end of parental leave to the end of primary school, boosting parents’ work choices and children’s life chances.

This comes as the government looks ahead to delivering the expansion to 30 funded hours from next September.

The scale of the inherited delivery challenge is substantial. To deliver what parents have been promised requires an unprecedented rate of growth in childcare places and staff. This may mean some parents are not able to access their first-choice provider next year.

However, this government is now taking the action needed to help deliver the additional places needed and will set out further plans to deliver the government’s commitment to use primary school classrooms to create new nurseries.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said:

“I’ve already said that early years is my number one priority. That’s why we are delivering the childcare rollout I know will be such a help to hard-pressed parents, with 15 hours of early education per week for 9-month-olds and above from next week, alongside more wraparound childcare for school children.

“This inherited plan comes with significant delivery challenges – I must warn that for some parents it will not be plain sailing – and while I am excited to see children starting nursery for the first time, or parents being able to increase their working hours, the work for government starts now.

“Over the next year, I will be working flat out with my team to ensure the next phase of the rollout is possible – doubling parents’ childcare entitlements to 30 hours a week.”

Jason Elsom, Chief Executive of Parentkind said:

“We welcome all help for families to ease the burden on family finances at a time when many families are really struggling.

“Parents tell us that childcare costs are a major concern, and they support action to bring costs down and help families at that crucial time between the end of maternity leave and previous financial support kicking in. It is right we do everything we can to support parents, particularly when children are young.”

Purnima Tanuku OBE, Chief Executive of National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) said:

“We support the government’s commitment to investing in our youngest children’s futures. This is something that families really need in order to give their children the best start in life and also enable parents to work.

“Supporting children early in their development means they have the foundations for learning and the necessary social skills to give them a brighter future, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds. We are keen for all children to have access to early education and care – the early investment pays dividends in their later education in improving life chances.

“Early educators are also best placed to identify children with additional needs early on which can make a huge difference so any additional training resources for them will be very welcome.”

Nationally, around 85,000 more places are needed to deliver the rollout for September 2025 compared to 2023 – over double the increase in places seen in the past five years combined.

These figures vary significantly on a local level, with around 20 local areas needing double the increase in childcare hours than the national average, and a handful of further areas needing three times the increase, showing the scale of the delivery challenge. Work is underway with local authorities to make sure the right local plans are in place to deliver for parents and families.

The expansion in government funded hours is just one step towards the Education Secretary’s vision of an early education and childcare system that supports children to build on strong foundations and start school ready to learn.

To make sure growth does not come at the cost of quality, the government has also announced an extension of the early years stronger practice hubs programme until at least March 2025. The programme supports nurseries by bringing groups together across local areas, to share evidence-informed practice, advice and build lasting local networks.

This comes alongside additional resources for early educators to support children with special educational needs, with a new online training module and assessment guidance launching next month to enable them to better identify, assess and support children with additional needs.

More primary school-age wraparound childcare places are also expected to become available from January 2025.

As a result of the government funding provided, schools will be able to signpost parents to newly appointed wraparound leads in every local authority, who will be able to provide support if parents are unable to access the wrapround childcare they need.

The speech made by Stephen Morgan, the Education Minister, on 28 August 2024.

Thank you, Deputy Prime Minister Lee. I’m delighted to be speaking here today.

This is my first visit to the Republic of Korea and I am glad to be developing our Global Strategic Partnership – the mutual respect, shared values and commitment to global cooperation at the heart of that Accord is evident in this room today. I’ve been so impressed by your welcome, and the exciting discussions I’ve had already on technology in education.

It’s incredible to me how far things have come since I was at school. Growing up in the 1980s, all we had was one computer in the corner of the classroom.  At my secondary school we had dial-up internet, with those distinct sounds the computer would make to tell you it was ‘going online.’ That same school now offers 3D printers and CAD design software for pupils’ projects. They are working to give every child access to a digital device, so they can extend learning beyond the classroom – ways to learn keep expanding – with the development of new hardware and software. We have to keep pace, so that our children can get the most out of their education.

The new UK government wants to learn from other nations’ approaches to Artificial Intelligence, as well as share our thinking. Optimising AI in education will support our mission to spread opportunity to every child in our country. AI has lots of applications. There’s so much excitement about how it’s already transforming many aspects of our lives. But I think the best reason to be excited is the reason we’re here today.

AI is not just about streamlining transactions or optimising chatbots. AI has the power to enhance education – the best thing a society can give its children. If we can enable it, AI will add value to young people’s futures.

Teachers are, of course, the most important part of a successful education system. But their job now involves much more than teaching a room of children: everything from developing lesson plans to marking homework and we are excited by the ways AI could reduce that load. It is capable of assessing pupils’ progress, allowing teachers to tailor lessons to the needs of particular classes. Its high-quality feedback on an individual’s work could boost their learning. It could lighten the workload and free-up teachers to focus on teaching.

Of course, we can only make these gains if schools are ready for these new digital tools. That means ensuring all their technology meets our digital and technology standards for schools. And equipping every single one with a fast, stable and secure internet connection.

And here I want to pay tribute to the Republic of Korea, for having achieved near 100% connectivity and device access in your schools. We want to replicate your success to ready our own classrooms for the future. Our Connect the Classroom programme has already provided over £200 million of upgrades to over 3,000 schools, allowing over 1 million pupils to get online safe and securely. Expanding digital access is critical to breaking down the barriers to opportunity that hold children back. It will deliver better life chances for all our children. I look forward to working with our schools once they’re back from the summer, to upgrade even more classroom internet connections.

But let’s step back from the exciting big picture for a moment. The perspective of parents whose children will use AI at school is really important. We have listened to parents and pupils around the UK to understand how they feel. Naturally there were concerns about safety. And about over-reliance on something that gathers data, but does not possess knowledge. But there was also agreement that AI could positively support teachers with their work. This feedback is at the heart of our approach to AI in education. We want to kick-start the development of high-quality, teacher-facing tools to assist in the classroom and beyond – specifically in lesson-planning, marking and feedback.

The [wellbeing and retention of teachers]Education staff wellbeing charter – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) is a really important issue in the UK, as I know it is in the Republic of Korea. Offering AI tools that support the teaching profession will lead to better outcomes for teachers and their pupils. Our research also showed that parents want government to regulate AI education products. There was consensus on the need for mandatory quality assurance of tools developed for schools, so they know which products are trustworthy. There is a problem in acting on what we’ve learned so far. When we ran tests on standard generative AI tools, it became clear that they aren’t yet good enough. They can’t mark well or give good feedback. Time and again, performance wasn’t fit for purpose. The bottom line is that AI tools need to be good enough and safe enough to use in education.

So, how can we sharpen them? The quality of generative AI tools depends on the content that underpins them. Our testing showed that performance in education tasks significantly improves when they’ve been built on pre-processed, encoded education content. In fact, when we encoded the national curriculum for AI tools’ use, their subsequent performance in marking and feedback rose from 67% to 92%. That is really significant and has informed our next steps.

Today, in partnership with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, I am announcing a £3 million content store of pre-processed education data. This library of information will be ready for use with AI. It will include our national curriculum, as well as other high quality educational content, guidance and evidence. With parents’ permission, it will also contain some pupil and teacher content.

Responsible developers will be given access, in order to build high quality, safe and effective AI tools for education. This bedrock of trustworthy content will reduce the time and cost of creating these tools, and incentivise further product development.

The content store will add to the UK’s flourishing tech market, and support our mission to build sustained economic growth. And to kick-start industry engagement, the UK government will provide a £1 million catalyst fund. This will be used to commission marking and feedback tools, built using the content store.  The fund will support up to 8 bids to create proof-of-concept products, based on the data within this unique resource.  Innovate UK will launch the competition next month, and we expect to award the first funding in November 2024.

We believe this initiative to be world-leading – the first government-approved repository of high-quality education material optimised for AI product development. It will stimulate the production of safe, legally compliant, evidence-based tools, relevant to our teachers’ needs.

Now let me come to safety. This work will solve one half of the problem, ensuring that AI tools are good enough to use in schools. But how will we know if they’re safe enough?  We need to build a shared understanding of what ‘safe’ means when it comes to AI in education. We must protect pupils from harmful content, and make sure their personal data and intellectual property is secure.  That means thoroughly exploring all the risks and how to manage them. So, while the content store and catalyst fund are accelerating product development, we will lead the conversation on safety. We will work with experts, educators and tech firms to set out how the risks of AI can be managed. By working together, we can ensure that the products used in our schools are safe – and build a market based on efficacy and safety.

In the coming months I will be inviting stakeholders to a ministerial roundtable, to build a shared commitment to AI product safety. We will use these insights to devise and publish minimum expectations for the safety of AI products in education.

So in conclusion. the UK is a country of makers and doers, people who spot technical and commercial opportunities and bring their value to the whole world.  We want to continue this tradition by leading the conversation on AI safety and efficacy, alongside our partners here today.

The UK government believes strongly in our mission to break down barriers to opportunity. I know that harnessing the power of AI will help us to achieve that by delivering growth for our economy now and helping our educators to give children and young people the best start in life to secure prosperity for the future.

I want to thank our hosts, the Republic of Korea, for founding this summit and enabling these important conversations to take place. Your leadership is bringing about meaningful collaboration, which will benefit both our teachers and our children.

Thank you.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 28 August 2024.

The UK government announced a new project today that will enhance the ability of AI generative tools to learn from a new bank of lesson plans and curriculums.

Artificial intelligence (AI) will be better at helping teachers mark work and plan lessons under a new project announced by the UK government today.

The project, backed by £4 million of government investment, will pool government documents including curriculum guidance, lesson plans and anonymised pupil assessments which will then be used by AI companies to train their tools to generate accurate, high-quality content. The content, such as tailored, creative lesson plans and workbooks, can then be reliably used in schools.

The content store is targeted at technology companies specialising in education to build tools that will help teachers:

• mark work
• create teaching materials for use in the classroom
• assist with routine school admin

It comes as new research shows parents want teachers to use generative AI to have more time helping children in the classroom with face-to-face teaching – supporting the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. However, teachers and AI developers are clear that better data is needed to make these technologies work properly, which this project looks to help with.

Science Secretary Peter Kyle said:

We know teachers work tirelessly to go above and beyond for their students.

By making AI work for them, this project aims to ease admin burdens and help them deliver creative and inspiring lessons every day, while reducing time pressures they face.

This is the first of many projects that will transform how we see and use public sector data. We will put the information we hold to work, using it in a safe and responsible way to reduce waiting lists, cut backlogs and improve outcomes for citizens across the country.

Minister for Early Education Stephen Morgan said:

We are determined to break down the barriers to opportunity to ensure every child can get the best possible education – and that includes access to the best tech innovations for all. Artificial intelligence, when made safe and reliable, represents an exciting opportunity to give our schools leaders and teachers a helping hand with classroom life.

Today’s world-leading announcement marks a huge step forward for AI in the classroom. This investment will allow us to safely harness the power of tech to make it work for our hard-working teachers, easing the pressures and workload burdens we know are facing the profession and freeing up time, allowing them to focus on face-to-face teaching.

The content store, backed by £3 million, is a first-of-its kind approach to processing government data for AI, as the UK government forges ahead with using technology to transform public services and improve people’s lives across the country.

It includes a partnership with the Open University, who will share learning resources as part of the project.

This follows Department for Education tests, published today, which show that providing generative AI models with this kind of data can increase accuracy to 92% – up from 67% when no targeted data was provided to a large language model.

Minister Morgan announced the project today during a speech to international education ministers at the Global Education Innovation Summit (GEIS) in Seoul, Republic of Korea.  The three-day event, on the theme of ‘classroom revolution led by teachers with AI’ will see the launch of the Global Education and Innovation Alliance, of which the UK will be one of the founding members.

He told the delegation the world-leading initiative will mark the first government-approved store of high-quality education material optimised for AI product development and will stimulate the production of safe, legally compliant, evidence-based tools, relevant to our teachers’ needs.

Almost half of teachers are already using AI to help with their work, according to a survey from TeacherTapp, but current AI tools are not specifically trained on the documents that set out how teaching should work in England.

Chris Goodall, a teacher and head of digital education in the Bourne Education Trust, first started using AI when he was teaching business in November 2022. In this role, Chris experimented with using ChatGPT to develop a range of lesson activities, such as personalised case studies, to complement his lessons.

Chris now supports teachers in the Trust, across over 26 primary, secondary and specialist schools, to use AI to enhance their lessons and cut down the time they spend on admin. With his support, teachers have used generative AI to evaluate their curriculum materials and develop case studies and activities to create engaging lessons. For example, teachers at Auriol Junior School illustrated a teacher-written guide encouraging students to read more books with AI-generated text, cartoon creatures and music. This guide encouraged students to become a ‘literacy monster’ and made the programme more engaging.

Chris Goodall, a teacher and head of digital education in the Bourne Education Trust, said:

AI has been a hugely powerful tool for me and my colleagues at the Bourne Education Trust. It allows us to create engaging, personalised learning experiences for our students while also significantly reducing the time taken to create them. Personally, I’ve used AI to quickly generate scaffolded activities, adapt materials for students with special educational needs, and create more engaging lessons that are accessible to all. The time saved allows school staff to focus on what matters most, interacting with students and providing individualised feedback and support.

The content store will take this to the next level by offering easy access to high quality evidence based and legally compliant education materials. Developed with input from educators it supports effective teaching practices and fosters collaboration and innovation.

This initiative demonstrates how AI, when implemented responsibly and ethically, can support and empower teachers to create more dynamic, personalised learning experiences for students.

Ian Cunningham, the chief technical officer of TeachMateAI, a company that makes AI tools to help teachers, said:

TeachMateAI already saves teachers over 10+ house of time each week through our AI tools, but we are ambitious about what more we can do to support teachers and schools. The AI education store has the potential to enable us and other developers to produce highly accurate tools for the sector in a much more efficient way, reducing cost, compute and the time it takes us to bring new products to market.

The Department for Education is also today committing to publishing a safety framework on AI products for education, due later this year. Minister Morgan will meet education technology companies before setting out clear expectations for the safety of AI products for education.

Professor Ian Pickup, Pro Vice Chancellor, Students, at The Open University, said:

We’re excited to be a founding strategic partner in this initiative alongside DfE. Since our founding in 1969, we have remained at the forefront of innovation in education. As part of this mission, we have provided free, open-access materials via OpenLearn since 2006, and see the deployment of AI as a means through which even more learners can benefit from the transformative power of education.

By making content accessible to new educational technology tools, we foresee a future where learning materials can be best matched to personal needs, where learning tasks can be pitched at the right level for student success, and where students can progress at a pace that is right for them.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 22 August 2024.

Over a million students are celebrating receiving GCSE and vocational qualification results today (Thursday 22 August), as young people across the country prepare to move on to the next stage of their education.

The proportion of entries achieving top grades (grade 7 and above), and standard passes (grade 4) are consistent with last year as, for the second year in a row, grading has returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Regional gaps in attainment remain significant. London and the North East continue to be the highest and lowest performing regions respectively, with the difference in grades 7 or above between up to 10.7ppt , compared to 9.3ppt in 2019.

Schools Minister, Catherine McKinnell said:

“I want to congratulate both students and teachers on their achievements today despite the many challenges they’ve had to overcome over the past few years to get here.

“While this is a moment to celebrate, I am deeply concerned about the inequalities in our education system with where you live and what type of school you attend still being too big an influence on your opportunities.

“Our review of the curriculum will break down barriers and ensure art, sport, music and drama are no longer the preserve of a privileged few.”

Whilst more students entered art and design this year compared to last, entries to all other arts subjects are lower than in 2019.

Arts are a vital part of students accessing a broad and balanced curriculum and along with culture and sport, are essential in supporting children and young people to develop life skills and creativity.

The government’s Curriculum and Assessment Review has been launched to drive high and rising standards for all pupils and tackle the barriers which hold them back. The review will bring together leading education experts, leaders and staff, so every child benefits from a curriculum that is broad and rich, and ensuring the arts and music are no longer the preserve of a privileged few.

Technical Awards – which 43% of students last year took alongside GCSEs – play an important role in accessing these subjects, with qualifications in a range of areas from graphic design and music to engineering and sports.

Girls continue to outperform boys, however at grade 4 and above the gap (6.6 ppt) has narrowed compared to 2023 (6.8ppt) and 2019 (8.9ppt).

This year results also show that:

• 22.6% of English 16-year-old entries achieved a grade 7 and above, similar to 2023 (22.4%) and 0.8 ppt higher than 2019 (21.8%)
• 70.4% achieved grade 4 and above, similar to 2023 (70.3%) and 0.5ppt higher than in 2019 (69.9%)
• Regional gaps in attainment remain significant. London and the North East remain the highest and lowest performing regions with the difference in grades 7 or above between the regions remaining stable at 10.7ppt for all ages, compared to 9.3ppt in 2019.
• Secondary selective schools continue to have the highest proportion of grades at 7 or above (60.3% at all ages) followed by independent schools (48.4%) and academies (21.2%).
• Apart from art and design, all arts subjects have seen a decrease in 16-year-old entries since 2019. The largest declines are in performing and expressive arts (-28.7%) and Drama (-14.4%), with both subjects having also seen decreases in entries from 2023.
• Entries in PE from 16-year-olds have also declined by 2.9% since 2019.

Students collecting results today will progress to one of many high-quality options including A levels, hundreds of apprenticeship routes, vocational technical qualifications (VTQs) or T Levels.

Starting this September, more high-quality T Levels will be rolled out, including in fields like Animal Care and Media, equipping students with valuable qualifications and practical experience to succeed in future industries.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 15 August 2024.

76% of English 18-year-old applicants have been accepted into their first choice of university.

Hundreds of thousands of young people across England are celebrating their A Level, T Level and vocational technical qualifications (VTQ) results today (15 August 2024) as the Education Secretary thanked teachers and congratulated students.

It comes as 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.

This year results also show that:

• 27.8% of UK entries for A levels achieved a grade A and above, higher than in 2023
• 76.4% of UK entries achieved a grade C and above, higher than 2023
• 7,380 T Level students received their results today – over twice as many as last year – as the third cohort completed the high-quality technical qualification with 88.7% achieving a pass or above
• almost 250,000 certificates were awarded for those completing their Level 3 vocational and technical qualifications
• 25.3% of 18-year-olds from the North East have secured a university place on results day compared to 42.5% of 18-year-olds from London. This gap is now 17.2 percentage points, which is worse than 15.3 in 2023 and 10.5 in 2019

Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson said:

Students should be incredibly proud of their hard work over the last two years and their achievements today – I know many will be planning their next step, whether that’s university, venturing into the world of work or starting an apprenticeship.

I want to thank our wonderful teachers and staff right across the country who have worked tirelessly to support those getting their results under really challenging circumstances.

This government is committed to breaking down barriers to make sure that all young people, wherever they are from, have the knowledge and skills to seize opportunity.

The figures today show that regional disparities are still a concern as the gap between the highest and lowest performing regions has grown since 2023, with London having 31.3% of grades at A or above and East Midlands only 22.5%.

Independent schools also continue to have the highest proportion of A grades and above and have again seen large increases this year.

As a first step to tackling these entrenched inequalities, the government has pledged to recruit 6,500 new teachers with the expansion of the flagship teacher recruitment campaign, getting more teachers into shortage subjects and supporting regions that face the largest recruitment challenges.

A review of the curriculum and assesment has also been launched to drive high and rising standards for all pupils and tackle the barriers which hold them back, particularly those with SEND or from disadvantaged backgrounds. Sir Kevan Collins has also been appointed to advise the government on school standards focusing on finding solutions to the biggest barriers to opportunity for children, including teacher shortages and high absence rates.

The Education Secretary is also co-chairing a taskforce to tackle child poverty because of the wide-reaching implications the scourge of poverty has. The government will also provide free breakfast clubs and improved mental health support to help the children who need it most to not only be in school, but achieve.

If students have not received the grades they were hoping for or have not made up their mind yet, UCAS reported there were just under 30,000 courses available through clearing, as of this morning, many of which are at the most selective universities.

Students can also call the National Careers Service on 0800 100 900 for advice on their next steps.

There are also a wide range of alternative options available including degree apprenticeships or higher technical qualifications that offer young people the chance to gain the skills they need to build successful careers.

For more information and to explore all the other exciting options available to young people go to: Skills for Careers (education.gov.uk)