Department for Education

Having attended a failing comprehensive school when I was younger, I know how a poor education can set you back in life. I was lucky that one of my teachers stayed back to help me get 10 O-Levels, but many of my classmates left school with poor results and they have struggled to fulfil their potential as a result. What angers me most is that there is no difference in talent between the poorest and richest areas in the country, yet there is a difference in the opportunities they receive. That’s my mission as Education Secretary - to end this injustice. I’m really proud that 90% of our schools are now rated good or outstanding - up from 68% in 2010. That isn’t just a number to me, it represents hundreds of thousands more children with more opportunities to thrive. And it’s what I see when I visit schools across the country. It was fantastic to meet the staff and students at Oasis Academy South Bank this week to see how they are taking evidence-based solutions to improve their results, behaviour and attendance. From a teacher picking up students who didn’t want to go to school, to children being cold-called in class so they remain engaged, this school is delivering excellent standards, and I know that these children will go onto achieve great things. Thank you very much to John Barneby FRSA, Anna Richardson and the rest of your wonderful team for inviting me and for all your work giving the next generation the life chances that they deserve. #Education #Teachers #School #Opportunity #Students

Is it important for England's Education Secretary to meet with foreign Education Ministers? That was the question I was asked after I attended the G7 in Japan last year. The answer? Yes, as it's only by engaging with other countries that you can learn from best practice and improve results for people in your own country. Over the past 14 years, we have done this incredibly successfully in England. In 2010, we began our free school and academisation programme which now covers over half of all state schools. This has been a major factor in helping us to achieve 90% of schools being rated good or outstanding. Where did we learn this from? Sweden 🇸🇪 In 2009, we were rated 27th in the world for maths. So what did we do? We looked around the world for the best maths curriculum and found that the 'mastery' approach from Singapore 🇸🇬 was the most successful. I'm not ashamed to say that we took this approach for the children in English schools - and now we're up to 11th in the world. And, our phonics programme which has led to our primary school children becoming the 4th best readers in the world and our secondary school pupils rising from 25th to 13th in the world was taken from a vast array of international evidence. That's the power of engaging with our international partners - and this week, I'm doing just that at the #EWF2024. #Education #InternationalEducation #Maths #Reading

The Royal Foundation Business Taskforce for Early Childhood today announces the publication of a report setting out the business case for prioritising early childhood. Investing in early childhood could generate at least £45.5 billion in value added for the national economy each year. By having a greater focus on early childhood, we would create a happier and more productive workforce today and transform the health and wellbeing of the UK economy and society for generations to come. Business has an important role to play in creating a healthier, happier society and their report highlights the huge scale of opportunity for business to drive, and benefit from, prioritising early childhood in the workplace and wider community. Find out more: https://lnkd.in/eQgcF9mN The Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood https://lnkd.in/eStHddT4

As technology continues to change, we need a computer science GCSE which reflects these advances and prepares children for the future 👾 We’re looking for views on suggested updates to the computer science GCSE subject content, which last published in 2015 🖥️ Take part in the consultation: https://ow.ly/heRx50RMYVs

It's official: our skills system is securing Britain's energy and national defences. ICYMI: this week, we launched our new nuclear industry skills plan which will create 👇 📈 Over 5,000 new apprenticeships over the next four years ⬆ Double the number of graduate jobs in the sector ✅ 135,000 new jobs by the end of this decade This huge growth shows that you don’t necessarily need a degree in nuclear physics to break into this dynamic sector – you can do what I did at the start of my career and join as an apprentice, getting skills in the workplace and earning a wage as well. Now, there are more opportunities than ever before in whatever you want to work in, with nearly 70% of occupations available via an apprenticeship. Whether you want to be a doctor, a lawyer, an accountant, a teacher or even a space engineer, you can do it via an apprenticeship. And a degree apprenticeship enables you to earn and learn whilst avoiding student debt. Gone are the days that university is the only way to get into the career of your dreams. Now, thanks to our skills reforms since 2014, and the hard work of businesses across the country working with us on this mission, there are more routes than ever before to help you fulfil your potential. #Skills #Apprenticeships #SkillsForLife #Nuclear #Education #Business

This week is #LearningatWorkWeek Supported Internships are a work-based learning programme for young people with SEND. With the support of a job coach, supported interns will typically spend 70% of their time in the workplace, building valuable workplace skills and gaining confidence. Ryan is 18 years old and started as a supported intern with Sovini Construction in September 2023. He’s just one of the many interns across England taking part in the programme, all with the same goal of securing long-term employment in the future. "I work all over the construction site. One day I will be helping collect materials, the next day I’ll be working with an electrician or a plumber. I feel like I’m learning loads of different things. I feel like I am a lot more confident and I feel more independent. My reading and writing have also improved and I get less distracted by my phone. I am a lot happier with my life. I feel like a different person. I always thought I wanted to do something with sport, but this has given me a chance to try different things and now I want to be a joiner." Find out more about supported internships: https://lnkd.in/eVGZA2uw

Over the past few years, we’ve seen too many reports of children being taught inappropriate materials in their RSHE lessons. Absurd views like that there are 72 genders should not be taught in our schools. When it comes to educating our children about important topics that set them up for life, what matters is fact. That’s what we’re ensuring today. So what are we changing? 1. Children must be allowed to be children, and whilst they need to be prepared for issues they will face in the future, they must not be rushed into being adults. That’s why we’re introducing age limits so that children are taught these subjects at a time that is appropriate. 2. Parents are their children’s primary educators. They have the right to know what their children are being taught in school. Our guidance makes that crystal clear. 3. We’re banning the teaching of the contested issue of gender identity. We are very clear – teachers are there to teach facts, not to push the agendas of lobby groups. Headteachers and teachers have been asking for this guidance for a long time. As Education Secretary, it’s my job to support them to teach our children. So I’m glad that today’s guidance will help provide clarity to teachers and certainty to parents that their children will be taught in a safe environment. My article 👇 https://lnkd.in/eemJk48G

New RSHE guidance: What it means for sex education lessons in schools 👇

As of March this year, over 80% of secondary schools in England now have a trained senior mental health lead to help embed an effective approach to mental health and wellbeing. We’re committed to offering training for these roles in all schools and colleges by 2025. Find out more: https://ow.ly/BIYF50RHez4

4.2m pupils in England now have mental health support teams, and we're on track to meet our target to support at least 50% of pupils by the end of March 2025. Here's more on how we’re helping look after the mental health of children and young people: https://ow.ly/5zGm50RGWHV #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek