Bitesize Briefings

To keep our Partner Schools up-to-date on education policy developments and research, we send out one page briefings, summarising reports with key findings and the North East impact.

If you would like to receive our Bitesize Briefings, please sign up as a Partner School.

Latest Bitesize Briefings

Not in School: Mental Health Barriers to Attendance

April 25, 2024

Children & Young People’s Mental Health Coalition and the Centre for Mental Health

This report from the CYPMHC and the Centre for Mental Health is based on a rapid review of current government policy and initiatives and the evidence base. The report explores the drivers of school absence, including the links with mental health, and the measures that can be taken to improve school attendance.

The Features of Effective School Groups

April 16, 2024

Education Policy Institute

This report brings together findings from the EPI’s interactive benchmarking tool, which compares the performance of individual academy trusts, local authorities, federations and dioceses across four key performance indicators, along with results from their Decisions in Education in England Panel(DEEP) survey of senior leaders working in school groups.

School Funding Model: Effect of falling school rolls

April 11, 2024

Education Policy Institute

This report uses data from pupil projections and the EPI’s school funding model to investigate the potential impacts on school funding through the national funding formula up to 2030

The short- and medium-term impacts of Sure Start on educational outcomes

April 9, 2024

Institute for Fiscal Studies

This report presents evidence of the impacts of Sure Start oneducational outcomes. Using administrative education data covering 15 cohorts of children, the IFS measure the impact of having had access to a Sure Start centre between ages 0 and 5 on school outcomes

Access to extra-curricular provision and the association with outcomes

March 15, 2024

Education Policy Institute

This EPI report examines which students are accessing extracurricular activities during secondary school and the longer term outcomes of students who do participate.

Closing the Attainment Gap

February 22, 2024

Sutton Trust

This is the Sutton Trust’s second General Election policy briefing, ahead of the upcoming election. This briefing looks at the attainment gap – the gap in educational outcomes between students from more and less affluent backgrounds.

The Features of Effective School Groups: Measuring pupil inclusion and attainment at school-group level

February 9, 2024

Education Policy Institute

This EPI report is part of a research project on effective schoolgroups, aiming to identify the features of high-performing school groups and share best practices. School groups included are multi-academy trusts, local authorities, dioceses, and federations in England.

Alternative provision in local areas in England: a thematic review

February 1, 2024

Ofsted

This Ofsted report focuses on the challenges facing the alternative provision (AP) sector, following visits to six local areas. The visits looked at the purposes for which AP is used,the extent to which they are meeting need, and good practice in the sector.

Ofsted’s work with schools

January 29, 2024

Education Select Committee

The Education Select Committee’s inquiry was launched in June 2023 to look at Ofsted’s inspection of schools, with the aim of providing recommendations for the incoming His Majesty’s Chief Inspector (HMCI), Sir Martyn Oliver.

Inequality in Early Years Education

January 24, 2024

Sutton Trust

This briefing is the first in a series from the Sutton Trust, ahead of the upcoming general election. It examines extensive evidence of the key issues in early education and childcare alongside the policies of the main political parties.

Selective Comprehensives 2024

January 11, 2024

Sutton Trust

This briefing provides an update on the Sutton Trust’s 2017 report, examining the social composition of top performing comprehensives in England.

The Missing Link: Restoring the bond between schools and families

January 8, 2024

Centre for Social Justice

The Centre for Social Justice commissioned a poll of 1206 parents of children who are aged between 5-16 and enrolled in primary or secondary school, to better understand challenges around attendance.

Annual Report on Education Spending in England: 2023

December 11, 2023

Institute for Fiscal Studies

The IFS’s sixth annual report on education spending seeks to provide a clear and consistent comparison of the level and changes in spending per student across different stages of education.

Children and young people’s mental health services: Targets, progress, and barriers to improvement

December 10, 2023

Education Policy Institute

This EPI report assesses the progress that has been made against government targets to improve children and young people’s mental health services since 2015.

Annual Report 2022/23

November 23, 2023

Ofsted

Ofsted's Annual Report presents findings for the areas they inspect in early years childcare, schools, further education and skills and social care, for the academic year 2022 to 2023.

An Inquiry into the Future of Schools Inspections

November 20, 2023

Beyond Ofsted

Beyond Ofsted is an inquiry, commissioned by the National Education Union, to explore how school inspections in England are working and identifying solutions to problems in the system.

Improvement Through Empowerment: Helping our teachers and schools be the best they can be

November 20, 2023

Institute for Public Policy Research

This report from the IPPR sets out a road map to an alternative to Ofsted, high-stakes and top-down accountability, and competition through league tables.

The Condition of School Buildings

November 19, 2023

Public Accounts Committee

The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee questioned senior officials at the Department for Education. The Committee asked about what information DfE has about the condition of school buildings, arrangements to allocate funding,and whether the DfE can give assurances that funding for school buildings is being used effectively.

Teacher Wellbeing Index 2023

November 15, 2023

Education Support

This report covers the findings from Education Support’s seventh annual Teacher Wellbeing Index. Education support surveyed over 3000 education staff.

Inquiry into the life opportunities of young carers and young adult carers

November 14, 2023

APPG on Young Carers and Young Adult Carers

This report covers the findings from the APPG on Young Carers and Young Adult Carers inquiry. They received evidence from 70 stakeholders (such as schools and young carer services), and from more than 400 young carers and young adult carers,through online surveys and evidence sessions.

Covid Social Mobility and Opportunities Study – Wave 2, Briefing 1

November 9, 2023

COSMO Study

The COSMO study is a national cohort study, looking how the pandemic has impacted short- and long-term socio-economic inequalities. A representative sample of young people in England who were in Year 11 in the 2020/2021 academic year were invited to take part in the survey. Wave 2 looks at this cohort when they were in Year 13. This briefing focuses on mental and physical health.

Alternative Provision Quality Metrics: establishing a baseline for good practice

October 30, 2023

IntegratED

This report looks at the landscape of Alternative Provision (AP),and the strategies utilised by providers to evaluate pupil progress, facilitate successful transitions, and assess programme quality, through a survey of AP settings.

Children and young people’s mental health services: Targets, progress, and barriers to improvement

October 18, 2023

Education Policy Institute

This report assesses the impact of Head Teachers on school performance in England, and the mechanisms through which Head Teachers influence performance. The EPI uses national data between 2004 and 2019 to follow 22,300 primary and 5,400 secondary Head Teachers.

What is happening to school funding and costs in England?

October 5, 2023

Institute for Fiscal Studies

In this short piece, the IFS update their analysis of school spending per pupil in England, and likely future trends given the latest economic forecasts and pay offers.

Impact of Covid-19-related school closures in Key Stage 1 on attainment and social skills of pupils in Year 3 and Year 4 in academic year 2022/2023

October 5, 2023

National Foundation for Educational Research

This longitudinal study follows a group of the youngest school aged children during and since the Covid-19 pandemic. This report represents the findings from the third year of the study

Persistent absence and support for disadvantaged pupils

September 27, 2023

Education Select Committee

The House of Commons Education Committee launched their inquiry into persistent absence in January 2023, in response to the ongoing challenges of attendance following the pandemic. The committee received over 200 written submissions and held four oral evidence sessions.

Early years spending update: Budget reforms and beyond

September 26, 2023

Institute for Fiscal Studies

The IFS 2023 update analyses changes in early years spending in the last 25 years and looks ahead to implications of major reforms announced in the Budget.

Cost of Living Crisis: Impact on Schools 3

September 21, 2023

National Foundation for Educational Research

Drawing on online surveys of over 2700 teachers and senior leaders in April and May 2023, this is the third in a series of three cost-of-living reports. This report is focused on the impact the cost-of-living increases have had on school staff.

Listening to, and learning from, parents in the attendance crisis

September 21, 2023

Public First

Public First undertook focus group conversations with parents across the country, from all types of background to find out what was driving the sudden drop in attendance. Overall absence is up by more than 50% since 2019 and persistent absence has more than doubled.

Unveiling school effectiveness: Progress 8, parental choices and closing the achievement gap

September 14, 2023

Institute for Fiscal Studies

The IFS research evaluates how well value added models such as Progress 8 perform in practice, and the role these measures play in the school admissions process.

Addressing Education and Health Inequity

September 11, 2023

Child of the North APPG

This analysis was published on behalf of the Child of the North All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), by Health Equity North and the N8 Research Partnership. It looks at inequities in funding between the North and South.

Cost of Living Crisis: Impact on Schools

September 7, 2023

National Foundation for Educational Research

Drawing on online surveys of over 2700 teachers and senior leaders in April and May 2023, this is the first in a series of three cost-of-living reports. This report is focused on what impact teachers and senior leaders report cost-of-living pressures are having on pupils and their families.

Social Mobility: The Next Generation - Lost Potential at Age 16

June 29, 2023

Sutton Trust

This report looks at a group of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds who showed academic potential at the end of primary school. It explores their progress during secondary school. Future reports will track their progress into higher education, training and the workplace.

Condition of School Buildings

June 28, 2023

National Audit Office

This report examines whether DfE is achieving its objective to ensure the school estate contains the safe and well-maintained school buildings that it regards as essential for a high-quality education.

Tutoring sustainability: Understanding the views of school leaders

June 21, 2023

National Foundation for Educational Research

This project used NFER’s Teacher Voice Omnibus survey to gather the views of 439 school leaders from a nationally representative sample of schools in England to understand the additional value and future potential of the National Tutoring Programme (NTP).

National Behaviour Survey

June 8, 2023

Department for Education

This DfE report presents the findings from the first national behaviour survey, for the 2021 to 2022 academic year. The survey provides termly data related to pupil behaviour.

Education Recovery in Schools in England

June 7, 2023

Public Accounts Committee

This report covers the findings of the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee’s inquiry into education recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Behaviour and Mental Health in Schools

June 7, 2023

Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition

The Behaviour and Mental Health in Schools Inquiry was launched in 2022, and explores the links between behaviour and mental health, how school behaviour policies and practices impact the mental health of children and their families, and to understand what can be done to help schools to better support behaviour, mental health, and wellbeing.

1970s working conditions in the 2020s: Modernising the professional lives of teachers for the 21st century

June 6, 2023

Education Support and Public First

Launched in December 2022, Education Support’s Commission on Teacher Retention had a six-month inquiry into drivers of teacher retention in secondary schools. This report sets out the findings of the inquiry.

Local Indicators of Child Poverty after Housing Costs, 2021/22

June 5, 2023

End Child Poverty Coalition

Every year the End Child Poverty Coalition publishes data on the number of children living in poverty. This report summarises the latest data on local child poverty after housing costs for the year ending March 2022.

Covid Social Mobility and Opportunities Study – Wave 1, Briefing 6

May 25, 2023

Covid Social Mobility and Opportunities Study

The sixth briefing of Wave 1 of the COSMO Study considers financial inequalities during the pandemic. Wave 1 of the study surveyed a sample of more than 13,000 young people in England who were in Year 11 in the 2020/2021 academic year.

Recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic: Analysis of Star Assessments

May 11, 2023

Education Policy Institute

This analysis from the EPI is the first in a series of reports that will be published over the coming year. The research is based on Renaissance’s Star Reading and Star Maths Assessments, to create a large sample size of robust data on the performance of different pupil groups.

The Minimum Cost of Education

May 11, 2023

Child Poverty Action Group

The Minimum Income Standard (MIS) research sets out the minimum needs of families in the UK and why they are important. This report shows what primary and secondary school children need to be able to meet their minimum educational needs.

Teaching: The New Reality

May 10, 2023

Education Support

This report looks at the expanding roles and responsibilities education staff have taken on. The research is based on a series of surveys, focus groups, and literature reviews.

The Future of Post-16 Qualifications

April 28, 2023

Education Select Committee

The Education Select Committee of the House of Commons launched an inquiry into post-16 qualifications in November 2021. They received 121 written submissions and held seven oral evidence sessions.

School Funding and Pupil Premium 2023

April 26, 2023

Sutton Trust

The Sutton Trust’s report presents findings from a survey of 1,428 teachers, looking at the financial pressures schools are facing this year and how they’re spending their funding during the cost of living crisis.

How Multi-Academy Trusts are Involved in School Inspections

April 25, 2023

Ofsted

This report explores multi-academy trusts’ responsibilities and how Ofsted evaluates their work in inspections of schools. It presents a picture of how inspectors and trust leaders view the role of the trust in the school inspection system.

Working Lives of Teachers and Leaders Wave 1

April 11, 2023

Department for Education

The first wave of the inaugural working lives of teachers and leaders survey was carried out in spring 2022 with teachers and leaders in state schools in England. Findings are based on responses from 11,177 leaders and teachers.

What has happened to college teacher pay in England

March 30, 2023

Institute for Fiscal Studies

In this report, the IFS set out how college teacher pay has changed over time, comparing the pay of college teachers with that of school teachers. The report also looks at staff retention levels in schools and colleges.

The Policy Menu for School Lunches

March 29, 2023

Institute for Fiscal Studies

This IFS report looks at the options and trade-offs in expanding free school meals (FSM) in England. The report focuses on several potential reforms that would expand the generosity of the free school meal system, and sets out the costs of these policies.

Academies Regulatory and Commissioning Review

March 28, 2023

Department for Education

The DfE’s Academies Regulatory and Commissioning Review has looked at how to maximise the difference that academy trusts can make to children’s lives, through a focus on trust quality and improved system resilience.

Lost and Not Found

March 23, 2023

Centre for Social Justice

Since 2021, the CSJ has been investigating the issue of school absence. This report looks into persistent and severe absence,the latter which is defined as when a child is spending more time absent from, than present in, school.

Teacher Labour Market in England Annual Report 2023

March 23, 2023

National Foundation for Educational Research

The NFER’s fifth annual Teacher Labour Market report monitors the progress the education system in England is making towards meeting the teacher supply challenge by measuring the key indicators of teacher supply and working conditions.

Tutoring: The New Landscape: Recent trends in private and school-based tutoring

March 9, 2023

Sutton Trust

This report looks in detail at the new landscape for tutoring,both private and school-based, in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. The data comes from the Ipsos Young People Omnibus and the COVID Social Mobility and Opportunities(COSMO) Study.

Childcare Survey 2023

March 9, 2023

Coram

This report is Coram’s 22nd annual Childcare Survey. It is based on surveys from local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales, that were returned to Coram Family and Childcare between November 2022 and February 2023. A total of 191 local authorities returned data.

State of the Nation 2022: children and young people’s wellbeing

February 7, 2023

Department for Education

This is the DfE’s fourth State of the Nation report, focussing on trends in mental health and wellbeing over the 2021/22 academic year, when a range of recovery-focused activity was in place.

Education Recovery in Schools in England

February 1, 2023

National Audit Office

This report examines whether DfE is achieving its objective to help pupils recover lost learning by effectively supporting education recovery in schools following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Transitioning to a multi-academy trust led system: what does the evidence tell us?

January 26, 2023

National Foundation for Educational Research

This NFER report provides insights into the current MAT landscape by investigating how the mainstream school system has evolved so far. It also considers the challenges in either pursuing an all-MAT system or in maintaining the current status quo and explores the role of LAs within the system.

UK Poverty 2023: The essential guide to understanding poverty in the UK

January 26, 2023

Joseph Rowntree Foundation

UK Poverty 2023 sets out recent trends in poverty across theUK, how levels of poverty differ between groups of people and regions, and the impact it has on people’s lives.

2022 School Readiness Survey

January 26, 2023

Kindred2

This report sets out key findings from the third annual Kindred2 survey of teachers’ views on the scale and impact of children missing their developmental milestones in their early years. Kindred2 surveyed over 1000 teachers, as well as 1000 parents.

Child Poverty and the Cost of Living Crisis

January 24, 2023

Child of the North APPG

This report follows on from an evidence session held by the Child of the North All-Party Parliamentary Group which found that children in the North are some of the most vulnerable and least protected from the current cost of living crisis.

The Future of Inspection: An ASCL Discussion Paper

January 20, 2023

Association of School and College Leaders

This ASCL discussion paper seeks to support discussion about the future of inspection, and is drawn from the views of ASCL’s Council. The recommendations in this discussion paper are offered for comment, critique and stress-testing.

The long-term consequences of long-term disadvantage

January 3, 2023

Northern Powerhouse Partnership

This report presents research findings from the NPP and the FFT Education Datalab. It looks at the relationship between attainment and the amount of time pupils have been eligible for free school meals (FSM), and the likelihood of being in a sustained positive destination by age 22.

Covid-19 and disadvantage gaps in England 2021

December 15, 2022

Education Policy Institute

This report from the EPI examines the disadvantage gap in England during 2021, at GCSEs and A Levels. The “disadvantage gap” – the gap in grades between disadvantaged students and their peers – is a leading measure of social mobility in England and an indicator of the government’s progress in reducing inequalities in education.

Ofsted Annual Report 2021/22: education, children’s services and skills

December 13, 2022

Ofsted

Ofsted's Annual Report presents findings for the areas Ofsted inspect in early years childcare, schools, further education and skills and social care.

Annual Report on Education Spending in England: 2022

December 12, 2022

Institute for Fiscal Studies

This is the fifth annual report from the IFS on education spending. The report seeks to provide a clear and consistent comparison of the level and changes in spending per student across different stages of education.

Towards a new generation of Community Schools – listening to parents of the Red Wall

December 11, 2022

Public First

This research from Public First included ten focus groups of parents of social grade C1 to D in 10 areas in England (including Teesside), and a nationally representative poll of 1000 parents with an additional sample of parents from red wall constituencies.

Cost of Living and Education 2022

December 2, 2022

Sutton Trust

Polling conducted by Teacher Tapp for the Sutton Trust examines the issues that teachers are seeing their pupils face linked to living costs this autumn term. The polling looks at how the crisis is directly affecting students, and how this is affecting their educational experience.

Initial Teacher Training Census 2022/23

December 1, 2022

Department for Education

This DfE data release contains national and provider-level information about the numbers and characteristics of new entrants to Initial Teacher Training (ITT) in England in the training year 2022/23; and 2022/23 Postgraduate ITT (PGITT)targets. This data set is released annually.

Covid Social Mobility and Opportunities Study – Wave 1, Briefing 4

November 23, 2022

Covid Social Mobility and Opportunities Study

The fourth briefing of Wave 1 of the COSMO Study considers the mental health and wellbeing of young people in year 11. The first three briefings looked at lockdown learning, education recovery and catch-up, and future plans and aspirations.

Covid Social Mobility and Opportunities Study – Wave 1

October 13, 2022

Covid Social Mobility and Opportunities Study

COSMO examines the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on educational inequality, wellbeing and social mobility. The first 'wave’ of the study, which started in autumn 2021, recruited a sample of over 13,000 young people across England who were due to take their GCSEs in 2021. The study is led by UCL and the Sutton Trust.

Comparative analysis of teacher attrition rates in England and Wales

September 20, 2022

National Foundation for Educational Research

This research by the NFER uses newly available teacher census data to make teacher attrition rate comparisons between England and Wales. The research compares teachers in schools in Wales with teachers in areas of England that have similar economic and contextual characteristics to Wales.

The impact of pay and financial incentives on teacher supply

June 23, 2022

National Foundation for Educational Research

England has been facing a significant teacher supply challenge, marked particularly by under supply of maths, physics and chemistry teachers. This research by NFER, supported by the Gatsby Foundation, explores the impact of pay and financial incentives on shortage subject teacher supply.

Levelling Up Tutoring

June 17, 2022

The Centre for Education & Youth

This report explores how the National Tutoring Programme (NTP) can be improved. It is informed by a survey of 185 school and trust leaders and teachers, as well as 27 interviews with school and trust leaders, senior figures at the Department for Education (DfE) and others with research and policy expertise. This included contributions from Schools North East.

Voices of England’s Missing Children

June 15, 2022

Children’s Commissioner

This report contains the findings of the Children’s Commissioner’s Attendance Audit. The audit set out with an overarching goal that every child should be in school every day, supported and ready to learn.

How to transform education and unleash the potential of every child

June 15, 2022

Times Education Commission

The Times Education Commission was set up in June 2021. Its aim was to examine Britain’s whole education system and consider its future in the light of the Covid-19 crisis, declining social mobility, new technology and the changing nature of work.

Government food strategy

June 13, 2022

Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs

This government strategy follows the government-commissioned independent review of the food system, the “National Food Strategy” and builds on existing work across government and the actions already being taken forward by industry and other key actors.

Survey of School Business Professionals, 2021

June 10, 2022

Department for Education

DfE surveyed school business professionals between September 2021 and November 2021. The survey explores the characteristics of financial leads, the extent of their influence in decision making, and use of school resource management tools.

‘Stuck’ schools: Can below good Ofsted inspections prevent sustainable improvement?

June 7, 2022

Education Policy Institute

This EPI study explored the underperformance of 580 schools in England that consistently received less than good Ofsted inspection grades between 2005 to 2018.

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on children’s socio-emotional wellbeing and attainment during the Reception Year

May 18, 2022

Education Endowment Foundation

This EEF study aims to understand the relationship between reception children’s experiences of the coronavirus pandemic and their academic achievement and socio-emotional development during their first year at school in September 2020 to July 2021.

Schools Bill

May 11, 2022

Department for Education

The Schools Bill was introduced to Parliament in May 2022. The bill makes provisions for the regulation of Academies,education funding, and attendance of children in school. It is underpinned by the aims set out in the Schools White Paper.

Education Recovery Series, Spring 2022

April 4, 2022

Ofsted

These briefings from Ofsted look at education recovery and how schools, early years providers and further education and skills providers are responding to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. These briefings draw together evidence from a sample of routine inspections.

Understanding Progress in the 2020/21 Academic Year

March 28, 2022

Education Policy Institute

The analysis from EPI researchers examines the extent of pandemic learning losses and recovery at both a national and regional level, in primary (years 4-6) and secondary schools (years 7-9), and among pupils from different socio-economic backgrounds.

A spotlight on Design and Technology study in England

March 23, 2022

Education Policy Institute

The Education Policy Institute (EPI) has published a new study on the state of D&T. It is the first study to comprehensively examine trends in the subject over the last ten years.

Teacher Labour Market in England – Annual Report 2022

March 23, 2022

National Foundation for Educational Research

The aim of the National Foundation for Educational Research’s (NFER) annual series of Teacher Labour Market reports, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, is to monitor the progress the school system in England is making towards meeting the teacher supply challenge.

Attendance interventions rapid evidence assessment

March 16, 2022

Education Endowment Foundation

This rapid evidence assessment from the EEF examined the existing research on interventions that aim to improve pupils’ school attendance and the characteristics of these interventions, based on a systematic search of existing literature. This report summarises the findings from 72 studies.

Is the Catch-up Programme fit for purpose?

March 10, 2022

Education Select Committee

This report from the Education Select Committee follows on from its inquiry into the Government’s catch-up programme. It sets out a series of recommendations, with a government response expected by the 10th May 2022.

2021 annual report on education spending in England

November 30, 2021

Institute for Fiscal Studies

This is the fourth annual report published bythe IFS on education spending in England. These reports illustrate how spendingper pupil across different stages of education has changed over time.

Financial sustainability of schools in England

November 25, 2021

National Audit Office

The National Audit Office (NAO) last reported on financial sustainability of schools in 2016. This is the second of two reports the NAO has published this year, following up on aspects of their 2016 report.

CYPMHC Members’ Report 2021

November 3, 2021

The Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition

The CYPMHC Members’ Report 2021 is based on insights gathered from the Coalition’s member organisations, as well as from young people and parents, on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on children and young people.

Fixing a failing system: Rethinking mental health support in schools for the post-covid generation

October 30, 2021

The Coalition for Youth Mental Health in Schools

The Coalition for Youth Mental Health in Schools is a coalition of schools calling for radical reform of how mental health is supported in educational settings. It was brought together during the second lockdown and was a direct response to the challenge of Coronavirus on the lives of all young people.

Education recovery and resilience in England: Phase two report

October 21, 2021

Education Policy Institute

This EPI analysis,commissioned by the Department for Education (DfE), models the long-run impactof the pandemic on learning loss and on future earnings.

Home learning experiences through the COVID-19 pandemic

September 6, 2021

Institute for Fiscal Studies

In this report, the IFS examine how the learning experiences of English school children evolved over the course of the first 12 months of Covid-related disruption, from the beginning of the first lockdown in March 2020 until the end of the second period of school closures in March 2021.

Addressing digital exclusion in north east England

September 6, 2021

Institute for Public Policy Research

This IPPR report is a summary and proposed regional strategy drawn from a research programme undertaken during 2021. This research sought to explore the extent and nature of digital exclusion in the North East (not just in schools), to identify policy responses, and to outline a strategic framework for addressing digital exclusion in the North East.

School spending in England: trends over time and future outlook

September 2, 2021

Institute for Financial Studies

This briefing note provides an update on school spending trends over time, covering the most recent sets of data, forecasts and policy announcements. School spending covers pupils in state-funded schools aged 5–16, as well as pupils aged 16–19 in school sixth forms.

Recovery during a pandemic: the ongoing impacts of Covid-19 on schools serving deprived communities

September 2, 2021

National Foundation for Educational Research

This report provides insights into schools’ support for the recovery of learning, wellbeing and opportunity, as well as challenges and support needs, once pupils returned to school full-time from March 2021. It is based on in-depth interviews with senior leaders in 50 mainstream primary and secondary schools across England, predominantly serving deprived populations.

A Fair Start? Equalising Access to Early Education

August 19, 2021

Sutton Trust

With the poorest children already 11 months behind their peers when they start primary school, and evidence that the gap is beginning to widen, this Sutton Trust report looks at access to early years provision.

The Covid-19 pandemic and the early years workforce: February-May findings

July 21, 2021

Education Policy Institute

This EPI report is based on the last in a series of surveys that were carried out over the past year to understand the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the early years sector and on the staffing decisions that settings have had to make throughout the year.

State of the nation 2021: Social mobility and the pandemic

July 20, 2021

Social Mobility Commission

Against the backdrop of the pandemic, the Social Mobility Commission has taken a deep look at the progress made in all four UK nations in tackling poverty, addressing inequality, and improving social mobility.

The evolution of cognitive skills during childhood across the UK

July 9, 2021

Education Policy Institute

This report from the EPI provides new insights into the educational outcomes of pupils in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland since devolution. The study draws on the detailed Millennium Cohort Study of children born around 2000 and compares outcomes in reading, vocabulary, language and maths.