There has been a "remarkable shift" in poorer children now receiving a bigger share of education spending in England, says the Institute for Fiscal Studies. The independent financial researchers say in previous generations children from richer families were the main beneficiaries, as they were likely to stay longer in education. But this pattern has been reversed by policies deliberately "skewed" to give more funding towards the deprived and with more poorer youngsters going to sixth form and un...

Employers and universities are calling for major changes to student funding in England, to reverse the collapse in part-time student numbers. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) says university should not only be for young people, and adults need to be able to re-train for new skills. Part-time undergraduate numbers have fallen by more than 50% since 2010. The CBI and Universities UK want more support for students to take short, flexible part-time courses. A joint statement warns of a ge...

Prospective university students turn to parents and friends as much as teachers for advice on their options, new polling for the Office for Students shows. The poll, by YouthSight, comes as a new report from CFE Research calls for a more tailored approach to information provision that reflects individual students’ needs, backgrounds and preferences. The poll sought the views of over 2,000 current, prospective, and previous higher education students. It found that 71 per cent per cent of prospect...

Traditionally, universities looking to widen access have focused on secondary aged children preparing to take their next step in education. This is certainly an important moment in a young person’s life, but in many cases it may be too late to shape their decision-making. Universities are looking to solve problems which can become entrenched far earlier in a child’s education. In 2016, a Ucas survey pointed out that children who know they want to enter higher education by age 10 or earlier ar...

These six young people are ambitious and determined. They are an aspiring teacher, a future social worker, a would-be accountant, a budding cardiologist, a wannabe pilot and a veterinary surgeon of tomorrow. But they fear their dreams, and those of young people like them, may be thwarted by further education funding pressures. They are all students at New City College in east London, which is closing the doors to its six campuses on Wednesday so staff can join a march against the cuts. ...

How does a school go from having one of the worst truancy records in the country to having one of the best attendance records? "No nonsense and no excuses." That's the message that you keep hearing from staff at Co-op Academy Manchester. There is also a very direct approach from the school's attendance team. Even if a parent rings to say their child is poorly, there could still be a knock on the door to check out the story. Jenny Robey, the school's attendance manager, says she migh...

Ofsted plans to overhaul the way it inspects schools in England, downgrading the influence of exam results in favour of a closer look at pupil behaviour and at the breadth of subjects being taught. Amanda Spielman, the chief inspector of schools, outlined details of the new inspection regime, with the current category of “outcomes for pupils” that includes exam performance to be dropped in Ofsted’s inspection reports. “For a long time, our inspections have looked hardest at outcomes, placing t...

The education secretary will say that the UK’s schooling system must be challenged over why “white British disadvantaged boys” are the least likely of any ethnic group to make it to university. Officials said Damian Hinds would push university and business leaders to take action over the issue at a meeting on Monday, as he also announces £24m to boost standards in the northeast of England. The Independent reported earlier this year how the number of white people accepted at universities has dr...

A new app, called GrantFairy, has been created to find scholarships that students are eligible to apply for based on their personal profile. Developers say that, so far, users are typically matched with at least £85,000 in funding opportunities, which they say prospective students are often missing out on because they aren’t told about the cash. Read More.

School spending claims by the Department for Education are being investigated by the UK's statistics watchdog. It follows BBC News reports which showed figures quoted by education ministers defending their record on state school spending included the money spent by university students on tuition fees and parents on private school fees. This has been confirmed by the OECD think tank that compiles the international comparisons of spending figures. Head teachers' leaders have accused the dep...