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The GCSE results from the second set of post-pandemic summer exams are due to be published later this week. Here are five themes to look out for: Do not focus too much on the overall drop in grades In September…
By Jon Andrews and Education Policy Institute
After three years of grading directly affected by the pandemic, 2023 marked the first year where A level, technical and vocational qualifications were set to return to roughly pre-pandemic levels. Most students completing their 16-19 study in 2023 will not…
By David Robinson, Sam Tuckett, and Education Policy Institute
Intro and recap In the first blog in this series, we examined the relative GCSE English and maths attainment of pupils with additional needs – those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and those who speak English as an…
By Jo Hutchinson
Back in May, we reported on the very high absence statistics that the Department for Education published for the autumn term of 2022/23. We were concerned at the time that absences hadn’t shown signs of coming down in the aftermath…
By Emily Hunt
Following the pandemic’s disruption and over a decade of austerity, the education system in England faces a number of challenges in the years ahead. But, with a general election anticipated next year, there is a genuine risk that education will…
By Jon Andrews, Emily Hunt, and Education Policy Institute
In this blog we take a brief look at the GCSE attainment gap for children who are looked after by local authorities in England, alongside outcomes for the wider group of ‘children in need’. Looked after children are cared for…
By Emily Hunt
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During the pandemic, policy makers, school leaders and exam boards were suddenly faced with the challenge of how to award end of qualification grades to young people without the use of traditional exams. This raised issues of fairness, regional inequality,…
By Education Policy Institute
Series introduction In this blog series we will consider the relative GCSE English and maths attainment of pupils with additional needs during the Covid-19 pandemic – those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and those who speak English as…
By Jo Hutchinson
Last week, the Department for Education released the first school workforce statistics that are free of the pandemic’s influence. Teaching witnessed a boom in recruitment during the pandemic as private-sector job opportunities dried up and graduates sought more secure employment.…
By James Zuccollo and Education Policy Institute
This is the second Education Policy Institute (EPI) report to Essex County Council’s Education Task Force, an independent body created to oversee post-Covid recovery in education and young people’s mental health in Essex. EPI has been commissioned to track how…
By Education Policy Institute
Introduction School absence has been the subject of much discussion since the first lockdown over two years ago. Yesterday the government launched its latest plans to tackle absence to coincide with newly released national statistics on absence in all…
By Emily Hunt
EPI's report into education recovery, in partnership with Renaissance, shows that the pandemic is still having an adverse effect on pupils’ learning. This new analysis uses Renaissance’s Star Reading and Star Maths Assessments to create the largest sample size of…
By Jon Andrews
