New education Bill central to DfE's five year plan
26 February 2016
A new education Bill has completed its passage through parliament allowing new measures for swifter intervention by the Department for Education when a school is coasting or failing.
The Bill will increase the pace of academisation, with failing schools forced to become academies - accepting new leadership backed by sponsors and high-performing neighbouring schools.
The Bill is at the heart of the DfE's objectives for 2015 - 2020 which have just been published. Plans have been set out by the Department for what it wants to achieve and the progress it is making. 'Educational Excellence Everywhere' is one of the main drivers for the Department's objectives, aiming to allow every child and young person access to high quality provision no matter where they live or what their background is.
The other two main priorities include:
Safety and Well-being: aiming to protect children and support those who may be vulnerable.
Preparation for Adult Life: ensuring young people complete school or college with the skills and character to contribute to society and the economy. This objective includes plans for technical and professional education as a high-quality alternative to academic study post 16, with routes to apprenticeships or employment and supported by improved advice and guidance.
Departmental plans must be delivered within the expenditure limits set out in the Autumn 2015 spending review, which for the DfE is £58.2bn in 2015-16.
The education Bill will now go to the Queen for royal assent which, when given, will turn the Bill into an Act of Parliament.
Meanwhile, over at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills…
Objectives from BIS have also been published covering business/enterprise, competitiveness/exports, science/innovation and labour markets. Priorities have also been set out for:
Apprenticeships and Skills: these plans focus on the government's objective for 3 million new apprenticeship starts by 2020 (the current total stands at 268,400), the apprenticeship levy for larger employers, the establishment of a new Institute for Apprenticeships (although details of how it will operate have not yet been made clear), the roll out of more degree apprenticeships, and the development of a network of National Colleges and Institutes of Technology.
Higher Education: objectives include increasing the number of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, continuing funding reforms, abolishing the cap on HE student numbers from September 2016, encouraging universities to offer more two-year degree programmes and the development of on-line education.
All 17 departmental plans, including measurements of progress towards targets, are
publicly available.