David Akast

Pearson has published its 2024 #School #Report. The report shares insights into the sector, and reflects on and considers challenges the sector is facing; it is well worth a read! To summarise, some of the key findings are that: ➡️ 49% of #teachers joined the profession to make a difference. ➡️ 74% of #learners feel they are supported to achieve. ➡️ Only 5% believe that the #education system allows them to support all #students in the way they would like to. ➡️ 57% believe that #teacher #recruitment and #retention will be the biggest challenge faced by #schools this year. ➡️ 60% do not believe that education is #accessible enough. ➡️ The biggest challenge faced by schools is #budget pressures. ➡️ 61% of teachers state that the prevalence of #SEND is of increasing concern, and 70% say that #pupil #behaviour is of increased concern. ➡️ 97% of teachers have witnessed students having difficulty engaging in their #learning and 73% of students say they struggle to engage. ➡️ 82% of teachers believe that #mentalhealth is a barrier to learning. ➡️ SEND, mental health and #attendance are deemed to be the top three barriers to learning in both #primary and #secondary. ➡️ Only 8% of teachers belive that education reflects the #diversity of pupils' lives. ➡️ Nearly 90% of learners want to be taught the #skills they will need in life. ➡️ Educators believe that the aspirations of #disadvantaged, #SEND and/or #gifted and #talented students are ineffectively supported by the current system. ➡️ 50% of schools are providing #sensory spaces and/or #wellbeing rooms. ➡️ 64% of schools are supporting staff through wellbeing initiatives. ➡️ 80% of learners say that #digital #technology makes it easier for everyone to participate in learning. ➡️ Only 7% of educators believe there is enough of an emphasis on digital learningand just 4% believe there is enough emphasis on #vocational education. ➡️ Educators believe the top five changes which could have a positive impact on education are - increased #supportstaff #pay; investment in mental health and #socialservices; Ofsted reform; mental health support; national #workforce plan (to recruit and retain teachers). #PearsonSchoolReport MH&A Read the full report here: ⬇️

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Some new #FunctionalSkills maths resources will be popping up on the #Pearson website shortly. Here is the first: One of our Teaching The Fundamental Guides, this is looking at the common issues learners have with Area, Perimeter and Volume and incorporates some useful advice from the Chair of Examiners and some teaching tips from me 😀. This is an "area" learners have struggled with since Functional Skills began 🤣 #FEmaths #Apprenticeships

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Check out this recent guide from Yorkshire Universities that explores embedding sustainability into university curricula via service learning. Service learning is all about integrating academic activities with community needs, enhancing student engagement and practical application of their knowledge. Key findings include the importance of collaboration with external partners, amplifying student voices, and providing real-life challenge opportunities. The guide highlights examples of successful projects, like planting initiatives and sustainability challenges, which have positively impacted both students and communities. Small investments in such programs can yield significant outcomes. Learn how the CapSource Experiential Learning Management System can help you streamline, manage, and track these types of industry-integrated learning programs! https://lnkd.in/gBTqVGbS

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With a general election just around the corner and manufactured headwinds creating constant uncertainty and challenge, now is the time for policymakers to commit to evidence-informed #sustainable policies that celebrate the UK education sector’s position as a leader in international education.    Read the five recommendations from UKCISA here: https://lnkd.in/gR6SnVAA #weareinternational #internationalstudents #ukcisa #generalelection #immigration #ukimmigration #internationaleducation #internationaleducationstrategy #IES

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Strengthening our educational partnership in this important and inspiring system

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This Sunday, in the Leading Your International School Principal's Blog #67, Faiz, Ye Chong Muhammad Wee, Head of Cybersecurity, Leading Your International School, writes about 'Cybersecurity: Protecting the Future of International Schools'. To read more Principal’s Blogs, visit: https://lnkd.in/gaPpc37k #cubersecurity #internationalschools #lyis

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Really excited (and very nervous) to be presenting a case study next month at the CABS Learning, Teaching and Student Experience conference. The title of the case study is 'Students’ creative use of digital storytelling, to increase inclusiveness and student engagement with business and management theoretical topics.' Anyone that knows me, will know this encompasses all of my passions - #inclusivity #digitallearning #creativity #pedagogy #business #highereducation

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Are you responsible for Quality & Enhancement at your university? If so, then the recent publication of the The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education's new edition of the UK Quality Code presents a great development opportunity, particularly for those in your team who are new to HE or early in their careers. Having chosen a set of principles they're most interested in (say, monitoring and enhancing provision, or managing partnerships), ask them to complete a mapping exercise and indicate how far your university meets or exceeds those principles. ➕ Go one further, and ask them what enhancements might be made to elevate practice in those areas. ➕ ➕ And bonus points if you then support them to present their findings at your equivalent of an academic standards committee. Just scale up or down the activity depending on the size of your team (if you're lucky enough to have one!). This exercise benefits individuals because: 👉 It allows them some agency in what might otherwise be routine work 👉 It provides them with an opportunity to showcase their talent & ability 👉 It helps improve their visibility across the organisation, potentially helping with progression #professionaldevelopment #appraisalseason #qaa

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This article provides information on the impact international students make per constituency, with Leeds sitting at the top of the list. A must read, especially ahead of the next election!

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What has been interesting looking at current entries is we've had greater interest from School children than we have from the business sector... will leave you to ponder. Really keen to see more Industry and commerce posters on industry Research, Innovation, Sustainability and Enterprise.

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Sandwell College Approach To Functional Skills While at the AoC Maths and English Conference, it was great to meet up with old friends (always a pleasure to see former colleagues and it was great to have Sheila Rai support with the keynote address) and to learn of practice across the sector that support learners. There were several sessions that caught my eye throughout the day, and hopefully there will be an opportunity to share more throughout the year. One session that did look good was delivered by Jeremy Taylor from Sandwell College on Effective Delivery of Functional Skills that Positively Impacts on GCSE Resits Results. I had a chance to catch up with Jeremy after his session to discuss the contents. What Jeremy and his team have put in place at Sandwell College is incredibly impressive. As Jeremy is keen to point out, Sandwell is not an affluent area, it is ranked twelve in the list of most deprived local authorities in England. That being said, the results of their hard work is plain to see. Learners that start at the college on Functional Skills (grade 2 GCSE learners and below in reality) fair better in their eventual GCSEs than those that go straight onto the GCSE programme. And we are not talking small numbers here either. The results for GCSE English are 5 percentage points better and, even more amazingly, the results for GCSE maths are 10 percentage points better. So how does Sandwell College do this. The starting point is a robust initial and diagnostic assessment. The learners will also take a Level 1 paper to see if they could get Level 1 in two years regardless of their starting point. The learners have tutorials where the key is to understand their previous experiences and their behaviours, to get to know the learners. The whole point is to look at the learner’s journey over their entire college time, not just the year they are in. The learners are streamed in the college and not just by vocational area. That means they are taught with learners at their level. Each level has dedicated teachers, teachers that specialise in teaching that particular level of learner. The schemes of work are modified to suit the learners, some will be on a faster track than others, but each learner will receive content from the next level in every class. There is also the potential for in year progression, meaning learners can progress at their speed, often quicker than their peers at other colleges. Finally, Jeremy’s team has a dedicated attendance officer who works consistently with the learners to ensure that they are there to get the best education they can get. All of this makes Jeremy and Sandwell College advocates for Functional Skills. They know that it can support their learners to achieve the best that they can achieve. #Pearson #FEmaths #EnglishFE #FunctionalSkills

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As colleagues meet at #IHEF2024 this week, it is time for those working in UK universities to #lobby those that represent them. It is critical to impress upon #highereducation sector bodies, the importance of immediately “investing in international futures!” Robust, representative Non-EU #graduateoutcomes & destinations data is immediately available from Asia Careers Group SDN BHD to all UK universities [& has been since 2019,] the only barrier is the reluctance of those that represent the UK #highered sector to act in their members best interests. With many UK Higher #Education Institutions facing significant cost cutting & mass redundancies, we should all question how we got here? With record numbers of #internationalstudents & the UK emerging from the #pandemic relatively unscathed, those working in #internationaleducation are right to ask those acting in their interests “what went wrong?” Since 2019 the warning signs have been there in black & white, the fate of the UK #highered sector has been foretold numerous times, in the #highereducation press & beyond. (See comments) If the sector wish to change the narrative they must all lobby those that represent them, at #IHEF & other public forums to impress upon them, that an annual collective investment by sector bodies of just £350,000 in Non-EU graduate outcomes data would in many ways protect & #future proof a sector worth over £40 billion to the UK economy. This will be critical if Vivienne Stern, CEO of Universities UK, is correct when she says there is “a very high risk of a manifesto from The Conservative Party that includes a commitment to removing the graduate route”. The Labour Party likely to follow suit, in a fight to win the #redwall. Investing in Non-EU Graduate Outcomes is a way to immediately influence MAC & provide all UK universities a Plan B to increase international #studentrecruitment & support their existing #internationalstudents transition successfully to the workforce back in their home countries. If the sector evidence now that inbound international student #recruitment is largely #immigration neutral, with by far the majority of #internationalstudents returning to their home countries & into successful #careers following their studies. MAC reports in the May, so if the sector commission Non EU #graduateoutcomes data now, they have a chance of submitting their findings before MAC reports, universities would have a Plan B & #psw could receive a stay of execution? “There are fears the Conservatives might pledge to scrap the UK’s graduate visa route in their election manifesto, putting pressure on Labour, if a review of the #graduateroute does not first lead to its abolition.” Asia Careers Group SDN BHD - Investing in International Futures AGCAS British Council BUILA Higher Education Policy Institute Jisc Office for Students UCAS UKCISA Universities UK International

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Many of our #LicensedHN partners are finding genuine value in delivering Pearson's HTQs. If you are a #UKuniversity and would like to know more about delivering HTQs under licence with us, get in touch today! 🚀 💡 🎓 #Highereducation #HEI #HigherNationals #HTQ

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Using #poststudywork (PSW) as the foundation for long-term #internationalstudent growth in UK #highered, has always been an accident waiting to happen! Whilst it is a seductive argument that garners attention, it totally ignores the fact that by far the majority of #internationalstudents return to their home countries after graduation. Over 86% since the reinstatement of #PSW. Finding ways to understand & develop their #internationalgraduates’ #careers in source countries, should for the last three years have been core to a university’s strategy for building a sustainable competitive advantage. While the #highereducation sector lay the blame squarely at the governments door, it is not as if for the last five years #universities have been operating in a bubble. They would have been well aware, one would have thought, of frozen tuition fees, rising inflation & increasing interest rates. We find ourselves wondering why this is a government problem & not one for universities themselves to address? With record #Internationalstudent numbers & international #tuition fees for the last three years, where has all the money gone? The warning signs havebeen there since #poststudyworkrights for #Internationalstudents were reinstated in 2019. With damaging newspaper headlines week to week, plus a government [& opposition] hell bent on reducing #immigration in the run up to the next #election, what does the future hold for #UK #tertiaryeducation? University of Aberdeen University of Brighton Coventry University University of East Anglia University of Essex Goldsmiths, University of London The University of Huddersfield University of Kent University of Lincoln Northumbria University University of Portsmouth Queen Mary University of London Sheffield Hallam University Staffordshire University University of Surrey Swansea University & University of Winchester have all announced cost cutting &/or staff redundancies. It all could have been different, if armed with international #graduateoutcomes data back in 2020 universities & sector bodies had effectively lobbied government to show that the majority of international #students return home to embark on successful #careers. The powers that be, had a long enough runway to shift the narrative away from post-study work & focus on supporting the majority of international students (80%+) that return home. Data on Non-EU graduate outcomes was available from Asia Careers Group SDN BHD then & now, if #universities & sector bodies are serious about maintaining UK market share & more importantly investing in international futures. Asia Careers Group SDN BHD - Investing in International Futures AGCAS British Council BUILA Department for Business and Trade Department for Education Higher Education Policy Institute UCAS UKCISA Universities Scotland Universities UK Universities UK International

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In the first week of a new Labour government, what are their plans for education and the curriculum? This recent OCR blog highlights some of Labour's stated positions and the changes we might see over the coming months: https://lnkd.in/e5uetMkh

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Let’s hope this results in no further policy changes and better certainty for UK bound international students. Studying overseas is a massive investment for families worldwide and that delivers benefits globally and locally. Let’s show the world #youarewelcome #internationalstudents #highereducation

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Really useful guide for anyone already working in or with Viet Nam or considering doing so.

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Very proud to have been involved in this project. This has involved deep collaboration, planning, evaluation and TIME. On a personal level, what have I learnt from the experience? Quite a lot and obviously more to come! 1. Digital assessment can be made accessible and contemporary, but requires due consideration on its audience, familiarisation, testing and evolution. 2. Working with leading-edge platforms requires enhanced collaboration, especially within an evolving digital assessment environment. I have no doubt that assessments can only strengthen in their validity and will attract a greater audience, perhaps a proportion of which may have experienced a historic lack of accessibility. 3. Learning from 'sticking points' and identifying alternative ways of working and implementation. Digital assessment may not hold all the answers, but there are definitely not insurmountable issues and platform will evolve to meet future challenges. At Ascentis we are proud to bring this announcement into the public domain. If you do wish to be involved in a centre 'pre-test' then please navigate to the relevant link on our qualification page https://lnkd.in/g6UFc3wG

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