This report from UK think tank EDSK explores why the ‘ladder of opportunity’ is brokenfor so many young people and how to fix it The academic pathway from school up to university is a well-trodden and well-understood route. In contrast, for those young people who do not attend university, the first rungs on the ‘ladder...

This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation looks at the education divide in British politics. British politics since the 2016 Brexit referendum has been characterised by the emergence of a new divide, between graduates and school leavers. Education now has a stronger relationship with vote choice than any other demographic or economic...

This report from UK think tanks the Sutton Trust and CEPEO explores the post-18 education and career plans of young people and the opportunities available to them. The second briefing from Wave 2 of the COVID Social Mobility and Opportunities (COSMO) study explores the post-18 education and career plans of young people and the opportunities...

This report from UK think tank IPPR sets out how ‘improvement through empowerment’ - of both teachers and schools, can drive excellence in education. We need to shift the drivers of better schooling from high stakes top-down accountability to a system which empowers schools and teachers to innovate and improve. Policymakers in recent decades have...

This report from UK think tank the Henry Jackson Society suggests that it is critical for universities and students’ unions to recognise that CSSAs are not independent – they are part of a system. Universities and students’ unions are operating under the fiction that CSSAs, the Chinese Students and Scholars Associations [中国学生学者联谊会] in the UK,...

This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation examines the state of leadership and management in education. Education is strongly linked with economic success, yet education quality in the UK lags behind many comparable countries. This Social Market Foundation report examines the central role that better leadership and management have to play in...

This report from UK think tanks the Sutton Trust & CEPEO examines inequalities in mental health and access to support services. Even though many areas of life have largely returned to normal following the pandemic, the long-term trend of worsening mental health and wellbeing of young people is an ongoing issue. This research briefing examines...

This report from UK think tank the Education Policy Institute assesses the impact of headteachers on school performance in England. This report assesses the impact of headteachers on school performance in England, and the mechanisms through which headteachers influence performance. In addition, the study explores whether a headteacher’s gender and ethnicity have an impact on...

This report from UK think tank the Social Market Foundation explores the economic and environmental benefits of making the UK’s heat pump supply chain more robust. The UK’s heat pump supply chain is still in its infancy and remains much weaker than in mainland Europe or Asia. This SMF report explores the economic and environmental...

This report from UK think tank the Education Policy Institute looks at the first instalment of its annual report on the state of education in England. Following widespread pandemic disruption during 2020 and 2021, 2022 saw the return of summer exams. During the pandemic years, pupils’ grades were awarded using alternative processes known as centre assessed grades...

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Government looks at how the government can keep workers in the NHS, schools and police. Public services are responsible for keeping the public safe, healthy and well educated. This relies on the work of millions of people across the country. But that workforce is not a...

This report by UK think tank the Sutton Trust looks at how access to higher education has changed over time. A major study of higher education trends over the past 25 years reveals persistent access gaps for disadvantaged students, particularly at the most selective universities. The research, using a unique dataset compiled by dataHE for...

This report from UK think tank IPPR looks at how to rebalance our school system to work for people, economy and society. The social contract - that each generation should do better than the previous one - is increasingly under strain. Progress is stalling or even going into reverse, with young people often more likely...

This report from UK think tank Civitas looks at how many care leavers go to university. This Civitas report provides new evidence on the number of care leavers who go to university in the UK alongside the first-ever league table of care leavers at UK universities. In 2022 the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care...

This report from UK think tank British Future looks at narrating our shared past in polarised times. Inclusive Histories: Narrating our shared past in polarised times, is a new report from British Future offering insights for practitioners working in museums, galleries and other cultural institutions about conducting work around inclusive histories in ways that confidently...

Universities must find ways to cultivate a sense of belonging amongst students By Alexis Brown (HEPI) It’s no secret that students have had a rough time of it during the pandemic. Those who weren’t in university yet missed out on the standardised tests and schooling that would normally prepare them for higher education, and those...