The Shortlist

As we kick off the New Year and get back to work, check out our shortlist of important education news that you might have missed during the festive period.

1. BBC: The OECD found that 15-year-olds in the UK had the biggest declines in life satisfaction since its last survey in 2015. The Guardian then explored the report in greater depths.

2. BBC: King’s College London found that 23% of young people are addicted to their smartphones.

3. The Financial Times reported on the Education Policy Institute’s review of manifesto promises and how the conservatives plan to help disadvantaged children.

4. The Independent analysed why the government is still failing to attract teachers

The Quick Read

Children’s mental health and wellbeing were in the media spotlight in December. There was widespread coverage of the OECD’s triennial Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which found that 15-year-olds in the UK had the biggest declines in life satisfaction since its last survey in 2015. 

The OECD asked 15-year-olds about reading, maths, science and a range of attitudes. Almost half of those surveyed in the UK reported being satisfied with their lives, however, results otherwise were largely positive, with improvements in Wales and England boosting their international rankings alongside more mixed results for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The Guardian quoted Dr Angela Donkin, chief social scientist for the National Foundation for Educational Research, who said: “This isn’t just down to the education sector alone to solve, but for the sector to be able to help we need to ensure that mental health provision is properly funded.”

Elsewhere, a study undertaken by King’s College London on children’s smartphone usage received widespread media coverage. It found that 23% of young people are addicted to their smartphones, with potentially damaging consequences for mental health. 

In terms of notable election coverage, the Financial Times reported on the Education Policy Institute’s review of manifesto promises, suggesting that none of the main political parties’ election pledges were likely to help disadvantaged children. 

The Institute found that Conservative plans to “level up” funding per pupil between different parts of the country would shift money away from more disadvantaged regions, while its focus on childcare was insufficiently targeted at effective programmes offering early childhood education. The Institute said that the Labour party’s focus on scrapping university tuition fees amounted to a regressive subsidy that benefited better-off young people at the expense of early years’ education.

Writing in the Independent, Eleanor Busby analysed why the government is still failing to attract teachers. The Conservatives have announced schools in England will get an extra £7.1bn by 2022-23 compared with 2019-20, and starting salaries for teachers will rise to £30,000.