Is This The Future Direction For Skills Policy Decision Making? FE Soundbite 847
Welcome to FE Soundbite Edition 847: 16th May 2026. After DfE’s new investment in research centres to shape education policy, could this have a knock-on effect for the future direction of Skills Policy decision-making? FE Soundbite 847
This is the weekly e-newsletter and e-journal by FE News: ISSN 2732-4095. We know life is busy, so here’s a snapshot of the latest announcements and epic thought leadership articles from sector influencers and thought leaders across FE and Skills this week on FE News.
Gavin’s Reflective Perspective
Another really interesting week in the World of FE and Skills. We had the King’s Speech, SEND consultation closing Monday at midnight, City & Guilds opening a consultation on around 75 roles, a £6 million research investment and a stack of exclusives all pointing at the same big question… who actually counts in this system, and who gets left out.
The King’s Speech: Two Lines Worth Reading Twice
His Majesty opened the new session with the line that “every child is included in the nation’s highest aspirations.” The Education for All Bill. £4 billion behind it. 1.7 million children with SEND in scope.
There was a second line in the speech I had to read twice. Every child “deserves the chance to succeed… not be held back due to poverty, special educational needs, or a lack of respect for vocational education.” Parity of esteem language in a King’s Speech. That’s a sentence the sector has been writing for the best part of twenty years, and it finally got read out by the King. Whether it translates into the actual design of T Levels, V Levels and the wider technical offer is the test, but the line landed.
Research Driven Decision Making for Education Policy, how about Skills?
DfE announced investment of £6 Million for two new research centres, in neuroscience and economics, both centred around universities, with a focus on schools. The idea is sound… put the best available science and economics at the heart of how education policy is made. There was no explicit mention of FE, skills or post-16 though. If the research centres sit in universities and focus on schools… what happens to everything in between? What is this measuring, and what’s the destination and focus then for the end point of education policy… University? Sustainable work?… Both? This could define the direction of education policy for years, so the question is whether it’s designed to be holistic, a truly joined up policy approach, or could it be another potential silo?
Are we all aiming for the same outcome and target?
This is a DfE programme, worth remembering that Apprenticeships sit under DWP. NEETs sit under DWP. The PM wants two thirds of young people at higher level skills by 2025. The King talked about parity of esteem, the PM (current PM)… is saying the same thing. So what is measured is valued. Early Years, Schools, FE post-16, Apprenticeships, University, Lifelong Learning… are they all aiming for the same target? Because if research is only measuring part of the system, it’s only shaping part of the answer.
What could a data led and research driven skills system mean for the future?
Taking this a stage further, what could a research and data-led decision-making future mean for the future of skills, Apprenticeships and Lifelong learning? Skills England is being data-led to meet employer needs, if that was coupled with research that drives policy direction in the future… that is really interesting. Data is always going to be a bit looking in the rear view mirror, couple this with forward thinking research driven policies. However, as always, is anyone thinking big picture and trying to on purpose join up the focus across the whole system? So we are all aiming for the same goal… is this designing stackable skills in a whole new light? Is this also a massive opportunity for the thriving FE and Skills research community to step into the gap and help shape the future of skills policy, couple this with the Skills England data centric decision making and this is potentially a really exciting development.
HMRC highlight that just 1 in 20 young people with SEND gain meaningful employment
HMRC’s Supported Internship programme expanded to HM Courts and Tribunal Service this week. HMRC shared a stat that just 1 in 20 young people with SEND gain meaningful employment, compared to 4 in 5 of their peers.
Surely that is the gap the King’s Speech says it wants to close. The system underneath now has to follow… SEND reform is great, curriculum reform is understandable if we’re trying to get a system ready for fast-emerging employer needs… but is this all pointing towards sustainable work as the destination?
When just 1 in 20 young people with an identified SEND support need… which in employment language becomes neurodiversity and neuroinclusion (even this isn’t lined up). That stat provides an interesting insight into the growing NEET crisis. So are we designing a system that is frictionless for sustainable work? Or does the research, policy thinking… and language still need to catch up?
I hope you enjoy FE Soundbite this week.
Epic Exclusives Thought Leadership Articles
Our Top 3 Thought Leadership Articles This Week
One In Seven Young People Are Being Left Behind – We Need To Rethink How We Prepare Them For Work By Sarah Porretta, CEO of Young Enterprise
Devolution And The Evolving Skills Landscape: Why Awarding Bodies Are The Missing Piece Of The Jigsaw By Suzanne Slater, Commercial Director at NCFE
T levels and V levels: Why Sector Dialogue Matters By Dana Dabbous, Education and Policy Senior Researcher at the Edge Foundation
This week, we also had some other Epic Exclusives!
AI and the Future of Educational Marketing, Without Losing the Human Touch By Adam Herbert, CEO & Co-founder, Go Live Data
SEND Transition Collective Calls for Whole-System Reform as Funding Crisis Deepens By Gavin Hoole, MSc Psychology researcher at London South Bank University
What’s New in the World of FE?
Rewriting the Rules: Rethinking the Future of Assessment
Announcements
City & Guilds opens formal consultation, around 75 roles at risk
King’s Speech 2026: Education for All Bill
DfE Invests £6 Million in New Research Centres to Shape Education Policy… But Where Does FE and Skills Fit? By the Department for Education (DfE)
‘Education for All’ bill announced as SEND reform consultation enters final week By the Department for Education (DfE)
HMRC Supported Internship Programme Expands Across the Civil Service By HMRC
Erasmus+ 2027: What you Need to Know By the Department for Education (DfE)
Report
CPRMB publishes landmark review of boys’ education outcomes across high-income countries By the Centre for Policy Research on Men and Boys (CPRMB)
‘Happiness Gap’ Shows Class Shapes Lifelong Wellbeing By The Sutton Trust
Voices
The Normalisation of Fraud: Why Construction Must Protect both Assessment & Certification Integrity By Carl Hassell, Chief Operating Officer, NOCN Group
In The Know
Join us for the Breaking Barriers Collective event in partnership with Edge Foundation, working together collectively to solve the NEET puzzle. We only have a few tickets left
This isn’t a conference; it’s a collective. It isn’t a chalk-and-talk event, but an interactive one. It’s rolling up your sleeves and making real change, where you get involved and actually give real input. Join us and help shape the sector!
By Danny O’Meara, Operations Manager, FE News and