School funding and protecting university students

Today’s Education in the Media blog addresses a new report from the Education Policy Institute and coverage on sexual violence at universities.

School Funding

Today, Friday 2 August, the Education Policy Institute released a report which analyses the possible outcomes of the new Prime Minister’s early proposals on school funding. 

A Department for Education spokesperson said:

The Prime Minister has made clear that we will increase minimum levels of per pupil funding in primary and secondary schools and return education funding to previous levels.

We will be announcing more details in due course and, until then, any assumptions are purely speculative.

Sexual Violence at University

The Office for Students and its predecessor body have invested £4.7m to support projects focussed on tackling sexual and gender-based violence, online harassment and hate crime in higher education.

We encourage institutions to take a proactive response to tackling sexual harassment, ensuring that students feel confident and able to report any issues.

A Department for Education spokesperson said:

Sexual violence and harassment are criminal offences and unacceptable in any circumstance. The impact on victims can be devastating and they should be supported at all stages of the process.

We have asked Universities UK to set up a specific task force to look at this issue. We expect providers to follow its recommendations, and put robust policies and procedures in place, including effective disciplinary processes and ensure that victims are supported. We have also tasked the Office for Students to monitor institutions and ensure this happens.