The Early AI ‘Easter Egg’ hidden in the Schools White Paper… and why it matters | FE Soundbite 836
Welcome to FE Soundbite Edition 836: 28th February 2026 | Big announcements this week on NEETs, SEND reform and the Schools White Paper… but hidden inside was an AI strategy easter egg that many people have missed.
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
This week we have had big announcements on NEETs, to SEND reform and the Schools White Paper (and yes, it is really important for everyone in FE and Skills, not just about schools). When something is hidden in a document, it is often called an ‘easter egg’.. and there was the AI strategy easter egg hidden inside the Schools White Paper that many people have missed.
So what is an ISP? .. no it is not an Internet Service Provider
So with SEND reforms, we have new jargon… an ISP, this is not an Internet Service Provider, but is an Individual Support Plan and replaces the EHCP long term and is also a requirement for the FE and Skills sector. New EHCPs will be based on the Specialist Provision Packages. They will be digital
and standardised across the country. Check out more here.
The Schools White Paper is for Schools Right, nothing to worry myself about in FE and Skills. Erm no!
So the Schools White Paper Every Child Achieving and Thriving, is a “Blueprint for Opportunity” To Bridge the “Disadvantage Gap”.. which all sounds cool. Particularly when you take this direct quote from DfE into “that the ‘disadvantage gap’ is as stark today as it was over a decade ago in 2014, with only 44% of poorer children achieving a pass at grade 4 or above in their maths and English GCSEs, compared to over 70% of children who do not receive free school meals”. Amen to sorting this out!
£4Bn to Transform SEND Support
So most of the mainstream media has focused on the SEND element of the report. £4 Billion in funding does that… no we are all about the learner… but where is the funding!
So let’s talk money. £1.6bn is for an Inclusive Mainstream Fund which will go directly to early years, schools, colleges, and post-16 settings to fund early intervention and targeted support. A new £1.8bn “Experts at Hand” service will create specialist banks in every local area, accessible without an EHCP.
New AI Strategy has been completely missed by lots of people
However, as Professor Rose Luckin highlights… buried in the Schools White Paper is the most explicit AI education policy the UK has yet produced! Which most people have totally missed (not Rose).
£23 million to a four-year EdTech evidence programme
The Schools’ White Paper commits £23 million to a four-year EdTech evidence programme, announces sovereign AI safety and pedagogy benchmarks, launches an AI Safety and Pedagogy Taskforce bringing together teachers and AI experts, and promises teacher-co-created AI tutoring tools available to schools by 2027. It names Google DeepMind and OpenAI as partners. It commits to digitising the National Curriculum as infrastructure for the entire EdTech sector.
Purpose-built educational AI, rooted in pedagogy, shows promise
As Rose points out, most significantly, it draws a line that the research community has been arguing for years: general-purpose AI in education often has negative outcomes, because it gives answers rather than building understanding. Purpose-built educational AI, rooted in pedagogy, shows promise. That distinction is now government policy.
Again Rose warns… this is a school’s white paper. But FE leaders who treat it as someone else’s business are making a mistake!
DEEP DIVE
If it helps, Dan (FE News’s AI and digital lead) put together a Deep Dive on the Schools White Paper and SEND Reforms… and what does this mean for FE and Skills.
NEETS: Almost one in seven young people are NEET!
We also had the latest NEETs Labour market data released. The numbers (this is all from ONS so it is all about the numbers):
There are 957,000 young people currently classified as NEET, up from 946,000 last quarter. This is under the politically significant 1 Million NEET number… but the NEET rate is now 12.8%, up 0.1 percentage points on quarter, down 0.4 points year-on-year. Unemployed NEETs surge by 45,000 on the quarter to 411,000; economically inactive NEETs fall by 34,000 to 547,000.
So you can understand why we have two upcoming Collective intelligence events… with SEND on the 24th April and then NEETs on the 9th June (I am walking the NEET venue on Wednesday), as they are so interconnected. With big announcements from the Government on both topics, I also feel we are on the right track here!
Two Professors
We had two globally recognised Professors write on FE News this week. We’ve already talked about Rose Luckin’s piece above. Amanda Kirby wrote about Hidden Needs Behind Reoffending: Why ADHD and Autism Shouldn’t Be The Only Considerations, this is a really important read.
As Amanda flags, many young offenders have underlying neurodevelopmental or acquired neurological differences that remain unidentified, shaping behaviour, engagement and long-term outcomes. She covers everything from trauma to the fact that 60% of young offenders have undiagnosed developmental language disorder (DLD). So this for me is fascinating, especially when looking at SEND, potential impact on NEETs etc.
We also announced this week that Amanda will co-chair and co-author the Bridging SEND Transition Collective report alongside Vikki Smith, with more from both of them next week.
Is there a future where AI plays a significant role in SEND support?
What’s interesting is that both Rose and Amanda are deeply tech-savvy, and both looked at SEND… is there a future where AI plays a significant role in SEND support? Watch this space.
Defunded, Not Derailed
On Thursday, we have a very cool new live stream season launching in partnership with Cambridge OCR called Defunded, Not Derailed – mixed study programmes for 2026. It is a bit ronseal.. we have massive change with Level 3 and defunding, but how do we make sure those planning next year’s provision are not derailed! So join us at 10am on Thursday 5th March.
Epic Exclusives Thought Leadership Articles
Our Top 3 Thought Leadership Articles This Week
Firstly, The Schools White Paper Just Showed Us Where AI Policy Is Heading. FE Needs to Pay Attention By Professor Rose Luckin, Professor of Learner Centred Design at UCL Institute of Education and founder of Educate Ventures Research.
Secondly, Training Provider Preparation for the new system of Apprenticeship Assessment By Jacqui Molkenthin from JEML Consulting
Finally, Hidden Needs Behind Reoffending: Why ADHD and Autism Shouldn’t Be The Only Considerations By Professor Amanda Kirby, MBBS MRCGP PhD, CEO, Do-IT Solutions Ltd
This week, we also had some other Epic Exclusives!
Attendance, Engagement and NEET: The Case For Leading With The Gatsby Benchmarks By Rob Cremona, Gatsby Benchmarks Lead, Gatsby Charitable Foundation
Highlighting inclusive practice for Ofsted’s new EIF By Sarah Vickrage, Fellowship of Inspection Nominees
FE/HE Collaboration: It Takes Two To Tango By Andy Forbes, Executive Director, Lifelong Education Institute
Supporting the FE & Skills sector through environmental professional registration By Tom Cheek, the Education Relationship Manager at the Society for the Environment (SocEnv)
Tackling Change: How FE providers can stay ready for reform By Mark Dewell, Senior Vice President of Education, Government and Social Housing at OneAdvanced
What’s New in the World of FE?
Deep Dive: What the Schools White Paper and SEND Reforms Really Mean for FE
Annoucements
£4Bn to Transform SEND Support: What the Schools White Paper Means for Every Setting By Department for Education (DfE)
February 2026 ONS: NEETs Rise to 957,000 as Unemployment Surges By Office for National Statistics (ONS)
Schools White Paper: What to Expect from the Government’s “Blueprint for Opportunity” To Bridge the “Disadvantage Gap” By Department for Education (DfE)
New Legal Requirement for Schools to Create Individual Support Plans (ISPs) for All Children with SEND By Department for Education (DfE)
First Youth Guarantee jobs fair brings big employers together to unlock opportunities for young people By Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
Report
New Lifelong Education Institute and MEG Report Calls for ‘Tertiary Ecosystem’ and FE-HE Collaboration to Solve UK Skills Crisis By the Lifelong Education Institute
New Coursera report: AI use by UK students doubles year-on-year, as educator confidence slips By Coursera Inc
Voices
How To Digitally Transform in 2026 By Sarah Knight, Director of Digital Transformation at Jisc
Neurodivergent FE students can benefit from new SEND Reform – if we learn from what already works By Lisa Alberti, Founder and CEO of Pinc College
In The Know
We have two Collective Intelligence events planned for 2026… aka Collectives
We have big plans for upcoming Collectives, and you can get involved. One is on SEND in April… and another on NEETs in June. We have learnt a lot from the Green Mindset Collective and we are drawing from this on how to give people more voice, more influence on the report… and to make the report more action focused (the Green Mindset Collective had a playbook for people to use, not just a dusty report that is never accessed, but something usable as a takeaway for the entire sector).
On 24th April 2026, at Tavistock Square in London, join us for the Bridging the SEND Transition Collective in partnership with ETF
Join us for the Breaking Barriers Collective event in partnership with Edge Foundation, working together collectively to solve the NEET puzzle.
These aren’t conferences; these are collectives. These aren’t lectures or chalk and talk, but interactive: it’s rolling up your sleeves and making real change, where you get involved and actually give real input. These are two massively important Collectives, so join us and help shape the report and sector response!
By Danny O’Meara, Operations Manager, FE News and