PRODUCTIVITY AND THE SKILLS GAP CAN ONLY BE ADDRESSED THROUGH A LONG-TERM PLAN

Santander’s latest report?Tomorrow’s Skills,?outlines the importance of connecting the skills landscape to the UK economy, public attitudes towards lifelong learning, and what Government should be doing to create a workforce fit for the future. The report calls for a long-term plan to support this ambition:

‘Productivity and skills gaps, and ultimately growth, in this country will only be addressed through a long-term plan equipping our workforce with the skills they need to respond to economic shifts.’

The report also highlights the task facing UK policymakers given three significant societal shifts that are currently taking place:?

• Changing attitudes to the world of work amongst different generations?
• The advent of a new technological wave driven by AI
• The transition to net zero shifting from ambition to delivery?

Having made and won the case for a governance model that adopts a?Long-Term Planning Framework, establishes an?Education Council, introduces a?Chief Education Officer and Associated Office and creates a?National Education Assembly, this year the FED is exploring how these could be implemented through the lens of 6?National Education Futures Projects:?

• Student Financial Wellbeing;?
• MATs, School and Education Partnerships;?
• Education Workforce;?
• Innovation and Creativity;?
• Inclusion;?
• AI for Education.?

These projects are the key focus areas at our?4th National Education Summit: First Steps for Change. At the Summit with over 40 speakers, you can choose from over 20 sessions, but more importantly, your voice can help drive the changes that will define the educational experience for generations to come.

Four?of the Summit sessions highlighted below?focus on AI, curriculum design, education and the economy and approaches to flexible working.

• How will AI really impact on our classrooms? Professor Rose Luckin, Professor of Learner Centred Design at UCL Knowledge Lab, and Jane Mann of Cambridge International Education.?
• Reconnecting education and the economy. How do we reconnect the needs of education and the economy to build stronger, more cohesive communities? Baroness Nicky Morgan, Lord Jim Knight and Dr Vanessa Ogden CBE, Founder and CEO of Mulberry Schools Trust.
• How can we open up the education system to new ways of learning and thinking? Sir Ian Livingstone, and Rebecca Clarke, Head of Curriculum at The Inspirational Learning?Group.?
• 6,500 extra teachers? How might we start tackling recruitment and retention and developing and supporting a great workforce? Dame Alison Peacock DL, DLitt, Dr Steph Ainsworth of Manchester Metropolitan University, Viv Grant FRSA from Integrity Coaching, and John Faulconbridge Capita/Entrust managing the FWAMS Flexible Working project funded by the DfE.

In partnership with Hays Education, we are delighted to be hosting a free breakfast seminar with keynote speakers, Frank Norris MBE FCCT?and Jamila Kossar MBE, who will be sharing their experience of 'School in the Community: Community in the School' in very different contexts. Email [email protected] to book your place. Vicki Gartner Michelle Storer

For those who have been with us since the beginning, you might know that we are approaching our 5th Anniversary. To mark this milestone and show our appreciation for your support, we’re excited to offer 5 free tickets— one for each year of the FED — to our National Education Summit in Manchester on November 5th. Stay tuned over the coming weeks for details on how to apply!