Since the summer of 2020 the Department for Education (DfE) has conducted a series of Provider Pulse Surveys designed to capture evidence about the childcare and early years sector. This report outlines findings from the eighth and ninth waves of the research, which were carried out in May and July 2024. On the eighth wave of the survey, questions…

In this reflective piece, representatives of the agencies that funded and managed the Early Learning Systems Research program -- the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the World Bank -- take stock of recent global developments in research, policy, and financing by donors for early childhood education (ECE). A rapid increase…

Universities are committed to offering high-quality higher education that delivers value to students and taxpayers. This means ensuring students can access higher education, whatever their background, circumstances or location. It also means delivering courses that develop the skills and knowledge our economy needs to drive local and national…

In 2024, Instructure convened a Commission of higher education and lifelong learning experts to assess emerging policies related to skills development, including the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) and the Growth and Skills Levy (GSL). These policies aim to reform how education and training are funded and delivered to provide flexibility to…

This report by Paul Woodgates explores change initiatives in higher education institutions, considering why they are needed and why they are difficult to deliver. He outlines how universities should carefully design change projects to maximise impact and likelihood of success.

Many autistic adults experience public stigma and some internalise this stigma with negative effects on their mental health. While efforts to reduce public stigma are paramount, change can be slow, and interventions to prevent internalised stigma may also be needed. Using a mixed methods online survey, we gathered the views of 144 autistic adults…

The National Health Service (NHS) celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2023. Its founding principles of care for all, free at point of need, funded from general taxation, a source of British pride. However the public has growing concerns about the standard of care and is pessimistic about the future. The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (LTWP),…

Universities are facing growing internal and external pressures to generate income, educate a widening continuum of learners, and make effective use of digital technologies. One response has been growth of online education, catalysed by Massive Open Online Courses, availability of digital devices and technologies, and notions of borderless global…

Background: Two UK academic centres were commissioned to provide a responsive rapid evidence synthesis service. The service covered topics identified by the National Institute for Health Research Health Services & Delivery Research (NIHR HSDR) programme as priorities for the National Health Service or to inform research commissioning. Aims and…

This article illustrates how the British Council Bangladesh (BCB) made use of panel discussions and commissioned research as policy vehicles to persuade the government of Bangladesh of the value of social enterprises for public service delivery, including in education. Drawing upon Appadurai's notion of 'imagined worlds' in relation to influential…

Background; In the UK, there is increasing pressure on ear, nose and throat (ENT) clinicians and departments, which is anticipated to amplify in the coming months and years due to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and other workforce pressures. In the context of a national drive to advance practice of Allied Health Professionals to address…

Career guidance appointments in UK Higher Education Careers Services are being made shorter, in an attempt to see increasing numbers of students with the reduced resource. In this research, I explore the impact this is having on practice. Career guidance is found to be effective, but negatively impacted by these time constraints. The shortening of…

Education programmes based on behaviour analysis are often used to teach children with learning disabilities. A common application of behaviour analysis is Early Intensive Behaviour Intervention (EIBI), which is evidence-based, but most children in the UK do not have access to this approach. EIBI is usually implemented for 30 to 40 hours per week,…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe and examine parent views of speech-language pathology (SLP) for children born with cleft palate delivered via telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom (UK). Method: Parents were asked whether they found this method of delivery "very effective," "somewhat…

This paper, originally written just before the outbreak of COVID-19, will provide a review of Education 4.0 in a select range of UK and international higher education providers and offer an initial discussion of the role and importance of digital personal assistants and online and lifelong learning in delivering world-class learning and teaching.…