Education Policy Institute

Rounding off today’s panels with @aqaeducation.bsky.social

We're joined by @robeastaway.bsky.social, Sarah Porretta (@youngenterprise.bsky.social), Baroness Spielman, and @schwitzer.bsky.social to discuss what’s needed from the curriculum and assessment system to help every child excel in maths.

A lively debate with @cambridgeocr.bsky.social at #CPC25

Key takeaways:

Curriculum reform isn’t a panacea, but it remains a powerful leveller.

Consensus behind reform may be more fragile than we imagine.

Implementation and change management require genuine cross-sector collaboration.

Next up with @cambridgeocr.bsky.social at #CPC25: we’re discussing the Curriculum and Assessment Review’s “evolution, not revolution” approach - and what we can learn from previous governments’ wide-ranging education reforms.

Great discussion on how AI is reshaping the education policy debate: from making sure we empower headteachers and tackling the digital divide to ensuring effective safeguarding, regulation, and keeping quality teacher interaction at the heart of reform.

We’re underway at #CPC25 with @ascl-uk.bsky.social discussing tech and AI in the classroom with Dr Ben Spencer MP.

T-minus two hours until we kick off our events programme at #CPC25!

If you’re in Manchester, join leading sector figures, MPs, and Peers as we tackle the big questions shaping education from the role of tech and AI to building on the successes of previous governments.

To close the day, we’re delighted to welcome former Education Secretary @damianhinds.bsky.social to our reception with @aqaeducation.bsky.social and the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, on building a national curriculum shaped by young people for young people.

Request a ticket: reception@epi.org.uk

We then turn to maths education in partnership with @aqaeducation.bsky.social – what do we need from the curriculum and assessment system to ensure every child is supported to excel? And what would be the impact if content is reduced?

Our curriculum and assessment double-header begins with @cambridgeocr.bsky.social, reflecting on past government successes and asking what’s needed from the Curriculum & Assessment Review’s final report to support aspirations and drive up standards in 11–16 education.

We start with @ascl-uk.bsky.social exploring whether AI can help tackle education’s toughest challenges – teacher retention, workload, and sustaining high-quality learning – and how effective opposition can ensure policy goes far enough to close the digital divide in schools.

We round off EPI’s party conference season on Monday 6 October at Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, with a full day of events on AI and the digital divide, maths education, building on past policy successes, and shaping a national curriculum guided by young people’s voices.

Heading into the final evening of #Lab25 with a timely panel on the role of sustained intervention and early literacy support in SEND reform, with the Fischer Family Foundation

Great to have @georgiagould.bsky.social with us for a thought-provoking conversation spanning stability in the opportunity mission, system capacity, early years focus, empowering educators, SEND, and how public services can work together to put schools back at the heart of communities.

For our panel with @naht.org.uk, we’re joined by Minister for School Standards @georgiagould.bsky.social to reflect on the first year of Government, highlight where national policy needs more focus, and discuss what’s next for the opportunity mission.

Today’s panel underlined the challenges SEND reform must address and the crucial role of EPs. Key takeaways: local action while we await broader systemic change, investment, and embedding specialist support & inclusion across the system.

@helenhayes.bsky.social
@bpsofficial.bsky.social

Ahead of the SEND White Paper, our next panel with @bpsofficial.bsky.social asks: what role should educational psychologists play in a reformed system, and what’s needed to ensure fair access for all?

Great to be joined by @helenhayes.bsky.social and Anntoinette Bramble for this discussion.

An expansive conversation on the state of tutoring: how relatively small investments can yield big impact, why access must be by need not cash, targeting the most disadvantaged, aligning with Pride in Place agenda, and how AI might shape the future of tutoring.

Starting our final day of events at #Lab25 with @actiontutoring.org.uk, @getfurther.bsky.social and the Tutor Trust.

We’re discussing a new tutoring model to break down barriers to opportunity and support economic growth, with @richardquigley.bsky.social

Broad consensus: evolution not revolution.

Curriculum must prepare young people for the future: human-centred skills, breadth, inclusion & sustainability.

Evidence-led reform, through the lens of the most vulnerable, is key to building a system that works for all children.

For our final panel of the day at #Lab25, we’re reflecting on curriculum & assessment reform with @aqaeducation.bsky.social & @peter4bracknell.bsky.social

We are discussing areas of consensus, future challenges, and the trade-offs needed to build a balanced system that works for all learners.

Recapping our #Lab25 panel on headteacher retention: building sustainable pipelines into leadership & valuing teaching as a mission-driven profession are key. Effective leadership “moves the dial” but support, stability, peer networks, partnerships and ending adversarial cultures are crucial.

Heading into the afternoon at #Lab25:

High-quality leadership boosts outcomes, yet headteacher retention is falling fast. With @edsupportuk.bsky.social, our panel explores how to retain great leaders, support new ones, and improve wellbeing amid rising pressures.

At today's session on curriculum and assessment reform: cautious optimism.

The C&A system must address global challenges, foster inclusion and diversity, integrate knowledge and skills, and prepare young people for a wide range of futures.

Resilient, adaptable, and learner-centred.

A panel of speakers sits at a long table in front of a packed audience during a discussion on curriculum and assessment reform. Banners for Cambridge OCR and the Education Policy Institute are visible, with a presentation slide displayed on a screen behind the panel

Packed room today for our discussion on curriculum and assessment reform with @helenhayes.bsky.social and @cambridgeocr.bsky.social

Optimism met healthy skepticism at our panel on AI in education. From workload to safeguarding, ethics, exams & student agency. How do we harness AI while developing and ensuring resilience, equity & control?

Also underway at #Lab25: our joint event with Triple P on the role of evidence-based parenting programmes in delivering support at scale, reaching hard-to-reach groups, and boosting school readiness in line with the Best Start in Life Strategy w/ @oliviabailey.bsky.social & @jessasatomp.bsky.social

A panel event at #Lab25 hosted by the Education Policy Institute. A speaker stands at a lectern addressing an audience, with four panellists seated at a table behind him. A screen displays the session title: “Can technology solve the challenges facing education?” Banners from the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) and the Education Policy Institute are visible in the background.

It's a beautiful day in Liverpool 🌞

We’re starting Day 2 of EPI’s programme at #Lab25 with a big question: can technology solve the challenges facing education?

Our panel will consider the opportunities, and the limits, of tech 🧑‍💻

In partnership with @ascl-uk.bsky.social

Key messages from the session:

retention, not just recruitment, is crucial;

teachers need support & flexibility;

child poverty & wider pressures add to classroom challenges;

high-quality CPD, fair pay & inclusive cultures are essential;

high-stakes accountability metrics are detrimental

Next up in our #Lab25 programme: we’re exploring solutions to the teacher retention crisis and how to make UK schools an attractive workplace for a diverse and experienced workforce with @collegeofteaching.bsky.social

Event poster for ‘Youth Town Hall: nothing about us without us’ at Labour Conference 2025, hosted by the Education Policy Institute. Speakers include Huma (EY Foundation Youth Advisory Board), Jayden (Fair Education Alliance Youth Steering Group), Zahra (Child Poverty Action Group Youth Panel), Laura McInerney (Teacher Tapp), and Dr Marie Tidball MP (Labour). The event is on Sunday 28th September at 14:15 in the Albert Suite, Maldron Hotel. Logos of EY Foundation, Child Poverty Action Group, Fair Education Alliance, and Education Policy Institute appear at the bottom.

A wide-ranging conversation spanning curriculum reform, fairer access to work experience, tackling teacher shortages, addressing child poverty, supporting staff, closing the AI literacy gap, and strengthening civic education. Brilliant to hear from such an engaged young audience!