Today’s Education in the media blog focuses on media coverage of the Secretary of State’s fact finding visit to Germany and the Netherlands to look at their technical education systems. We also look at Unicef’s report on refugee children and the Sun’s employment roadshow.
Technical Education
Today, Friday 21 September, the Times and the Telegraph published interviews with the Secretary of State for Education, Damian Hinds. These interviews focused on the importance of technical and vocational qualifications in our education system.
This week the Secretary of State visited Germany and the Netherlands, on a fact finding mission to learn about the successes of technical education systems in these countries. The trip will help the DfE to evaluate the successes of our current system, as well as identify areas where we can improve and learn from fellow countries with productive and enterprising economies.
Unicef Report
Today, Friday 21 September, the Guardian reported on research by children’s charity Unicef which looks at how we are providing access to high quality education for refugee children and families in the UK.
The report finds that overall, the UK’s standards are high in the global context, and we are demonstrating good practice in this area.
Asylum seekers and refugees are eligible for funding for 16 to 19 education and training. We offer flexibility with admission arrangements, allowing students to start at different points in the year, and fund study programmes of 600 hours a year.
We also work with local authorities and NGOs to develop information for children and families reuniting under Dublin III regarding the help and support available to them.
A Government spokesperson said:
Unaccompanied asylum seeking and refugee children are looked after children, which means they are safeguarded and treated in the same way as any other looked after child. This includes being given top priority for admission to any state-funded school, an individual education plan and social worker as well as support to ensure their educational needs are met.
We are working with the Virtual Schools Heads Network to development tools and resources to support unaccompanied and refugee children. The DfE has also contributed £1.3m to local authorities to improve access to assessment and education for these vulnerable children.
Furthermore, young refugees and asylum seekers aged 16 to 18 are eligible for funding for up to 600 hours a year for education and training and are expected to combine learning English with a wider programme of study.
Sunemployment Roadshow
Today, Friday 21 September, the Sun posted a piece documenting the success stories of their annual employment roadshow.
The piece says that over 40 top firms attended the event, and more than 500 people found work as a result. It includes a supportive comment from Apprenticeships and Skills Minister Anne Milton underlining that you are never too young or too old to change careers or get into work.
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