During the COVID pandemic, schools have found new ways of working with children and, crucially, their families. This has far-reaching implications for how schools and policy-makers consider homeschool communication as a means of developing parental and community engagement in the future. The Institute of Education's project, "Learning Through…

COVID has highlighted significant weaknesses in how the education system in England is currently managed and resourced. England needs to build a more resilient education system post-pandemic. The Institute of Education's project, "Learning Through Disruption," set out to explore what headteachers, teachers, other school staff and parents…

Modern languages have always been about transition -- as practitioners, we challenge our students constantly to move between their own cultural and linguistic reference points and those of others. Our dynamic, interactive teaching methodologies have had to adapt to the pandemic context, necessitating the interrogation of past practice and…

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has led to the frequent closure of school buildings in most countries in the world and has interrupted the school attendance of at least 1.2 billion students in 2020 and 2021. Although many education systems are adapting to varying degrees, the pandemic is showing that countries' current learning infrastructures…

This briefing note is intended to prompt discussion on how to repair the fragilities in the education system that COVID has revealed. Over the length of our research project we have seen a gulf open up between government policy announcements and primary schools' experiences of the crisis on the ground (Bradbury, 2020). Our data show teachers, head…

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented disruption to higher education across the world. The World Bank estimated that, in April of this year, universities and other tertiary education institutions were closed in 175 countries and communities, and over 220 million post-secondary students had their studies significantly disrupted due to…

This report explores the links between trade unions and workplace training, and the potential benefits of social partnership in the skills system. The UK is relatively unusual in having no formal role for trade unions in the training system. In most advanced economies, trade unions and employers work alongside government in shaping the skills…

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted on all areas of society, including education. On 20 March 2020, the British Government ordered all schools to close to all pupils, except vulnerable children and the children of keyworkers (such as those working in public health, transport and supplying food). National examinations were also cancelled. As a…

When the British Government ordered all schools to close to the majority of pupils on March 20th, 2020, they were asked to provide on-site education for vulnerable pupils and the children of keyworkers (such as those working in public health, transport and supplying food). Since then, the level of school attendance for both vulnerable pupils and…

The COVID Social Mobility & Opportunities (COSMO) study is a new national cohort study generating high-quality evidence about how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected socio-economic inequalities in life chances, both in terms of short- and long-term effects on education, wellbeing, and career outcomes. A representative sample of young people in…

The COVID Social Mobility & Opportunities (COSMO) study is a new national cohort study generating high-quality evidence about how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected socio-economic inequalities in life chances, both in terms of short- and long-term effects on education, wellbeing, and career outcomes. A representative sample of young people in…

The pandemic has shown how important schools are as networks of support for children and families. Our project, "Learning Through Disruption," also shows that schools have a particularly vital role in addressing the needs of high poverty communities, both directly and indirectly. Yet this work goes largely unrecognised and underfunded.…

The challenges to education brought about by the pandemic provide an opportunity to take a fresh look at how universities in England can best deliver on access and participation and accelerate education recovery. With John Blake due to start as the new Director for Fair Access and Participation at the Office for Students (OfS) in early 2022, we…

This briefing note sets out key findings from our research based on tracking primary schools' responses to the crisis from lockdown onwards. The briefing is intended to help guide primary schools in supporting pupil learning going forward. Teachers' experiences of the COVID crisis have been hugely varied and influenced by the local circumstances…

The COVID pandemic has led to a prolonged period of educational disruption with few precedents from the recent past to guide recovery. The Institute of Education's project, "Learning Through Disruption," set out to explore the knowledge schools have acquired from working with children and families during the crisis. The authors found…