How Has Education Changed Over 15 Years?

Change, what change?

How has education evolved, improved or altered in the last 15 years?

Continuing our theme of 15 years (in honour of Lexonik’s anniversary), we thought we’d take a look back at what’s been happening to the UK education system in the last decade and a half.

We reached out to a number of our teaching colleagues, our former education comrades, and those we now interact with frequently as clients.

It would be fair to say that some were a little cynical or sceptical.

Some felt very little had changed.

Others made some really pertinent points about the way in which the system does seem to have addressed mental health and wellbeing to a far better extent, and, of course, how Covid saw the education landscape change dramatically when it was forced to embrace technology and remote learning.

Here are some of our top considerations, but do let us know what you think. 

1. Curriculum Reforms

National Curriculum Changes: The National Curriculum in England was reformed, with significant changes introduced in 2014.

The curriculum raised the expectations for what students should know at each key stage and placed emphasis on grammar, spelling, and arithmetic.

EBacc: The English Baccalaureate (EBacc) arrived in 2010 as a measure for schools, encouraging students to study a core set of academic subjects: English, mathematics, sciences, a language, and history or geography.

Meanwhile, Scotland introduced The Curriculum for Excellence in 2010, with the aim of supporting young people to become successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors. This holistic approach is unique in the UK in formally recognising the importance of literacy, numeracy, and health and wellbeing across the curriculum – so much so that all registered teachers in Scotland have a responsibility to develop these skills in learners by embedding them into their subject teaching.

2. Assessment and Exams

GCSE and A-Levels: GCSEs moved from a modular to a linear format, with exams taken at the end of the course. The grading system was also changed from A*-G to a numerical system of 9-1.

A-Levels also moved to a linear format, with AS levels decoupled.

Primary Assessment Changes: SATs in primary schools saw changes, including a revised focus on English and maths and the introduction of a grammar, punctuation, and spelling test (SPaG).

3. Academisation and Free Schools

Growth of Academies: The Academies Act 2010 played a role in seeing more academies arrive.

Free Schools: Following their introduction in 2011, free schools continued to emerge in parts of the country, driven by organisations, community groups or parents.

4. School Accountability

Ofsted Framework: The issue of Ofsted inspection and its framework continues to be a hot topic. It’s seen multiple revisions in the last 15 years, but the ‘single word’ assessment will remain a matter of discussion.

Education Scotland, which is responsible for school inspections in Scotland, updated their key indicators in the publication of the 4th edition of How Good is Our School (HGIOS 4) in 2015. Most notably, with a focus explicitly on making a strong contribution to improving attainment for all whilst also making a decisive shift towards closing the gap in attainment and achievement between the most disadvantaged children and their peers, this means a strengthened focus on equality, wellbeing and skills for learning, life and work.

5. Funding and Resources

School Funding: School funding remains a contentious issue, with debates over the adequacy and fairness of funding. There have been reforms to the funding formula, but many schools have reported budget pressures, leading to cuts in staff and resources.

Pupil Premium: Introduced in 2011, the Pupil Premium has been the subject of much attention, with its intention of closing the attainment gap.

In Scotland, there has been an increased focus on "closing the gap", and the Scottish Attainment Challenge (SAC) was introduced in 2015 to help achieve equity in educational outcomes, with a particular focus on closing the poverty-related attainment gap.

6. Technology and Digital Learning

Increased Use of Tech: COVID ensured a gamechanger of a time when it came to how education embraced tech.

Online learning platforms, digital assessments, and the use of data analytics to track student progress have become more common.

EdTech Initiatives: The government has supported various EdTech initiatives to enhance digital learning, though the integration and effectiveness have varied across schools.

7. Focus on Wellbeing and Mental Health

Mental Health Awareness: There has been growing awareness of the importance of mental health in schools, with initiatives to support students' emotional wellbeing.

Life Skills: Some schools have introduced or expanded life skills education, covering topics like mental health, first aid, relationships, and financial literacy.

8. Diversity and Inclusion

Special Educational Needs (SEN) Reforms: The Children and Families Act 2014 introduced significant reforms for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), including the replacement of Statements of SEN with Education, Health, and Care Plans (EHCPs).

Equality and Anti-Racism: Schools have been increasingly focused on promoting equality and diversity, with a stronger emphasis on anti-racism education following global movements like Black Lives Matter.

9. Further Education and Apprenticeships

Apprenticeship Reforms: The introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy in 2017 aimed to increase the number of apprenticeships and improve their quality.

T-Levels: Introduced in 2020, T-Levels offer an alternative to A-Levels for students interested in technical and vocational education.

10. Impact of COVID

Worthy of a point in its own right, the pandemic has certainly ensured significant change in the education environment.

Not only is that seen in the use of tech (as referenced earlier), but in the fact that the government introduced various catch-up initiatives to seek to recover lost learning, and that we now see far more home-educated youngsters.

Keep an eye out for more announcements, suggestions and debates on what is introduced by way of a post-Covid strategy, Scotland have a number of scenarios on the table which could include a very different approach to examining.

Arguably, by going through the pandemic, educational policy and society’s attitude to and understanding of the schooling system has changed forever.

11. A Cultural Shift: Knowledge Share and Evidence Informed Practice

Ending this list on one great positive, is the contribution offered by the incredibly passionate and insightful, Jennifer Webb (known as Funky Pedgaogy).

When asked what she identifies as changes within the last 15 years, she’s quick to cite the likes of knowledge sharing and a genuine evolution in the culture which sits across education.

She specifically refers to the move toward progress measures in KS4 as having been a positive one – removing the obsession with headline figures.

A very big thank you to all who contributed. We’ll no doubt look to revisit this soon, but in the meantime, please do feel free to get in touch with us with your thoughts.

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