Education Secretary speech at Education World Forum 2024
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan's address at the Education World Forum in London.
Good afternoon, and welcome to education world forum 2024.鈥�
It鈥檚 wonderful to be back and spending this time together as education world forum was a genuine highlight for me last year.鈥疘t鈥檚 good to see so many familiar faces.聽
This forum is about sharing the best of what we do.鈥��
As a global community, we face many similar challenges in education.鈥��
Some are the after-effects of covid.鈥�疧thers stem from rapid advances in technology. And then there鈥檚 climate change:鈥�痟ow do we build a sustainable world for future generations?鈥��
The answer is clear: share what you know works.鈥��
Whilst our countries and cultures are unique, we can all learn from each other.鈥���
The UK government has done this in education in the last decade, with some great results.鈥���
As a country, we weren鈥檛 always known for our maths prowess.鈥�
English pupils ranked 27th in the world for maths in 2009, according to PISA.鈥��
We turned to Singapore, a high performer, for advice on raising our standards.鈥��
Their maths mastery technique had been shown to deliver high attainment in鈥痬ixed-ability classes.鈥��
So we introduced it.鈥��
Nine years later we鈥檇 climbed to 17th in world.鈥��
And in the PISA rankings released last year, we鈥檇 reached 11th in the world.鈥�
I鈥檓 not here to tell you how good we are at maths 鈥� though I鈥檒l happily give credit for that to our brilliant teachers and school leaders.鈥���
My point is: if you ask around and share what works, things can and will get better.鈥��
For some problems, we need to ask, where is the evidence pointing?鈥��
Let鈥檚 head in that direction.鈥�
It鈥檚 something to think about when we鈥檙e examining the big challenges in education over the next few days.鈥��
Let鈥檚 look at an example of data-driven change.鈥�
One where the right technology has made a fundamental difference.鈥�
Covid was a shared experience.鈥�
And together we鈥檙e facing the same post-covid challenges - particularly in pupil absence from school.鈥�
Regular school attendance isn鈥檛 just about children鈥檚 daily learning.鈥��
It boosts their sociability, wellbeing and their development.鈥��
We recognised this over a decade ago, and we worked hard to improve attendance.鈥��
Between 2010 and 2020, absences in English schools fell from 6% to 4.8%, representing 15 million more days in school per year.鈥�
But along with so much else, covid stole our progress.鈥�
And I know there鈥檚 a lot of agreement in this room, because school systems worldwide are affected. The causes are complex, but the outcomes are the same.鈥�
Less time in school equals poorer outcomes for children.鈥�
We鈥檝e tackled this problem by upgrading and expanding our data collection. This allows us to see the shape of the problem.鈥��
Is it a lot of children missing the odd day, or a small number of children missing weeks, or is it both?鈥�
Starting with just a few schools in spring 2021, we now have a detailed, daily picture of absence across the country.鈥��
I can look at a school in Liverpool in the North of England, like the one I attended, and see the attendance levels for every class.鈥��
In fact from September, I will be able to look at any class, in any school,鈥痑cross the whole country,鈥痮n any day, in real time.鈥�
What a fantastic tool.鈥�疊ecause once you have the information, you can act on it.鈥�
That鈥檚 why we鈥檝e made the data available to all schools and local authorities.鈥��
Education leaders can now see the full picture in their area, identify persistent or emerging patterns and take action.聽聽
It is that that has helped us understand, for example, that attendance drops when children move into the second year of secondary school 鈥� particularly for girls. We are now working with schools to target this pattern.鈥�
We鈥檙e publishing the local and national data, because we want to encourage regional comparisons and collaboration to find what works. It comes back to what I said earlier. There are ways forward, and they need to be shared.鈥�
This problem should not be labelled as inevitable or as unsolvable.鈥��
Thanks to these measures, and the hard work of school leaders, our plan is working. New data shows that 375,000 more children across all year groups were in school almost every day last year.鈥�
The organisation for economic co-operation and development recognised our efforts in a policy paper published last month,鈥痗alling it a comprehensive strategy.鈥��
There is more to do, with absence remaining higher than before the pandemic.鈥��
But once you can measure a problem you can start to solve it.鈥��
We鈥檝e begun discussing our findings with our friends in New Zealand, and are keen to share them with any delegation here who鈥檇 find them useful.鈥��
Just a few years ago, such real-time data collection would have been science fiction, but technology continues to rapidly change the way we live.鈥��
Artificial intelligence will likewise transform our lives.鈥�犅�
But I agree with the great British AI pioneer Demis Hassabis, who says:聽聽
鈥淵ou look at today, us using all of our smartphones and other devices鈥�� we effortlessly adapt to these new technologies.鈥疉I is going to be another one of those changes, just like that.鈥濃���
We are already starting to use AI unthinkingly, as an integral part of daily life. But it can also be used to overcome some of the biggest challenges in education.鈥��
How do we know which tools will make that difference?鈥��
As with attendance, we need to the gather data and evidence that points towards effective interventions.鈥�
That鈥檚 why we established the education endowment foundation in 2011.鈥�
They are currently testing how AI can be used effectively to enhance primary school children鈥檚 outcomes.鈥�
This is a vibrant market, with lots of companies coming to the table with鈥�疉I-based education solutions.鈥��
Maths-Whizz, an online tutoring programme, will be evaluated on how much it helps six- to ten-year-olds improve their numeracy.鈥��
Another, DreamBox Reading Plus, supports children鈥檚 fluency, comprehension and vocabulary via an online programme.鈥�
I know from my 30 years in international business that you only get ahead if you get in early. AI is too great an opportunity to leave to Silicon Valley alone.鈥��
We are getting ahead by making sure that the AI used in schools really works and suits our needs. Last year I attended a 2 day hackathon for teachers to road test鈥疉I tools in real world scenarios. After all, they know what truly works in our classrooms.鈥��
And Oak National Academy, our independent鈥痯rovider of resources to support curriculum delivery in England, is developing鈥痑 new AI-powered lesson planning tool.鈥犫�燭his 鈥楢I Lesson Assistant鈥� called Aila is being designed to help teachers create and adapt their teaching resources, saving them valuable time.鈥��
Unlike generic large language models, it is being trained specifically on the English national curriculum and on Oak鈥檚 own resources. This will ensure the lessons produced are of high quality and tailored to the English context.鈥�
This is where the best evidence for educational AI has taken us so far.鈥��
And we鈥檙e keen to share what we鈥檝e learned, so other education systems can benefit from our insights and we can work together.鈥�
Safety matters as much as effectiveness, as the prime minister made clear at the last year鈥檚 global AI safety summit. It鈥檚 why we鈥檝e introduced the AI safety institute, so that no country is caught off-guard by its rapid advance.鈥��
Our department for science and innovation is currently hosting a virtual AI summit with South Korea 鈥� because only by sharing national developments through international dialogue will we stay on top of developments in this field.鈥�
Of the challenges I鈥檝e referred to, none is more urgent than climate change.鈥��
Education needs to play its part, giving children a broad understanding of a clean, sustainable future. That鈥檚 why we launched the UK Sustainability and climate change strategy in 2022, setting out the education system鈥檚 crucial role in tackling climate change.鈥�
Today I am announcing the extension of the UK鈥檚 climate ambassadors scheme. Regional climate ambassadors currently help schools and colleges鈥痙raw-up climate action plans and improve their sustainability. Over the next two years we will recruit over 1000 volunteers as climate ambassadors, to support over 2,500 education settings.鈥��
Our national education nature park scheme allows each school site to see themselves as a contributing part of the biodiversity and climate resilience of the country鈥檚 collective education campus.鈥�
Like countries participating in international climate discussions, we want schools to see themselves as part of a broader whole. These networks are designed to get them sharing ideas and trading creative solutions.鈥��
Our COP26 presidency brought education and environment ministers together for the first time, securing commitment to closer collaboration. On the international stage, we鈥檙e working closely with partners to drive change.鈥��
Sharing our solutions is the solution to unblocking climate change challenges.鈥�
We worked closely with UNESCO to develop the greening education partnership, which launched at COP27. Over 80 countries and 1000 organisations are now members, co-ordinating climate change action and promoting sustainable development though education. If your nation has yet to sign-up, please talk to UK ministers and officials about what we can achieve together through the partnership.鈥��
Education as a climate change solution was a central theme at COP28.聽聽
There we launched the education and climate declaration, together with UNESCO and the global partnership for education. Over 40 countries endorsed it prior to launch, demonstrating their commitment to build climate-smart education.鈥��
We hope education will continue to be a prominent theme at COP29 in Baku鈥�� and at future COPs 鈥� providing a broader approach to a problem that today鈥檚 pupils will inherit.鈥��
Sharing and developing big ideas is something we also encourage closer to home.鈥�
We are home to some of the world鈥檚 top universities, who benefit from strong international ties. Indeed, the UK has educated 58 current and recent world leaders.聽
We have four of the global top 10 universities, and 17 in the top 100.鈥��
Students travel from over 200 nations to study here. And our universities lead the world in producing valuable research: we rank 1st in the G7 for publications鈥� impact.鈥�
The UK remains the destination of choice for many students. Attracting the brightest from around the world is good for our universities, and supports the creation of more places for domestic students.鈥�
Of course, studying abroad is expensive and out-of-reach for many.鈥��
Transnational education eliminates the need to travel for a UK degree.鈥��
Demand for it is growing; in 2021-22, 160 UK universities delivered transnational education to over 550,000 students in more than 200 countries and territories.鈥��
It鈥檚 a solution that鈥檚 successfully unlocking the global potential of British institutions, and giving broader access to educational opportunities.鈥��
To support this, the sector has today published a document on our offer to international partners. Entitled 鈥榰nlocking global potential: UK education and skills international offer鈥�, it鈥檚 essential reading for any country considering future partnerships with our education institutions.鈥�
In the last few years, we鈥檝e talked a lot about the pandemic.鈥��
We鈥檝e now moved beyond the covid crisis, and our immediate response.鈥��
But there are still challenges that remain, including children鈥檚 mental health鈥痑nd school attendance.鈥��
These are joined by the other great issues of our age:鈥痠ntroducing children to technology safely 鈥� whilst not allowing it to damage or dominate their lives.鈥��
And accelerating climate action and awareness to preserve their future world.鈥�
We come from different countries, but we share many fundamental aims.鈥��
We want children to get the most out of their education 鈥� whatever barriers they face.鈥�
How do we limit the impact of the challenges mentioned above?鈥�
Remember the story of maths in England over the last decade.鈥�
Sharing what is known to work can overcome stubborn problems and spread success.鈥��
Real change is hard.鈥疊ut someone showing you a proven way forward, guided by good evidence, can make it easier.鈥�
We have worked together successfully in the past.鈥�
This is how we must tackle the current and upcoming education challenges of this century.鈥�
鈥� As Malala Yousafzai has said:鈥�
鈥淭here are many problems, but I think there is a solution to all these problems.鈥疘t鈥檚 just one, and it鈥檚 education.鈥澛�
As we gather together to discuss education solutions this week,鈥痳emember to share what you鈥檝e seen work in your country.鈥�
Children鈥檚 futures rely on all of our solutions.鈥�
Thank you.