Weekly Briefing for STEM Educators (21–27 May 2025)
Curated News, Insights, and Reflections for the UK Teaching Community
As summer half-term creeps in and exam season ramps up, this week’s education news brings a mix of funding shifts, policy updates, innovative pedagogy, and enduring challenges across the education spectrum. STEM educators will find plenty of thought-provoking content to reflect on—from digital skills and AI to neurodiversity, funding changes, and new Ofsted frameworks. Here’s what’s shaping your world this week.
🎓 Policy & Funding: New Directions and Budget Battles
📉 Level 7 Apprenticeship Funding to End
The Department for Education (DfE) will phase out funding for Level 7 apprenticeships from January 2026, in favour of boosting lower-level skills training. While this shift aims to widen access to vocational pathways, many worry about how this impacts progression routes for advanced learners.
🔗 Read more on FE Week
💷 4% Teacher Pay Rise Confirmed, but Who Pays?
The DfE confirmed a 4% rise in teacher salaries, which is broadly welcomed. However, schools will shoulder 25% of the cost, intensifying existing budget pressures.
🔗 Read more on Tes
🔗 Schools Week coverage
🌱 £80m Green Skills Fund Lost
Efforts to decarbonise schools may falter after the low-carbon skills fund was cut. Consultants warn this could stall efforts to make schools environmentally sustainable—an especially disappointing blow for STEM and climate education.
🔗 Read more on Schools Week
🧠 Inclusive Education & Wellbeing
🧩 Neurodiversity Training for Teachers Proposed
A BBC article highlights proposals requiring teachers to undergo neurodiversity training. The idea is to increase classroom inclusivity and better support students with SEND.
🔗 Read more on BBC
🎤 Pupil Voice in the Spotlight
A piece in Tes cautions against tokenistic approaches to student voice initiatives, urging schools to consider meaningful structures that empower learners to co-create school life.
🔗 Read more on Tes
🛠️ Skills & Vocational Training
🧮 Digital & AI Skills Lacking in FE Curriculums
Despite growing market demand, FE Week reports that colleges are still under-delivering on AI-related education. There's a call to upskill staff and integrate more digital fluency into STEM curriculums.
🔗 Read more on FE Week
🔧 TikTok Meets Trowel: Social Media for Skills Careers
Could TikTok be a pipeline to the construction industry? An FE Week op-ed suggests embracing creative outreach to make traditionally 'unpopular' sectors more accessible.
🔗 Read more
🔬 STEM Classroom Focus
💬 Speech and Language Interventions Extended (With Less Funding)
Both the DfE and EEF announced continued funding for speech and language pilots, essential for early-years language development—but the pot is shrinking.
🔗 Tes coverage
🔗 EEF announcement
🧪 SEND Reforms Stir Sector Backlash
A deep-dive from Schools Week details growing concerns that SEND reforms might complicate or reduce access to EHCPs. This is key for STEM teachers, as it impacts support for learners in science labs and tech suites.
🔗 Read the long read
🧾 Assessment & Accountability
🎓 Exam Marking Unfairness Exposed
Tes analysis exposes inconsistencies in exam review procedures, with disadvantaged schools hit hardest. STEM teachers should reflect on how marking bias may affect high-stakes subjects like Maths and Science.
🔗 Read more
📊 New Ofsted 'Report Cards' Too Short for Insight?
A new format for Ofsted inspections—meant to provide streamlined feedback—has been criticised as “too short to form a reliable judgement.”
🔗 Tes report
🌍 Wider Issues with Local Relevance
📉 Youth NEET Levels Alarmingly High
FE Week and the BBC both spotlight the UK's stubborn NEET rates—with almost 1 in 8 young people out of education, employment, or training. This underscores the urgent need for vocational pathways and meaningful STEM opportunities.
🔗 BBC coverage
🔗 FE Week article
🎟️ Creative Incentives to Boost Attendance
A feature by Schools Week looks at how cinema trips and summer school programmes are helping some schools buck the national trend in attendance.
🔗 Read more
🧠 Reflections & Actions for STEM Educators
As you reflect on the week’s news, here are some questions and ideas to take into your departmental meetings, CPD sessions, or lesson planning:
1. STEM and Sustainability
With green funding pulled, how can STEM departments continue to embed environmental science and sustainability in hands-on, meaningful ways?
2. Digital and AI Readiness
Is your department equipped to teach digital fluency and AI literacy? What training or curriculum adaptations might help you catch up?
3. Neurodiversity & Inclusion
How inclusive is your classroom for neurodivergent learners in practical STEM lessons? Have you explored adaptive strategies beyond traditional differentiation?
4. Addressing NEET
Can your STEM programme create clearer links to employment pathways? Think about career talks, alumni stories, or employer partnerships.
✅ Final Thought
This week’s education headlines offer a clear message: while funding debates and accountability pressures persist, innovation, inclusion, and inspiration still thrive in schools and colleges. Whether it's using TikTok for construction careers or battling SEND reform fatigue, STEM educators are at the heart of turning policy into practice.
Thanks for reading this week’s digest. If you found it useful, consider sharing it with your colleagues or STEM network. Let’s keep the conversation going!
Note: This blog post is an AI curated summary of news articles from various sources. The aim is to provide educators with a comprehensive overview of recent developments in the education sector. All hyperlinks direct readers to the original news articles for further reading.