The Education Foundation

Last updated
The Education Foundation
Formation2011;13 years ago (2011)
TypeEducation Think Tank
Location
Website www.ednfoundation.org

The Education Foundation is a cross-sector UK think tank, created in 2011, based in London and focused on education reform, technology & innovation. It was co-founded by Ty Goddard and Ian Fordham and its efforts have been recognized by former Prime Minister David Cameron, [1] and Rt Hon Michael Gove, former Secretary of State for Education. The Educational Foundation was described by Tristram Hunt MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Education, as being "at the cutting edge of innovation and reform [2] "

Contents

The Education Foundation describes itself as the UK's first cross-party, cross-sector education think tank.[ citation needed ]

History

The Education Foundation was set up in 2011 by Goddard and Fordham. Before founding the Education Foundation, Goddard worked in the private (including founder and director of the British Council for School Environments; Managing Director of School Works) and political sectors (adviser for the Department for Children, Schools and Families on Extended Schools, Chair of Education at Lambeth Council, member of the Labour Party Schools to Work Commission Inquiry). Fordham is a former secondary school teacher, Deputy Director of the British Council for School Environments, and Head of Policy for ContinYou along with serving on government committees, work groups, and commissions. The two have more than 30 years of education experience between them.[ citation needed ]

The pair founded the Education Foundation to provide non-partisan education reform advocacy and "inform the debate through a range of research and practical projects." Since its inception, the group has focused on encouraging education reform across the United Kingdom,

The group has organised numerous policy events, conferences, summits, and roundtables covering subjects ranging from technology and teaching to school design and management. These events have featured industry leaders, teachers, and international experts, including a discussion on MOOCs and online learning [3] with the founder of edX Dr. Anant Agarwal. The group has also produced a number of reports reviewing the impact of digital learning on schools and colleges and providing recommendations to encourage meaningful reform in the UK. Last year, it released the Facebook Guide for Teachers, based on research at Wellington College and the London Nautical School. [4]

Initiatives

The Education Reform Summit was launched by the Education Foundation in 2014 and co-hosted by the Department for Education & the Secretary of State for Education. The summit brought together leaders from across the political spectrum, including the Mayor of London Boris Johnson, Tristram Hunt MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Education and education ministers and leaders from across the world. The Rt. Hon Michael Gove, former Secretary of State for Education delivered one of the keynotes, saying, "For the next generation to flourish, education systems must equip every child with the knowledge and skills, the qualifications and confidence they need to succeed." [5]

EdTech Incubator is the first UK education technology accelerator programme, co-run by the Education Foundation and Tech City UK. Started in 2013, the programme hosted EdTech clubs for Tech City & leading technology companies and students, schools, colleges, universities and startups in London and across the country. It also hosted its first cohort of edtech startups in 2014.

Senior staff

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tristram Hunt</span> British historian, politician, and journalist

Tristram Julian William Hunt, is a British historian, broadcast journalist and former politician who has been Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum since 2017. He served as the Labour Member of Parliament (MP) for Stoke-on-Trent Central from 2010 to 2017, and Shadow Secretary of State for Education from 2013 to 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Milburn</span> British politician (born 1958)

Alan Milburn is a British politician who was Member of Parliament (MP) for Darlington from 1992 to 2010. A member of the Labour Party, he served for five years in the Cabinet, first as Chief Secretary to the Treasury from 1998 to 1999, and subsequently as Secretary of State for Health until 2003, when he resigned. He briefly rejoined the Cabinet as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in order to manage Labour's 2005 re-election campaign. He did not seek re-election in the 2010 election. Milburn was chair of the Social Mobility Commission from 2012 to 2017. Since 2015, he has been Chancellor of Lancaster University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Secretary of State for Education</span> Member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom

The secretary of state for education, also referred to as the education secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department for Education. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Secretary of State for Justice</span> Member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom

The Secretary of State for Justice is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Ministry of Justice. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. Since the office's inception, the incumbent has concurrently been appointed Lord Chancellor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Gove</span> British politician (born 1967)

Michael Andrew Gove is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations since October 2022, having previously held both offices from September 2021 to July 2022. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Surrey Heath since 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities</span> Member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom

The secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, also referred to as the levelling up secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, and Cabinet minister, responsible for the overall leadership and strategic direction of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). They are responsible for local government in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Academy (English school)</span> Type of independent state school in England

An academy school in England is a state-funded school which is directly funded by the Department for Education and independent of local authority control. The terms of the arrangements are set out in individual Academy Funding Agreements. 80% of secondary schools, 40% of primary schools and 44% of special schools are academies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Education in Victoria</span> Overview of the education in Victoria, Australia

Education in Victoria, Australia is supervised by the Department of Education and Training (DET), which is part of the State Government and whose role is to "provide policy and planning advice for the delivery of education". It acts as advisor to two state ministers, that for Education and for Children and Early Childhood Development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingsford Community School</span> Community school in Beckton, London, England

Kingsford Community School is a secondary school in Beckton in the London Borough of Newham, East London, England. It opened in September 2000, and educates full-time students from the ages of 11 to 16. The current headteacher is Joan Deslandes, who was appointed an OBE in 2017 in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for her services to education.

The Institute for Learning (IfL) was a voluntary membership, UK professional body. It ceased operating on 31 October 2014. Although precise membership figures and statistical details had been removed from IfL's webpage prior to its closure, at the end of financial year 2013-2014 IfL were reported as having only 33,500 of their 200,000 members remaining.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BETT</span> Educational technology trade exhibition

Bett or The Bett Show is a global series of education shows organised by Hyve Group marketing information technology in education. The flagship show is located in the UK, with satellite events in Asia & Brasil. Bett is also the global community for education technology, which hosts webinars, CPD sessions and publish articles from the leaders in education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Barber (educationist)</span>

Sir Michael Bayldon Barber is a British former public servant and educationist known for serving as Head of the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit under Tony Blair’s government. He was knighted in 2005 for his contributions. He is the founder and chairman of Delivery Associates, a global advisory firm.

The North of England Education Conference (NEEC) was the UK’s biggest annual education conference. The first Conference took place in Manchester in 1903. The event provided an opportunity for senior decision makers in education, Children’s Services, the public sector, associated agencies and organisations to meet and consider the latest thinking and legislation affecting children and young people. In recent years the scope of the conference had expanded to encompass the broader children’s services agenda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shadow Secretary of State for Education</span>

The Shadow Secretary of State for Education, also called the Shadow Education Secretary, is an office in the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet responsible for Opposition policy on education and for holding the Secretary of State for Education, junior education ministers, and the Department for Education to account.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Discovery New School</span> Free school in Crawley, West Sussex, England

Discovery New School was a co-educational Montessori free school for pupils aged 4 to 10 located in Crawley, West Sussex. The school opened in September 2011 as one of the first free schools in the country and also the first Montessori free school. The school was funded directly by central government and had a planned intake of 16 pupils per year. Although the school adopted Montessori methods, the Montessori Schools Association (MSA) later said that they were refused permission to oversee the introduction of its teaching methods and had "warned the DfE of the school's likely failure" in 2010 before the school opened. Philip Bujak, chief executive of the MSA, said: "We were ignored completely." Martin Bradley, chairman of the MSA, said: "The Montessori Schools Association has had limited contact with the school from the start of the scheme. We suggested that they seek accreditation, but they did not."

Manju Bharat Ram was an Indian educationist, who was the founder, chairperson of the managing committee and member of the board of trustees of The Shri Ram Schools, New Delhi; ranked as India's No. 1 day school by Education World’s Schools survey in 2008, 2009 and 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simone Finn, Baroness Finn</span> British businesswoman and peer

Simone Jari Finn, Baroness Finn is a businesswoman and British-American Conservative politician who served as Downing Street Deputy Chief of Staff from February 2021 until the end of the second Johnson Ministry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Society for Technology in Education</span> Nonprofit organization

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) is a nonprofit organization that focuses on accelerating innovation in education through the smart use of technology in education. ISTE provides a variety of services to support professional learning for educators and education leaders, including ISTELive—an ed tech event, the ISTE Standards for learning, teaching and leading with technology, and ISTE Certification. ISTE also provides a suite of professional learning resources, including webinars, online courses, consulting services, books, and peer-reviewed journals and publications.

Bob Moon is Emeritus Professor of Education at The Open University (UK). The main focus of his career has been the research, design and development of new models of teacher education in the United Kingdom and more widely. In 2009, he was made a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences. In 2018, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in The Queen’s Birthday Honours List for his work on education in developing countries.

Conor Ryan is an Irish-born UK-based independent writer and consultant, a former senior civil servant, and adviser who was until June 2023 the Director of External Relations at the Office for Students, a non-departmental public body of the British Department for Education. He served as a special adviser and the senior education adviser to British Secretary of State for Education and Employment David Blunkett from 1997 to 2001 and then to British Prime Minister Tony Blair from 2005 to 2007.

References

  1. "UK Hosts Education Reform Summit". Twitter.com. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  2. "Tristram Hunt MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Education on 2014 Education Reform Summit".
  3. "Online Learning is the 'Blackboard of the Future'" . www.independent.co.uk. The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-06-18. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  4. "Facebook Teachers' Guide launched". The Telegraph. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  5. "Michael Gove Speaks About the Future of Education Reform". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 15 January 2015.