Ministers have unveiled two new research centres, at a cost of £6 million, to help the government make important decisions about education policy.
For the first time, they will work with some of the UK’s leading researchers in long-term partnerships to establish good practice grounded in what works best for children, from early years to adulthood.
One of the new institutions will be the Educational Neuroscience Policy Research Centre which will examine how neuroscience can help to identify children with SEND earlier.
It will also keep track of how AI is changing how children learn, and what the science of learning tells us about supporting pupils’ mental health.
This centre will bring together experts from nine universities including UCL, Birkbeck, Oxford, Cambridge and Bristol, with a remit to provide ministers and officials with rapid, reliable evidence.
Decisions should be rooted in what the evidence tells us actually works for children and young people
The second will be the Educational Economics Research Centre, which will consider the economic and social benefits of education, and will comprise experts from UCL, the London School of Economics and the Institute of Fiscal Studies.
The centre will build tools to assess how policy can be shaped to ensure disadvantaged and hard-to-reach pupils do not fall through the cracks of the education system.
The Department for Education said the centres “mark a deliberate shift in how DfE engages with research – moving towards an ongoing, strategic partnership with academia that keeps pace with the real challenges facing schools, families and children”.
Olivia Bailey (pictured), the early education minister, said: “Decisions should of course be rooted in what the evidence tells us actually works for children and young people.
“These new centres will help us do exactly that – bringing together some of the best minds in the country to make sure our reforms on SEND, early years, and children’s mental health are built on solid foundations, and that we understand the long-term value of the choices we make.”
Michael Thomas, chief scientific adviser at the DfE, said: “To make the best decisions for children and young people, we need a clear understanding of how they learn, and rigorous evidence of what works.
“These centres will give us both – bringing together the best of neuroscience and economics across two focused centres to put a stronger evidence base at the heart of education policy.”
