Children are receiving ‘life lessons' from influencers and AI
In a major speech at the Festival of Education, the Ofsted chief will say schools are places of 'refuge', connection, friendship and humanity for children.
Sir Martyn will tell the event at Wellington College, Berkshire: 'Right now, many children live much of their lives online.
'Socially, they are never 'off' and always in touch with their friends.
'And they increasingly receive life lessons from influencers or AI-generated summaries.
'I would argue that the place of learning, real learning, classroom learning – with human interaction – has never been more important.'
The Ofsted boss will add: 'In a way there's something cloistered about living one's life in a curated online environment.
'You may be able to find 'the best that has been thought or said' if you go looking for it.
'But who's guiding you through it? Where's the human connection? And of course, where's the protection?'
His comments come amid calls from the Conservatives for the Government to bring in a statutory ban on smartphones in schools.
Schools in England were given non-statutory Government guidance in February last year intended to stop the use of phones during the school day.
Sir Martyn will say: 'Schools have never just been places of learning.
'They were, and are places of safety, even refuge. Places of community and connection. Places of friendship and humanity.
'They are citadels of childhood: communities within communities looking after their own and helping children develop into well-rounded adults – capable of looking after others in turn.'
On Thursday, Sir Martyn will hit back at cynics who 'decry the norms of education' and who say Ofsted enforces an 'out-of-date, joyless system'.
In his speech, he will say: 'For Ofsted, teaching a full, rich range of subjects isn't just a nice to have, it's fundamental to a great education.
'Music and art and sport aren't add-ons to the core curriculum, they are some of the most important subjects to study, in terms of developing a child's awareness of the world around them.
'And in a more macro sense, feeding into the cultural evolution of our country and pushing civilisation on.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South Wales Argus
23 minutes ago
- South Wales Argus
MP likens Government to flat-earthers over refusal to compensate Waspi women
Labour's Rebecca Long Bailey said the arguments against compensation for the 1950s-born women are 'bizarre' and akin to those made by people who believe the Earth is flat. The Government last December ruled out a compensation package for women born in the 1950s, whose state pension age was raised so it would be equal with men. This is despite Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves being among the senior ministers to support the Waspi campaign when Labour was in opposition. A report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) had recommended the UK Government pay compensation to women born in the 1950s whose state pension age was raised so it would be equal with men. The watchdog also said the women should be paid up to £2,950 each, a package with a potential total cost of £10.5 billion to the public purse, as poor communication meant they had lost out on the chance to plan their retirement finances. The Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) group is currently seeking a judicial review to force the Government to reconsider its decision to rule out a compensation package. Work and pensions minister Torsten Bell, who is also a Treasury minister, said the Government does not agree with the Ombudsman's approach 'to injustice or to remedy'. Speaking in the Commons, Ms Long Bailey argued that 'cost does not need to be and should not be a barrier to justice', as she urged the Government to introduce a wealth tax to fund a compensation scheme. The MP for Salford said: 'I don't want (Mr Bell) to go down in history as the man who denied justice for the 1950s women, I honestly don't. I want to see action on this, and I want him to go down as the person who finally, finally managed to award them justice. 'But at the moment, he's got to understand that the arguments being put forward by the Government are absurd, to say the least. In fact, they're akin to somebody arguing that the world is flat, in denying the Ombudsman's report.' Waspi campaigners outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London (Haixin Tan/PA) Earlier in her contribution, the former Labour leadership candidate, who had called the debate, disputed the Government's assertion that the women knew the change was coming. She said: 'Whilst the Government agreed with the finding of maladministration and apologised, no redress would be forthcoming. 'And contrary to the Ombudsman, they actually felt that the majority of women did know about changes to their pension age, based on Department for Work and Pensions research, and that sending the women letters would not have been effective, which I'm sure most people would agree is bizarre. 'It's pretty effective when a bill addressed to you coming through your door comes through, it's pretty effective when it's a hospital appointment, it's pretty effective on the very rare but joyous occasion that HMRC gives you a tax rebate cheque. 'So, I ask, honestly, would 1950s-born women have actively refused to open letters with their name on from the DWP? It makes no sense.' Ms Long Bailey went on to say: 'In terms of options to make sure that schemes could be financially sustainable, Waspi have calculated that HM Treasury have saved a whopping £181 billion alone by increasing the state pension age. 'Well, there's other options, there's the option of applying a 1% to 2% wealth tax on assets over £10 million, raising up to £22 billion a year. Equalise capital gains tax with income tax rates, raising £15.2 billion a year. Apply national insurance to investment income, raising £8.6 billion a year. 'End stealth subsidies on banks, and you get up to £55 billion over the next five years, and even Gordon Brown has advocated for this. So cost does not need to be, and should not be, a barrier to justice.' During the debate, Independent MP for Hayes and Harlington, John McDonnell joked that the Government would soon be proscribing the Waspi group. On Wednesday, MPs supported legislation to proscribe the Palestine Action group as a terrorist organisation. Mr McDonnell said: 'I pay tribute to the campaign. A lot of those ladies have been patronised over the years, it was a terrific campaign. In fact, it was so terrific under this Government at the moment, they would probably be proscribed.' Responding to the debate, Mr Bell said: 'We agree that letters should have been sent sooner. We have apologised, and we will learn the lessons from that. 'However, as honourable members and campaigners on this issue are well aware, we do not agree with the Ombudsman's approach to injustice or to remedy.' He added: 'An important consideration when making this decision was that evidence showed that sending people unsolicited letters is unlikely (to) affect what they knew, which is why letters are sent, but they are sent as part of wider communication campaigns. 'This evidence was not properly considered by the Ombudsman. 'Another consideration was that the great majority of 1950s-born women were aware that the state pension age was changing, if not their specific state pension age.'
Western Telegraph
43 minutes ago
- Western Telegraph
MP likens Government to flat-earthers over refusal to compensate Waspi women
Labour's Rebecca Long Bailey said the arguments against compensation for the 1950s-born women are 'bizarre' and akin to those made by people who believe the Earth is flat. The Government last December ruled out a compensation package for women born in the 1950s, whose state pension age was raised so it would be equal with men. This is despite Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves being among the senior ministers to support the Waspi campaign when Labour was in opposition. A report by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) had recommended the UK Government pay compensation to women born in the 1950s whose state pension age was raised so it would be equal with men. The watchdog also said the women should be paid up to £2,950 each, a package with a potential total cost of £10.5 billion to the public purse, as poor communication meant they had lost out on the chance to plan their retirement finances. The Women Against State Pension Inequality (Waspi) group is currently seeking a judicial review to force the Government to reconsider its decision to rule out a compensation package. Work and pensions minister Torsten Bell, who is also a Treasury minister, said the Government does not agree with the Ombudsman's approach 'to injustice or to remedy'. Speaking in the Commons, Ms Long Bailey argued that 'cost does not need to be and should not be a barrier to justice', as she urged the Government to introduce a wealth tax to fund a compensation scheme. The MP for Salford said: 'I don't want (Mr Bell) to go down in history as the man who denied justice for the 1950s women, I honestly don't. I want to see action on this, and I want him to go down as the person who finally, finally managed to award them justice. 'But at the moment, he's got to understand that the arguments being put forward by the Government are absurd, to say the least. In fact, they're akin to somebody arguing that the world is flat, in denying the Ombudsman's report.' Waspi campaigners outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London (Haixin Tan/PA) Earlier in her contribution, the former Labour leadership candidate, who had called the debate, disputed the Government's assertion that the women knew the change was coming. She said: 'Whilst the Government agreed with the finding of maladministration and apologised, no redress would be forthcoming. 'And contrary to the Ombudsman, they actually felt that the majority of women did know about changes to their pension age, based on Department for Work and Pensions research, and that sending the women letters would not have been effective, which I'm sure most people would agree is bizarre. 'It's pretty effective when a bill addressed to you coming through your door comes through, it's pretty effective when it's a hospital appointment, it's pretty effective on the very rare but joyous occasion that HMRC gives you a tax rebate cheque. 'So, I ask, honestly, would 1950s-born women have actively refused to open letters with their name on from the DWP? It makes no sense.' Ms Long Bailey went on to say: 'In terms of options to make sure that schemes could be financially sustainable, Waspi have calculated that HM Treasury have saved a whopping £181 billion alone by increasing the state pension age. 'Well, there's other options, there's the option of applying a 1% to 2% wealth tax on assets over £10 million, raising up to £22 billion a year. Equalise capital gains tax with income tax rates, raising £15.2 billion a year. Apply national insurance to investment income, raising £8.6 billion a year. 'End stealth subsidies on banks, and you get up to £55 billion over the next five years, and even Gordon Brown has advocated for this. So cost does not need to be, and should not be, a barrier to justice.' During the debate, Independent MP for Hayes and Harlington, John McDonnell joked that the Government would soon be proscribing the Waspi group. On Wednesday, MPs supported legislation to proscribe the Palestine Action group as a terrorist organisation. Mr McDonnell said: 'I pay tribute to the campaign. A lot of those ladies have been patronised over the years, it was a terrific campaign. In fact, it was so terrific under this Government at the moment, they would probably be proscribed.' Responding to the debate, Mr Bell said: 'We agree that letters should have been sent sooner. We have apologised, and we will learn the lessons from that. 'However, as honourable members and campaigners on this issue are well aware, we do not agree with the Ombudsman's approach to injustice or to remedy.' He added: 'An important consideration when making this decision was that evidence showed that sending people unsolicited letters is unlikely (to) affect what they knew, which is why letters are sent, but they are sent as part of wider communication campaigns. 'This evidence was not properly considered by the Ombudsman. 'Another consideration was that the great majority of 1950s-born women were aware that the state pension age was changing, if not their specific state pension age.'
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Labour plans further Right to Buy restrictions in England
Newly-built social housing in England will be exempt from Right to Buy for 35 years, under government plans to further scale back the tenants will also have to live in their properties for much longer before qualifying for the scheme, which allows them to buy at a Minister Matthew Pennycook said it would help local authorities "protect much-needed social housing stock" and build new homes at the Conservatives branded the latest plans an "attack on aspiration". Introduced in 1980, Right to Buy became a signature policy of the Thatcher government and was initially credited with increasing rates of home in recent years the policy has been blamed for depleting council housing stock, after successive governments failed to replace properties sold under the scheme, often at a significant was abolished in Scotland in 2014, with Wales following in coming to power last year, Labour has stopped short of doing the same in England, but has significantly pared back the policy as part of broader plans to boost affordable November's Budget, it slashed the maximum discounts available to tenants to between £16,000-£38,000, down from £102,400 to £136,400. Discount rates Now it has confirmed new social homes will be exempt from the scheme for 35 years - longer than the 10 to 30 years suggested in a policy paper ahead of a two-month consultation earlier this government said the longer period would ensure councils do not lose homes before they can recover costs from building them - noting the "payback period" on most new developments is at least 30 has also announced new discount rates to sit alongside the cash caps announced at the the plans, discounts will start at 5% of a property's value, down from 35% for houses and 50% for flats now, social tenants will still be able to increase this discount by 1% for every year they live in their property, but only up to a new maximum of 15% of the home's value or the new cash cap, whichever is will also have to have lived in their properties for at least ten years before qualifying, up from three years government says the changes will require changes to legislation, to be delivered "when parliamentary time allows". 'Unsustainable' The government has also confirmed it will not be extending Right to Buy to housing association tenants - an idea previously suggested by Boris Johnson shortly before he was ousted by his own MPs in move was welcomed by the National Housing Federation, which represents housing associations, which added that losses in local authority stock had been "unsustainable".The moves to further restrict Right to Buy are likely to be welcomed by the Local Government Association, which has previously warned that replacing sold-off homes was becoming "increasingly impossible" for councils it had been pushing for a longer 15-year qualifying period, and more flexibility for councils to set their own minimum discounts, including the option of not offering any initial discount to new tenants. However, Conservative shadow housing secretary Kevin Hollinrake accused Labour of "turning its back on the very families who work hard and want a stake in their future"."For decades, Right to Buy has helped millions take their first step onto the housing ladder. Now, this government is making it harder than ever to own a home," he added. Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to keep up with the inner workings of Westminster and beyond.
