“Our ambition is for every young person to grow up happy, healthy and fulfilled”
- an excellent opening sentiment from our guest, Munira Wilson MP (Education Spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats), at the second instalment of the Edge Foundation’s Youth Voice Roundtable. The aim of this series is to bring together a diverse set of young people and politicians to discuss young people’s experience of education. Chaired by youth voice activist and CEO of Pupil Power, Aliyah York, this session explored three key areas:
What should the purpose of education be?
How has the Covid-19 pandemic impacted mental health and motivation in young people?
What should be the priorities for the new Education Secretary of State?
Here’s a summary of what our amazing young people had to say:
To kick off the session, we asked attendees to share their opinions on what the core purpose of education should be. For some, education is all about preparing for later life. This includes developing the soft skills necessary for the workplace, learning how to be financially literate and gaining awareness of the different pathways and opportunities available to them. Others remarked that education should serve a strong social role rather than just focusing on examinations and grades. As stated by one of our attendees, “my favourite part of school is taking part in clubs and volunteering as I feel like I am learning new skills, meeting new people and contributing to my community”. Another individual commented that “education is the greatest equaliser that the majority of people in the UK have access to” and, when done correctly,” has the potential to create life-changing opportunities”. It’s evident from this diverse set of answers that the purpose of our education system is much greater than facilitating academic achievements alone; we must ensure that our young people’s education experiences enable exploration and instil the fundamental skills which will set them up for the workplace and wider life.
Following this, the discussion turned to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on young people’s mental health and motivation. Aliyah reflected on one of the findings from the recent Youth Voice Census which found that a shocking 51% of individuals aged 16-30 are struggling to apply/find a job due to mental health concerns. Unfortunately, the experiences of our young people in the session were reflective of this. As one of our attendees shared,
“I had to drop out of university due to the pandemic…as well as mentally struggling during that time, I then felt like a failure for having to drop out because nobody spoke to me about my mental health.”
Many echoed this sentiment by stating that they felt isolated, forgotten and unsupported by their learning institutions during the pandemic.
We also asked attendees to imagine what their priorities would be to help young people prepare for their futures if they were made the new education secretary. Here are some of their priorities :
“I would prioritise standardising education to promote educational equality. I would also scrap/reduce tuition fees, so debt wasn't a barrier/concern for students. Additionally, I would change the way we're assessed to be more diverse (like a combination of practicals, essays, questions, presentations, etc and not just exams and essentially memorising facts)."
“I think it would be great if we could prioritise communication and professional interaction within education. Due to the pandemic, young adults have missed out on so much socially that social anxieties and a lack of communication skills are becoming a real issue.”
“I would focus on preparing students for the future. I think we need to be taught more life skills, not just academic knowledge. For example, activities like cooking meals, residentials to prepare for staying away from home, more about finances and how to manage student loans.”
To round off the session, our young people put their questions to Munira, asking her views on skills in education, levelling up and developing a system which unlocks the potential of all learners. Munira spoke openly about her vision – she said that skills such as financial and political literacy, cooking, mental wellbeing, etc. need to be integrated into the fabric of teaching and part of a broader life skills curriculum. Munira also commented that in order to develop an education system which was suitable for all, we need to trust and empower teachers in the classroom. She reflected that teaching is an art and the lack of freedom was having a detrimental impact on learning and young people’s experiences in learning institutions. Finally, to level up education and make opportunities wide spread in the UK, Munira proposed reform to the apprenticeship levy as a solution. Munira stated that current provision doesn’t incentivise employers to take on new learner, but rather to reskill current employers. By reforming the levy we may hopefully see more apprenticeship opportunities across the UK.
We’re exceptionally grateful to all of our young people, to Aliyah York and to Munira Wilson MP for this enriching discussion. While our favourite memories of education stay with us, so too do the difficult moments - it is up to all of us to use our voice and change education for the better.
Here are some ways that we can continue the conversation:
- Get involved with Pupil power
- Join our youth network here at Edge by contact Lmcconville@edge.co.uk Engage with the results from the 2022 Youth Voice Census
- Read our summary from the last Youth Voice Roundtable with Stephen Morgan MP here