Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Tom Richmond @tom-richmond.com · 4h

They're right to be worried about poorer critical thinking, research and problem-solving skills.

My recent report showed that studies have already demonstrated the wide-ranging detrimental impacts that AI tools can have on learning.

www.smf.co.uk/publications...

EducAItion, educAItion, educAItion: Could Generative Artificial Intelligence pose a risk to educational standards? - Social Market Foundation.

Could Generative Artificial Intelligence pose a risk to educational standards? SMF Senior Fellow Tom Richmond explores.

www.smf.co.uk

4 9

Tom Richmond @tom-richmond.com · 5h

In my latest podcast, @dkernohan.bsky.social from @wonkhe.bsky.social explained why the new 'super university', created by the proposed merger between the universities of Kent and Greenwich, has raised numerous policy and regulatory questions.

Listen to the full episode here: insideyoured.com

Tom Richmond @tom-richmond.com · 5h

Appreciate this is all down in the statistical weeds....

Tom Richmond @tom-richmond.com · 5h

Sort of - looks like it is based on ONS Standard Industrial Classifications (SICs) rather than DfE's 'sector subject areas'.

As per my graph, the retail sector does not deliver many 'retail' apprenticeships but it delivers lots of generic management / leadership app'ships. Armed Forces also huge.

1 2

Tom Richmond @tom-richmond.com · 6h

That is one weird graph. I have no idea where many of the most popular apprenticeships would even go! (Early Years Educator, Team Leader, Operations Manager etc).

1 2

Tom Richmond @tom-richmond.com · 6h

Health and retail are big apprenticeship sectors, but business / admin is even bigger :)

1 10

Tom Richmond @tom-richmond.com · 8h

That's a strong case, although shouldn't we be asking whether we need any of those providers / degrees in the first place?

1

Tom Richmond @tom-richmond.com · 8h

And don't get me started on the idea of 'quality' in HE.

There is exactly zero agreement on what this means, and it often defaults to 'does the institution pay its membership fee to be part of the Russell Group?' - which is a completely baseless proxy for the quality of teaching and learning.

1 1 3

Tom Richmond @tom-richmond.com · 9h

Which raises the same questions that it did when the Conservatives last proposed this policy:

e.g. how will you define 'rip off' in a way that differentiates between rip-off and non-rip-off courses with 100% accuracy?

(using 'low earnings' is a terrible idea, for various statistical reasons)

FE Week @feweek.bsky.social · 9h

📢 Kemi Badenoch plans to double the apprenticeships budget by slashing university degrees if the Conservatives win the next election

The leader of the opposition will pledge to ‘shut down rip-off courses’ in her party conference speech today

feweek.co.uk/badenoch-ill...

Badenoch: I'll double apprenticeships budget by slashing uni degrees

Leader of the opposition would reintroduce student number controls for 'poor quality' uni courses to fund apprenticeship boost

feweek.co.uk

1 3

Tom Richmond @tom-richmond.com · 1d

If you're worried about Reform painting universities as elitist then 'massively hiking university tuition fees' is not an obvious solution to your problem.

Times Higher Education (THE) @timeshighered.bsky.social · 1d

Tories should allow top universities to increase tuition fees and encourage others to get off ‘mediocrity escalator’, says former science minister. @patrickjack.bsky.social reports

#AcademicSky #highered

Reform will paint universities as ‘elitist conspiracy’ - Freeman

Tories should allow top institutions to increase tuition fees and encourage others to get off ‘mediocrity escalator’, says former science minister

www.timeshighereducation.com

Tom Richmond @tom-richmond.com · 1d

And yet, still no ban!

Which, to me, can only be explained by some very strong lobbying behind the scenes by tech companies.

1

Tom Richmond @tom-richmond.com · 1d

Laura Trott is correct IMHO.

When the evidence of harm to children has piled up as high as it has, on what grounds would you *not* ban social media - for under 16s, at the very least?

Freddie Whittaker @fcdwhittaker.bsky.social · 1d

She makes the point that we ban other things that are harmful for children, like alcohol. Why don’t we do it for social media?

1 4

Tom Richmond @tom-richmond.com · 1d

I think the pandemic highlighted those home issues even more starkly, and concerns over the fairness of unsupervised essays / coursework stretch back even further than that (over 30 years according to my research!: www.edsk.org/publications...)

1 1

Tom Richmond @tom-richmond.com · 1d

Yikes - those are huge cuts in such a short space of time.

Presumably financial pressures have forced the DfE's hand, but next year's applicant data will give a very clear verdict on whether they've cut too hard, too fast.

Schools Week @schoolsweek.bsky.social · 1d

The government has swung the axe on teacher training incentives – including cutting funding for shortage subjects such as maths and foreign languages

schoolsweek.co.uk/dfe-swings-a...

Tom Richmond @tom-richmond.com · 1d

And just look at the state of this.

As @dtwuva.bsky.social and @profcoe.bsky.social have said many times before, in order to learn you have to *think hard*. Mental shortcuts are the enemy of learning, and ChatGPT happily provides those shortcuts.

This is going to end very badly.

3 3

Tom Richmond @tom-richmond.com · 1d

“The cheating is off the charts. It’s the worst I’ve seen in my entire career. ...Anything you send home, you have to assume is being AI’ed.”

From the US to the UK, the new reality is setting in. In-class tests and verbal / oral exams are the right way to go.

www.dailynews.com/2025/09/12/a...

The rise of AI tools forces schools to reconsider what counts as cheating

Some teachers are returning to pen and paper exams to avoid cheating.

www.dailynews.com

1 2 1

Tom Richmond @tom-richmond.com · 2d

@neildotobrien.bsky.social is not wrong, but it's a fiendishly difficult policy position to unwind.

Once a 'market' has been set free, trying to (re)gain some control over it can be very tricky. And costly - both time and money.

Times Higher Education (THE) @timeshighered.bsky.social · 2d

The previous Conservative government went “too far” with the marketisation of UK higher education, a shadow minister has conceded but he said Labour’s “strange” new target for participation was not the answer. @patrickjack.bsky.social reports

Belief in marketised HE went too far, says Tory policy tsar

Taxpayer and students losing out due to failure to tackle ‘low-quality’ higher education, according to Neil O’Brien

www.timeshighereducation.com

1

Tom Richmond @tom-richmond.com · 4d

And I complete agree with Dr Henry Shevlin from @cfi-cambridge.bsky.social that "most [degree] courses are still figuring out how to adapt to the post-ChatGPT era when the take-home essay assignment is basically dead".

They need to adapt soon if their degrees are to retain any value.

1

Tom Richmond @tom-richmond.com · 4d

"Deloitte, EY, PricewaterhouseCoopers and KPMG posted 44% fewer jobs for graduates this year compared with 2023."

Bad news for some graduates, but possibly good news for teaching?

Super piece by @nicolawoolcock.bsky.social and @georgiamay.bsky.social

www.thetimes.com/uk/education...

Can you AI-proof your career and your children’s future?

AI is already reshaping the classroom and the employment market but uncertainty reigns on how best to respond

www.thetimes.com

1 2

Tom Richmond @tom-richmond.com · 5d

In other words, you're open to selling up if someone sweetens the deal.

18

Tom Richmond @tom-richmond.com · 5d

Perhaps, but the same thing was said about the last Labour government's Diplomas and look how that ended up....

Tom Richmond @tom-richmond.com · 5d

Includes a comment from me, plus some very astute observations from Nick Hillman.

FE Week @feweek.bsky.social · 5d

Exclusive: Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of shirking accountability after Downing Street admitted his 'bold new target' for two-thirds of young people to enter higher-level learning has no deadline feweek.co.uk/starmer-swer...

Starmer swerves a deadline for headline ‘two-thirds’ target

'If there’s no date for people to work towards, then it’s just a vague aspiration', says ex-SpAd

feweek.co.uk

1 1

Reposted by Tom Richmond

Tom Richmond @tom-richmond.com · 5d

In 2021, I wrote a major report on reforming the final years of secondary education, which proposed the creation of three routes: Academic (academic subjects and disciplines); Applied (related to broad areas of employment); and Technical (related to specific trades / occupations).

I'm just saying.

FE Week @feweek.bsky.social · 5d

✌️ Breaking: Ministers are poised to announce new V Level qualifications as 'third route' between A-levels and T Levels

Revealed: V Levels incoming as axe looms for BTECs

Ministers are poised to announce new qualifications as 'third route' between A-levels and T Levels as colleges prepare to axe applied generals

feweek.co.uk

2 1 2

Tom Richmond @tom-richmond.com · 5d

And my report was certainly not the first time this idea had been floated. Sir Ron Dearing made a very similar proposal in 1996 (see pic from my report).

Sounds like AGQs may be about to join the long line of failed voc ed initiatives, alongside GNVQs, AVCEs, Applied A-levels and Diplomas.

Tom Richmond @tom-richmond.com · 5d

In 2021, I wrote a major report on reforming the final years of secondary education, which proposed the creation of three routes: Academic (academic subjects and disciplines); Applied (related to broad areas of employment); and Technical (related to specific trades / occupations).

I'm just saying.

FE Week @feweek.bsky.social · 5d

✌️ Breaking: Ministers are poised to announce new V Level qualifications as 'third route' between A-levels and T Levels

Revealed: V Levels incoming as axe looms for BTECs

Ministers are poised to announce new qualifications as 'third route' between A-levels and T Levels as colleges prepare to axe applied generals

feweek.co.uk

2 1 2