What happens when you combine poor career knowledge with an inflexible education system? Young people miss out on opportunities and end up "stuck" on a path not right for them. Mine and @jamiegollings report on 'assumed knowledge' out today ➡️

What does the Post-16 White Paper mean for social mobility? @danihpayne and I have put together our initial assessment of yesterday's announcements ⬇️

The SMF welcomes the new V Level qualifications announced by the Government, as a way of making vocational training more accessable and improving social mobility. Read @danihpayne's full analysis: https://t.co/PBOvvtaW9l

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📻On @timesradio, @beckymontacute spoke about whether Gov't is doing enough to help young people.

Previous @SMFthinktank research highlighted that FE was often ignored in policy conversations and that, despite parents holding similar esteem for FE as HE routes ( https://t.co/VHqDgEl9qr... ), young people are often pushed to HE through inertia ( https://t.co/xLhWEMR9PA...).

A new combined FE/HE target is a great step forwards. Whilst HE can be a vital route to social mobility for many, it won’t be right for all. Apprenticeships can provide pathways into high skilled jobs & we should be ensuring access to high quality provision across all pathways

We’re delighted to see the education maintenance grant re-introduced for students on priority courses. You can read @danihpayne’s thoughts below👇 https://t.co/faArycwKZE

This was a brilliant conversation this afternoon on widening access to higher education - almost perfectly timed to catch our live reactions to today’s grants announcement!

Last week, our Head of Education and Social Mobility @danihpayne spoke at the Social Mobility Symposium in Manchester, alongside Alun Francis and Prof Philip McCann.

Great to see this out in the open. Housing First is a cost-saving policy that would radically reduce rough sleeping in this parliament. Read the briefing at

People have lost faith that traditional politics can deliver. With the centre faltering, this is exactly when new ideas are needed most.   ✍️Read @beckymontacute's first blog as our Research Director.👇 https://t.co/fWHmSWijIH

It's ludicrous that @TheEconomist trumpets a study with a minuscule effect size of d = 0.086 as “strong causal evidence” in favour of banning smartphones in schools, when it is actually evidence *against* the effectiveness of such policies🤦‍♂️

Generative AI tools like ChatGPT promise big benefits for schools and colleges? ...but could they actually harm learning? Education expert and Senior Fellow @Tom_Richmond explores emerging research evidence on the impacts of GenAI tools on learning. 👇🧵

Younger and lower-attaining pupils are the most vulnerable to the negative effects of AI on learning, such as poorer critical thinking and becoming dependent on tools such as ChatGPT. Read my new report with @SMFthinktank - published today: https://t.co/Ux4cA8E1gv

Our new briefing is about the role of universities in their local economies. The short version is - places don't need a university to be prosperous, but where cities have them they are sizable chunk of the local knowledge economy.

As rumours of a reshuffle abound, we take a look at the history of frontbench churn and reshuffles. Can historical trends tell us anything about how Starmer might approach a potential reshuffle? SMF's @jamiegollings takes a deep dive. https://t.co/euksEXmAhm

📻 On @TimesRadio, SMF Research Director @beckymontacute stressed that boosting opportunities in left-behind communities is key to raising attainment for disadvantaged kids. 📊 Read our full analysis of this week’s L2 results 👉 https://t.co/Z3qGKD3WBe

Year after year, we continue to see large regional gaps in the grades young people achieve at GCSE. While potential is spread evenly across the country, opportunity is not. @danihpayne and I on today's GCSE results day - https://t.co/wEN99Ej34a

🧵SMF analysis of #GCSEResultsDay2025 Regional inequalities in attainment persist: 🟡72% of GCSEs taken by London pupils were graded at 4/C or above, vs just 63% in the West Midlands 🟡 London benefits from the highest % of grade 7s+ - while the North East has the lowest

https://t.co/PRoZugPRKz

Great to see government taking regional inequalities seriously. As highlighted in @SMFthinktank recent report, social mobility is too often constrained by geography. But a shame to see the South West left out of the convo, which has the lowest FSM access rates in the country..