One of the four priority pillars of sustainable growth mentioned by Jeremy Hunt in his Spring Budget 2023 speech is Education. The government believes that people should be able to access the education and training they need to get the jobs they want. A good education system is the best economic and social policy any country can have, and education should not stop when you start work.

We have covered our 6 key takeaways for UK businesses in a previous post, so here are the key education announcements:

Wraparound childcare

The Government announced in the Spring Statement 2023 for education a new wraparound childcare scheme for all parents of primary-aged children in England so that they can access care in school from 8am-6pm. £289 million in start-up funding to enable schools and local authorities to test options to increase the availability of wraparound childcare in the longer term, with national rollout over academic years 2024-25 and 2025-26.

Internships

To support young people in employment, the Department for Education will invest an additional £3 million over the next 2 years to pilot an expansion of the Supported Internships programme.

Free childcare

The government is lowering the age at which children of working parents can access free childcare and making childcare support for parents on Universal Credit more accessible and generous. An early start in early years education benefits children and spending more hours in early education between age 2 and 3 has immediate positive impacts.

Returnerships

The Spring Statement 2023 announced a new program called Returnerships. This will promote accelerated apprenticeships, Sector-Based Work Academy Programme placements and Skills Bootcamps to the over 50s. This will support better access to re-training and allow workers of all ages to engage with the opportunities of a second career. The programme will be supported by £63 million for an additional 8,000 Skills Bootcamps places in 2024-25 in England, and 40,000 new Sector-Based Work Academy Programme placements across 2023-24 and 2024-25 in England and Scotland.

Further and higher education in Northern Ireland

The Chancellor will allocate up to o £40 million of funding to widen participation in further and high education in Northern Ireland.

Employment support programme for Ukrainians

The Government will provide £11.5 million to help Ukrainians fleeing the war who have arrived in the UK under the Ukraine Visa Schemes to boost their English language skills, enter employment, and support their integration into society.