One of the most generous gifts anyone can give is that of a loving home, which is why I have nothing but admiration for those who foster or adopt a child and help them develop and flourish into happy and successful adults.
We have recently announced an extra £18 million to extend the Opportunity Area programme, which is supporting five areas in the Yorkshire and Humber and North West, while Opportunity North East (ONE) is addressing the reasons why too few young people in the North East are reaching their potential through secondary education and beyond. In ONE, the department will invest up to £24m to deliver a focussed programme to address the specific challenges in the North East.
In today's blog Education Secretary Gavin Williamson welcomes the news that Thornaby Academy is set to join the Falcon Education Academies Trust. We also look at reports from Reform and the Office for Students.
We will have provided £500 million to music and the arts between 2016 and 2020, making it the second highest funded element of the curriculum behind PE. The proportion of young people taking at least one arts GCSE since 2010 has remained broadly stable, with a small increase between 2018 and 2019.
Today's blog looks at the UCAS report on unconditional offers, as well as university students estranged from their families.