The Boys’ Education Commission (BEC), chaired by former headteacher and political advisor, Peter Hyman, is issuing a Call for Evidence to inform its deliberations.

The Call for evidence opens on 29th June and will run until 14th September.  Details on how to submit evidence can be found at this page: https://www.menandboys.org.uk/boys-education-commission/callforevidence

The BEC is the most extensive research project to look at how we can support boys to thrive.

The Commission wants to hear from educators, practitioners, schools, academy trusts, colleges, parents, students, charities, researchers and other stakeholders to examine the challenges faced by boys and  insights, expertise and experience on ways to make things better.  

Peter Hyman says, “This is a huge social issue. We all have an interest in boys and young men thriving, yet too many at the moment are struggling. We want to gather as many different perspectives to shed as possible to shed light on this issue. While our focus is education, this is not just about exams and qualifications but also about how boys grow into happy, confident and successful men.  We’re interested to hear views regarding the whole range of boys’ formative experiences both in and outside of school.

The Boy’s Education Commissioners believe there needs to be a greater visibility of the particular challenges boys face in education and that should never come at the expense of supporting girls.

Hyman says: “Boys and girls both need support in the challenges they face. It would be wrong to advance one at the expense of the other. The focus of this commission is on boys, who the data shows, are struggling in a number of areas. We are determined to find out why and provide practical solutions.”

The need to sharpen the focus on boys’ education is evidenced by the latest figures for NEETs.  The number of young men not in education, employment or training has now reached 553,000, the highest number for fourteen years.  More key facts about boys’ educational attainment can be found on the Boys’ Education Commission website.

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