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.

 The Boys’ Education Commissioners are:

Peter Hyman – Chair

Caroline Barlow – Headteacher and Co-Chair of the Headteachers' Roundtable (HTRT) think-tank

Dr Alex Blower - founder of Boys’ Impact, an organisation examining and addressing the gap in GCSE outcomes for young men eligible for Free School Meals.

Jeffrey Boakye – Author, English teacher and Senior Teaching Fellow at Manchester Institute of Education (MIE)

Polly Curtis - Chief Executive of Demos, the cross-party think tank.

Ed Fidoe- Founder and CEO of the London Interdisciplinary School

Shuab Gamote – Advocate for young people, on the advisory group for the Milburn NEETs review, and co-author of Inside the Mind of a 16-Year-Old

Jo Heaton - CEO of Northern Lights Multi Academy Trust and previously a member of the Expert Advisory Group for Recruitment & Retention and the Headteacher Reference Group, and a National Leader of Education.

Sana Khareghani, Chief Strategy Officer at Era4, former Head of the UK Government’s Office for AI

Dr Sophie King-Hill - Associate Professor at University of Birmingham specialising and author of Reframing Masculinity for Young Men and Boys: We’re in this Together. 

Professor Bill Lucas - Professor of Learning and Director of the Centre for Real World Learning, University of Winchester, and co-chair of the strategic advisory group for the 2021 PISA test of Creative Thinking.

Stuart Manifould - CEO @The Dome Youth Zone, Crewe and former COO of Cheshire Football Association.

Ian Pryce CBE - former CEO, Bedford College Group. 

Richard Reeves - President of the American Institute of Men and Boys, and author of Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male is Struggling, Why it Matters, and What to Do About It.

Luke Tryl - Executive Director of More in Common, former special advisor to the secretary for Education, former Director of Strategy at Ofsted

For more details, please visit https://www.menandboys.org.uk/boys-education-commission

ENDS

For further information, including interviews, please contact Simon Garrett – simon@virtubrands.com – 07974 566043

CPRMB is a registered charity in England and Wales (5260351)

Notes to Editors

The Centre for Policy Research on Men and Boys (CPRMB

The Centre for Policy Research on Men and Boys (CPRMB) is a research organisation and think tank dedicated to understanding and addressing issues that uniquely affect men and boys in the UK. Its vision is a world where men and boys of all backgrounds thrive in their families and communities, one where the sexes can rise together by buoying each other. It will do this by supporting the development of new research, thinking and insight into policy affecting men and boys.

Website: www.menandboys.org.uk

Boys' Education Commission: Remit

The overarching enquiry will focus on:

How do we support boys to thrive in school and support them to become capable, confident, kind and purposeful young men?

The Commission will try to understand the root causes of what is going wrong for some boys at the moment, create a debate around these vital issues, and develop actionable recommendations for government, policy makers, the education system, boys and their parents.

The Commission will:

• Diagnose the issue. It will review current educational data, research, and best practices both nationally and internationally.
• Engage with educators, practitioners, parents, students, and other stakeholders.
• Identify systemic barriers and cultural factors affecting boys’ educational engagement and success.
• Recommend reforms to curriculum design, teaching, school and college environments, provision beyond the classroom and wider support systems tailored to boys’ developmental needs.
• Recommend strategies to close achievement gaps, equip boys for success in life and at work and promote positive emotional, and social development.

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