Andy Burnham to answer questions about Greater Manchester Baccalaureate in Parliament

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, will give evidence to the House of Lords Education for 11 – 16 Year Olds Committee on Thursday 15 June, as it assesses what lessons could be learned from education policy in other parts of the UK.

The session begins at 11.30am and can be followed live or afterwards on Parliament TV or in person in Committee Room 2.

Possible questions will centre around recent proposals for a “Greater Manchester Baccalaureate” (MBacc), including:

• What is the MBacc and what does it seek to achieve?
  
• How will you implement the MBacc and incentivise uptake by schools, colleges and pupils using your current powers?
  
• How will you ensure that the MBacc and the subsequent technical pathway is suitable for a wide variety of young people?
  
• To what extent have you engaged with employers in shaping the MBacc proposal, and how could employer engagement in 11-16 education be increased more generally?
  
• To what extent should a school’s secondary curriculum be tailored to its locality?

Andy Burnham will be providing evidence remotely.

The committee will also take evidence about the secondary education systems in Scotland and Wales, examining the current or likely reforms of these systems.

Giving evidence will be:

• Professor Graham Donaldson, Honorary Professor, School of Education, University of Glasgow
  
• Gareth Evans,
  Director, Education Policy, Centre for Education Policy Review and Analysis, University of Wales Trinity Saint David
  
• Professor Gordon Stobart, Emeritus Professor of Education, Institute of Education, University College London

The committee is scheduled to report on its findings in November 2023.

Image credit: This image uses ‘Andy Burnham, 2016 Labour Party Conference 3’ by Rwendland licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Background removed, and thought bubble, text and question mark added in.