Education at a Glance is the authoritative source of information on the state of education worldwide. It offers comprehensive data on the structure, financing, and performance of education systems across OECD countries and partner economies. This publication features more than 100 charts and tables that present key insights into the output of educational institutions, the impact of learning across countries, access and participation in education, financial investment in education, and the roles of teachers and school organisation. This country note provides an overview of the key characteristics of the education system in the United Kingdom. In line with this year’s thematic focus, it focus on teacher shortages while also covering other parts of the education system.

The OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2025 evaluates what students know and can do in science, reading, mathematics and computational problem-solving, assessing how effectively they can apply their knowledge to real-world challenges. The assessment also explores a range of broader competencies, attitudes and behaviours, including curiosity, perseverance and the use of artificial intelligence. PISA results provide valuable insights into the quality and equity of learning outcomes around the world, enabling educators and policymakers to learn from each other’s policies and practices. This country note provides a country-specific overview of the United Kingdom.

Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom have been among the OECD countries with the strongest growth in international student enrolment over the last decade. International students have significantly contributed to enrolment growth, shaped campus life and, in some countries, institutional finances. This report examines the journey and challenges of international students, from choosing where and what to study and obtaining a study visa/permit, to adapting academically, finding housing, integrating into local communities, progressing in their studies and navigating post-graduation pathways. After strong growth through the 2010s and a rebound after the COVID-19 pandemic, international student mobility is entering a more uncertain phase, with some countries tightening policies while others continue to expand international enrolment. By comparing six major OECD study destinations, the report highlights both shared challenges and emerging policy responses. It provides timely evidence on trends, challenges and policy responses related to international student enrolment at a time of growing public and policy attention. It is relevant for policymakers, higher education institutions and other stakeholders.

The New Professionalism and the Future of Teaching project has devised a theoretical framework that allows stakeholders in education to construct a shared vision on what the teaching profession could look like in the future. This study in Wales seeks to anticipate and increase deeper, structured thinking about medium- and long-term scenarios for teacher professionalism and empowerment. Potential benefits for the system include long-term strategic thinking regarding the Welsh teacher workforce and finding solutions to issues that transcend the short-term. The results of the study point to mobilising community as a strength, building on professional learning and schools as learning organisations and introducing flexible pathways and diverse career opportunities as elements of specific importance in thinking about the possible future of the teaching profession in Wales.

Amidst a context of ongoing educational reforms, Wales is striving to support strong pathways and smooth transitions for upper secondary learners. This report was commissioned to support Wales' ambitions for implementing the Curriculum for Wales and developing a cohesive, learner-centered upper secondary education system. The report explores how, internationally, countries organise upper secondary education, including the design of curricula and qualifications, and how these shape learner pathways and transitions. Drawing on insights from eight comparison systems and OECD-wide data, the report highlights policy pointers for Wales to support progression in learners' pathways and to enable transitions to further and higher education - and the world beyond - for all learners.

The Survey of Adult Skills offers unique insights on adults’ proficiency in literacy, numeracy, and problem solving. These skills are crucial for both personal and societal success, and form the foundation for continuous learning and innovation. In 2022-23, the survey assessed adults aged 16-65 in 31 countries and economies. By comparing results over time and with those of other participating countries and economies, participants can track the skill levels of its adult population, pinpoint barriers to skill development and use, and craft effective policies to address these challenges.

Engagement and performance in mathematics at the upper secondary level have been the concern of successive governments in England. This report was commissioned as part of the country's policy reflections for transforming how maths is viewed and experienced in England. The report explores outcomes such as the share of students studying maths and performance across countries, and how education systems internationally deliver mathematics in upper secondary. It also examines factors shaping maths education, including the expectations set by curricula, student pathways, cultural perceptions, and the needs of the labour market and higher education.

The Scottish Government and the OECD co-facilitated an international peer learning event in May 2023 to explore ways and approaches for clarifying the roles and responsibilities of school improvement support provided at different levels of the education system. The event brought together Scottish stakeholders and international experts from Ireland, Norway and Wales (United Kingdom) to collectively reflect on the country's school improvement system. This report, written between May and September 2023, captures and summarises the peer learning event discussions and proposes policy options to help advance Scotland's education reform agenda. This report will be valuable not only for Scotland, but also to the many countries that are looking to strengthen their school improvement support systems.

This report, linked with the Digital Education Outlook 2023, provides an overview of 29 countries' (or jurisdictions') digital education ecosystem and governance. Each chapter covers the devolution of responsibilities within countries; how it affects digital education; what digital tools for management and teaching and learning are made publicly available to schools, teachers and students; how they are provided or procured; how countries ensure the security, privacy, equity and effectiveness of this digital ecosystem while keeping incentives for private education technology (EdTech) companies. The information and analysis are based on a survey on digital education infrastructure and governance, interviews with national and regional government officials as well as desk-based research. Providing for the first time a holistic view of 29 countries' and jurisdictions' digital education ecosystem and governance, this report will be of interest to policy makers, academics and education stakeholders interested in the digital transformation of education at home and internationally.

The OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) examines what students know in reading, mathematics and science, and what they can do with what they know. It provides the most comprehensive and rigorous international assessment of student learning outcomes to date. Results from PISA indicate the quality and equity of learning outcomes attained around the world, and allow educators and policy makers to learn from the policies and practices applied in other countries. This country note provides a country-specific overview of the United Kingdom.

The Welsh Government asked the OECD to undertake a targeted diagnostic study of Wales' system for teachers' Continuing Professional Learning (CPL). Drawing on findings from interviews with Welsh stakeholders and schools, as well as document review, the study team identified strengths and weaknesses of the continuing professional learning system in Wales, as well as opportunities and threats going forward.

Students in Scotland (United Kingdom) engage in learning through Curriculum for Excellence, which aims to provide them with a holistic, coherent, and future-oriented approach to learning between the ages of 3 and 18. Curriculum for Excellence offers an inspiring and widely supported philosophy of education. Schools design their own curriculum based on a common framework which allows for effective curricular practices. In 2020, Scotland invited the OECD to assess the implementation of Curriculum for Excellence in primary and secondary schools to understand how school curricula have been designed and implemented in recent years. This report analyses the progress made with Curriculum for Excellence since 2015, building upon several months of observations in Scotland, the existing literature and experiences from other OECD countries. The OECD analysis and recommendations aim to support Scotland as it further enhances Curriculum for Excellence to achieve its potential for the present and future of its learners. Just as Scotland's Curriculum for Excellence was among the pioneers of 21st century learning, its most recent developments hold valuable lessons for other education systems and their own curriculum policies.

Wales (United Kingdom) is on the path to transform the way children learn, with a new curriculum aimed to prepare its children and young people to thrive at school and beyond. The new curriculum for Wales intends to create a better learning experience for students, to engage teachers' professionalism, and to contribute to the overall improvement of Welsh education. An education policy is only as good as its implementation, however, and Wales turned to the OECD for advice on the next steps to implement the curriculum. This report analyses the progress made with the new curriculum since 2016, and offers suggestions on the actions Wales should take to ready the system for further development and implementation. The analysis looks at the four pillars of implementation - curriculum policy design, stakeholders' engagement, policy context and implementation strategy - and builds upon the literature and experiences of OECD countries to provide tailored advice to Wales. In return, the report holds value not only for Wales, but also for other education systems across the OECD looking to implement a curriculum or to enhance their implementation processes altogether.

The OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) is the first international large-scale survey that provides a voice to teachers and school principals, who complete questionnaires about issues such as the professional development they have received; their teaching beliefs and practices; the assessment of their work and the feedback and recognition they receive; and various other school leadership, management and workplace issues. This note presents findings based on the reports of lower secondary teachers and their school leaders in mainstream public and private schools in England (United Kingdom).

The first five years of a child's life is a period of great opportunity, and risk. The cognitive, social-emotional skills that children develop in these early years have long-lasting impacts on their later outcomes throughout schooling and adulthood. This report sets out the findings from the Early Learning and Child Well-being Study in England. The study assesses children's skills across both cognitive and social-emotional development, and how this relates to children's early learning experiences at home and in early childhood education and care. It is enriched by contextual and assessment information from the children's parents and educators. It provides comparative data on children's early skills with children from Estonia and the United States, who also participated in the study, to better identify factors that promote or hinder children's early learning.

The OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) is the first international large-scale survey that provides a voice to teachers and school principals, who complete questionnaires about issues such as the professional development they have received; their teaching beliefs and practices; the assessment of their work and the feedback and recognition they receive; and various other school leadership, management and workplace issues. This note presents findings based on the reports of lower secondary teachers and their school leaders in mainstream public and private schools in England (United Kingdom).

Wales (United Kingdom) considers the development of schools as learning organisations as vital for supporting schools to put its new, 21st century curriculum into practice. A growing body of research evidence shows that schools that operate as learning organisations can react more quickly to changing external environments and embrace changes and innovations.

This report aims to support Wales in this effort, gauging the extent to which schools have put into practice the characteristics of learning organisations and identifying areas for further development. It also examines the system-level conditions that can enable or hinder schools in Wales in developing as learning organisations. It offers a number of concrete recommendations for consideration by the Welsh Government and other stakeholders at various levels of the system.

The report will be valuable not only for Wales, but also to the many countries that are looking to establish collaborative learning cultures across their school systems.

One of a series of studies on vocational education and training, this review focuses on the apprenticeship system in England and concludes with policy recommendations. England has launched a series of reforms that champion the institution of apprenticeship, and address some previous weaknesses. The reforms encourage more substantive apprenticeship programmes and a stronger funding framework. Despite these strengths, there is still some way to go to establish an apprenticeship system in England to match those of the strongest countries. This report suggests several ways in which reforms might be adapted to achieve higher quality and better outcomes. An effective apprenticeship system involves various elements such as the development of the apprentice in the workplace by the employer and the broader education of young apprentices. The report argues that England should consider introducing regulations and standards to ensure that these elements are part of all apprenticeship programmes, and that the recently introduced apprenticeship levy supports high-quality training. In comparison to other countries, England has relatively few young apprentices. The report suggests England could facilitate transition from school to work by making better use of apprenticeships targeting school leavers.

The OECD Skills Outlook 2017 shows that skills matter for global value chains. The report presents new analyses based on the Survey of Adult Skills, a product of the OECD Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), and the Trade in Value Added Database. It develops a Scoreboard on Skills and Global Value Chains with the objective to measure the extent to which countries have been able to make the most of GVCs through the skills of their populations in terms of skills, global value chains, and social and economic outcomes. It also explains what countries would need to do to specialise in technologically advanced industries.

How can Wales ensure the successful implementation of its reforms and ultimately realise its vision of the Welsh learner? This report takes stock of the policies and reforms adopted since 2014 and offers recommendations to inform next steps. It highlights how the Welsh approach to school improvement has moved from a piecemeal and short-term policy orientation towards one that is guided by a longer-term vision. To support the realisation of its education objectives, Wales should continue its 21st century curriculum reform efforts underpinned by sustained investments in key policy areas such as teacher and leadership policy, equity and evaluation and assessment. It should strengthen the implementation process by consolidating the co-construction of policies with key stakeholders, and through better communication and evidence on the Welsh education reform journey. This report will be of value to Wales but also policy makers in other countries looking to ensure the successful implementation of reforms and policies in their education system.

This review on England is one of a series of country reports on vocational education and training (VET) in OECD countries, prepared as part of the Skills beyond School study alongside parallel commentaries undertaken in Northern Ireland and Scotland. The series includes reviews, involving an in-depth analysis of a country system leading to a set of policy recommendations backed by analysis.

For the past decade, Scotland has been putting in place an ambitious reform called the "Curriculum for Excellence". Its holistic approach includes Broad General Education from ages 3 to 15 years and this has been put into the spotlight of an OECD review by a team that included leading international experts Andy Hargreaves and Helen Timperley. The report, with twelve key recommendations, will be of interest to those who shape schools and curricula well beyond Scotland. It brings together wide-ranging international and Scottish data to understand how well quality and equity are being achieved in Scotland's schools. Its analysis and examples from other countries address how such an ambitious reform can reach its full potential through demanding 21st century approaches to enhancing quality and equity, governance and decision-making, teaching and leadership, and evaluation and assessment.

This policy profile on education in the United Kingdom is part of the Education Policy Outlook series, which presents comparative analysis of education policies and reforms across OECD countries. Designed for policy makers, analysts and practitioners who seek information and analysis of education policy taking into account the importance of national context, the country policy profiles offer constructive analysis of education policy in a comparative format. Each profile reviews the current context and situation of the country's education system and examine its challenges and policy responses, according to six policy levers that support improvement: students (how to raise outcomes for all in terms of 1- equity and quality and 2- preparing students for the future), institutions (how to raise quality through 3- school improvement and 4- evaluation and assessment), education system (how the system is organised to deliver education policy in terms of 5- governance and 6- funding).

This short country note recaps some Background on the 2014 OECD Measuring Innovation in Education report, the main Key report findings on innovation in education, the Report approach to measuring educational system innovation, along with England's top five organisational education innovations for the 2003-2011 period and England's top five pedagogic education innovations for the same interval.

This book finds that, in many ways, Northern Ireland stands out internationally with its thoughtfully designed evaluation and assessment framework. The major components are well developed, in particular policies for student assessment, school evaluation and school system evaluation. It has been developed using the majority of key design principles recommended by the OECD. The approach to evaluation and assessment combines: central control over policy development and standard setting; transparency over procedures and reporting of results; an increasing responsibility for the implementation of evaluation and assessment among teachers and schools; and central mechanisms to monitor the effectiveness of implementation. For example, while schools and their Boards of Governors are accountable for their educational quality and are accountable to their communities, school development planning processes are also monitored as part of external school evaluation by a central inspectorate. Teachers play a central role in student assessment and their assessment of pupil progress against central standards is moderated by a central agency which engages working teachers in the process. Teachers in primary schools are offered central diagnostic tests to support their assessment of pupil progress. Only teacher appraisal remains entirely school based, but there is a set of common competence standards for teachers.

How can Wales improve the quality and equity of its education system? From an international perspective, this report analyses the strengths and challenges facing the Welsh school system, and provides a number of recommendations and policy options for further strengthening it. It highlights the need for ensuring that schools are meeting the learning needs of all their students, building professional capital, developing a coherent assessment and evaluation framework, and defining and implementing policy with a longterm perspective. This report can be valuable for Wales and other education systems looking to raise their performance.

This commentary on Northern Ireland is one of a series of country reports on vocational education and training (VET) in OECD countries, prepared as part of the Skills beyond School study. The series includes reviews, involving an in-depth analysis of a country system leading to a set of policy recommendations backed by analysis. The commentaries are simpler exercises than full reviews, largely descriptive but also including an assessment of strengths and challenges in the country system. The commentaries are designed to be of value as free-standing reports, but are also prepared so that they can become the first phase of a full review.

This commentary on Scotland is one of a series of country reports on vocational education and training (VET) in OECD countries, prepared as part of the Skills beyond School study. The series includes reviews, involving an in-depth analysis of a country system leading to a set of policy recommendations backed by analysis. The commentaries are simpler exercises than full reviews, largely descriptive but also including an assessment of strengths and challenges in the country system. The commentaries are designed to be of value as free-standing reports, but are also prepared so that they can become the first phase of a full review.

This review on England is one of a series of country reports on vocational education and training (VET) in OECD countries, prepared as part of the Skills beyond School study alongside parallel commentaries undertaken in Northern Ireland and Scotland. The series includes reviews, involving an in-depth analysis of a country system leading to a set of policy recommendations backed by analysis.

As part of the OECD review on migrant education, countries were invited to provide information on their national migrant education policies. Note that this information is in addition to the full country background reports provided by the six countries participating in the policy review: Austria, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. The attached information was provided by the United Kingdom using a standard international questionnaire on migrant education policies in response to longstanding diversity.

This review of England and Wales' vocational and professional education and training systems (VET/PET) is part of "Learning for Jobs", the OECD policy study of VET designed to help countries make their VET systems more responsive to labour market needs. In England and Wales, a substantial commitment, backed by increased resources, has been made to the enhancement of workplace skills. Policy-making is self-evidently dynamic and innovative and governments are making conscious attempts to improve employer engagement - the particular topic of this report. At the same time there are a number of challenges - in particular that of linking enhanced employer engagement to a strong apprenticeship system, and of overcoming the obstacle of a complex and unstable institutional environment.

Scotland consistently performs at a very high standard in OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and has one of the most equitable school systems in the OECD. This review examines the strengths of Scotland's schools and the challenges they face in securing high standards for all children. One major challenge is an achievement gap that opens up late in primary education and widens through junior secondary years: children from poorer backgrounds are more likely than others to under-achieve. A second challenge for Scotland is to achieve broader and more successful participation in upper secondary education and greater equity in higher education. The review assesses the performance of Scottish schools, using PISA findings and national test and examination results. It also examines educational reforms in Scotland in the light of reforms in countries facing similar challenges.

Many adults in OECD countries have low language, literacy and numeracy (LLN) skills. The consequences of these low foundation skills span the economic, health and social well-being of individuals, families and communities. Investment in this sector of adult education is therefore crucial. This country report on England examines the impact and implementation of different teaching, learning and assessment practices for adult LLN learners with a focus on formative assessment; the way innovative programmes address the very diverse needs and goals of this population; and the policies that support or hinder effective practice.

Many adults in OECD countries have low language, literacy and numeracy (LLN) skills. The consequences of these low foundation skills span the economic, health and social well-being of individuals, families and communities. Investment in this sector of adult education is therefore crucial. This country report on Scotland examines the impact and implementation of different teaching, learning and assessment practices for adult LLN learners with a focus on formative assessment; the way innovative programmes address the very diverse needs and goals of this population; and the policies that support or hinder effective practice.

The report provides an overview of school leadership developments and issues in England, as a contribution to the OECD's Improving School Leadership Activity. It discusses the national context of schooling, the features of the school system, school governance and leardership, the attractiveness of school leaders' roles, and professional learning of school leaders in the country.

The report provides an overview of school leadership developments and issues in Northern Ireland, as a contribution to the OECD's Improving School Leadership Activity. It discusses the national context of schooling, the features of the school system, school governance and leardership, the attractiveness of school leaders' roles, and professional learning of school leaders in the country.

The report provides an overview of school leadership developments and issues in Scotland, as a contribution to the OECD's Improving School Leadership Activity. It discusses the national context of schooling, the features of the school system, school governance and leardership, the attractiveness of school leaders' roles, and professional learning of school leaders in the country.

The main purpose of the thematic review on adult learning is to understand adults' access and participation in education and training and to enhance policies and approaches to increase incentives for adults to undertake learning activities in OECD countries. It is a joint activity undertaken by the OECD Education Committee (EDC) and the Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Committee (ELSAC) in response to the need to make lifelong learning a reality for all, to improve learning opportunities of low skilled and disadvantaged adults and to sustain and increase employability.

This study includes four case study schools that partnered with researchers involved in the project who worked directly with teachers to develop and incorporate formative assessment methods into their daily classroom practice, and to measure the impact of the new teaching approaches by tracking the performance of their students with students in comparable classes at the same school. Some of the most strinking features of the case study schools were : Focus on the process of learning as well as the content of what students were being asked to learn, efforts to identify and put into practice more often those things that work well and greater attention to what students retain, rather than curriculum coverage.

All 32 Scottish Councils have committed a small number of their primary or secondary schools to the pilot initiative to develop effective formative assessment, Assessment is for Learning. The programme devolves responsibility to the schools for selecting/developing their own assessment practices, including ways of giving feedback and of helping to think about their own learning and that of fellow learners. A key principle is the idea that teachers need to reflect, individually and collaboratively, on their actual teaching to implement effective formative assessment. The previous history of assessment developments in Scotland appears to show that it is not possible to achieve significant and widespread change in teaching and assessment approaches by means simply of providing even very good staff development and materials about formative assessment. The following two case studies present the development work done in two of the schools currently involved in "Assessment is for Learning".

The administration and management of the recruitment, development and retention of teachers in the UK varies across the four constituent countries of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. The school systems are diverse in their organisation and administration. There are different kinds of schools, and the diverse and changing school populations, both in terms of their size and their composition. Patterns of teacher employment reflect this, and vary between countries. The nature and pace of recent educational reforms in all four countries have led to changes in the nature and conditions of teachers' work. The key issues for attracting, developing and retaining effective teachers identified in this report are discussed in this report.

This report on England's educational R&D is the fifth OECD review of a member country's educational R&D policy and system. The purpose of the OECD review of a national educational R&D system is to assess the extent to which it serves its function of creating, collating, distributing and applying the knowledge on which practitioners and policy makers can draw. The aim is broader and different from a traditional educational R&D review that focuses on the quality of the research. Rather each of these reviews should be considered as an evaluation of the R&D system which, if it functions properly, will produce high quality research that contributes to the knowledge base of policy makers and practitioners and may be applied by them to improve the education service within a country.

The thematic review places young people's transition to work within a lifelong learning framework. The transition from initial education to work is only one of many transitions that young people will need to make throughout their lives. It is of critical importance, though, since the process by which young people move from education to work can influence the extent to which the benefits of education are retained, and opportunities for new learning are opened up. From this perspective, improving the transition to work means more than getting young people into jobs -- it also requires helping them to become effective learners throughout their adult lives.

The purposes of this review of the first years of tertiary education as stated in the guidelines are i) to examine the extent to which the structure of provision, programmes, teaching and learning at the tertiary level are evolving to meet the expectations and capabilities of students and the needs of the economy and society, and ii) to undertake an analysis of how policies might best promote needed change. The British experience, in a period of significant structural change in its tertiary education system, provides significant insights into change processes and highlights several issues that are central to the overall cross-country analysis of trends and issues.