Update on EMC impact

The Education Media Centre (EMC) continues to strengthen vital links between journalists and the research community in order to ensure fairer and impartial reporting of educational developments and policy reform.

The latest organisation to take advantage of the EMC platform created by CEBE is the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) which has produced a powerful tool to research and map the distribution of graduates and higher education courses around Britain. With skills once again topping the regional economic agenda, it offers crucial information to colleges planning higher education, universities looking at recruitment patterns or companies deciding where to locate businesses.

The EMC generated wide national media coverage of research issues, notably evidence on the impact of a calculator ban in primary maths education and national tests, with its press release: “Calculator ban is a ’backwards step‘”. It showed there was no evidence it would raise maths standards in primary schools, quoting leading academics from top universities.

Future plans for the EMC include the 2015 General Election. Voters need evidence: the EMC, as an education specialist, will have a unique role in disseminating accessible and non-partisan evidence on the education election pledges and issues.

For more information about the EMC, its activities and detailed evidence of success, visit the EMC website.