MH&A

As someone working in curriculum design, where we challenge ourselves on the gender-inclusivity of what we develop and deliver, it is devastating to see the recent news from Afghanistan. Yesterday the Taliban closed off one of the last remaining options for women’s education with a ban on women training to be nurses or midwives.   This was an attack not just on their fundamental right to education - but on their right to basic healthcare too (male medics are not permitted to treat women unless a male guardian is present) - and in a country which has one of the worst maternal mortality rates in the world.   For all of us who work to improve girls’ education around the world, it is yet more motivation - to work harder, aim higher and be utterly relentless in our ambition to do whatever we can, wherever we can, to secure access to a quality education for girls and women everywhere.

🥳 This week at MH&A we’re celebrating #TLevelsWeek 🥳 Launched 4 years ago, T-levels were designed to revolutionize post-16 education and offer a gold-standard vocational equivalent to A-levels, giving students the chance to gain technical skills in high UK demand, with hands-on experience in the workplace. It was a landmark step forward in the long-running battle for parity of esteem between academic and vocational education, yet it has not been without some serious initial teething problems. First, in the enrolment and retention of students. In the 2023/4 academic year, there were just 16,085 T-level entrants (compared to 296,135 taking A-levels), although this also represents a 58% increase on the previous year as awareness grew and more course options became available. Perhaps of more concern, is the dropout rate. Whereas retention rates for A Levels are consistently above 90%, only 71% of students who started a T-level in 2022 finished the two-year programme. Second, are the challenges in teaching, with providers struggling to recruit and retain teachers with the requisite skills and specialist knowledge, a problem further exacerbated by a lack of supporting resources. And with a substantial component of the T-level comprising work experience, finding appropriate industry placements across England has also proven a challenge - although one which may be eased by DfE’s recent concession to allow 20% of the placement to be completed remotely. And third, assessment has also been a significant concern, with Ofsted highlighting considerable confusion about how they would be assessed and graded. Exams got off to a rocky start, with topics and types of questions included that had not been covered previously. But despite such challenges, even in their infancy, T-levels have already begun to open doors for young people that might previously have been closed - whether it’s landing jobs or apprenticeships with their original industry placement employer, or finding places at one of over 160 Higher Education Institutions now open to T-level students. And for businesses too, T-levels offer real opportunities to build skills and access a wider and more diverse pool of talent. With economic growth at the very top of Number 10’s agenda, and a skills gap that shows no sign of abating, it’s no surprise that the new Government is clearly throwing its weight behind the new qualifications. What’s less clear is what that will ultimately mean for other vocational pathways - in particular the BTEC qualifications which T-levels were originally designed to replace. Their proposed defunding has been placed on hold - for now - but this will be a key question for the Curriculum & Assessment Review now underway. And ultimately, the Education Secretary may well decide that for all T-levels offer a rigorous alternative to A-levels, other vocational pathways will still be needed to offer real choice for all young people.

In the team spotlight this week is Matt Hamnett, our founder, managing partner - and the driving force behind MH&A. Matt’s vision and dedication have shaped the firm from the very beginning. His passion for innovation in public sector consulting continues to guide our work and inspire our team. What's the best piece of professional advice you've ever received? Keep doing what's next, and what's difficult. I have never worried too much about charting a particular path to a particular role; when I was a civil servant, for example, I never thought 'I want to be a perm sec one day...' Rather, I've always asked myself "what's next...?" As soon as I feel comfortable and confident in a role or even in a piece of work, I don't stop; I look for what's next. That constant forward motion has served me pretty well so far. How would you describe your approach to problem-solving? I'm a great believer that understanding the problem is how you solve it. So, I ask questions, and look for data, that will help me understand what the real, root, issue is; what its causes are; what sits around it; etc, etc. The more I do that, the better my questions get, and so the better my sense of solutions. I also love to think about where similar problems and solutions may exist in completely different contexts which could translate into a solution. TLDR: questions, questions, questions. What’s your favorite thing about working with our clients? The opportunity to make a difference. We're incredibly fortunate that clients invite us to help them with high-value, high-impact, questions, decisions and delivery initiatives. Through each of them, we get the opportunity to improve public services in some way - whether that's our qualification system, devolution or major social policy programmes. I never take for granted the opportunities our clients afford us to make things better for them, their customers and the communities they serve.

Yesterday’s unveiling of the Government’s white paper proposals to #GetBritainWorking was billed as one of the biggest reforms to employment support in a generation, from a Labour Government which has spent 14 years waiting in the wings for just such an opportunity.     Their ambition is certainly bold, with a mission to get two million people back to work and raise the employment rate from 74.8% to 80% - a feat currently achieved by just three countries within the OECD. Yet their strategy to achieve so lofty a goal is still very much in its early stages, as the Government looks to test the waters with a series of regional pilot projects, backed by an extra pot of £240 million and three core focus areas.   First up, the promise of a long-overdue overhaul of Jobcentres, which will merge with the National Careers Service and be given £55 million over 2025/6 to carry out testing and digital design to free up the demand on work coaches and bring services online and into people’s pockets. It is an important downpayment on dragging career support into the 21st century, combined with a welcome commitment to upskill Jobcentre staff through new coaching academies and collaborate closely with local leaders and businesses, but additional revenue will clearly be needed further down the line to scale up and embed the level of change necessary.    Their second emphasis was on tackling the increasing number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET), with the latest ONS data estimating 946,000 young people aged 16 to 24 are currently inactive. The Government has pledged a new Youth Guarantee – although notably it only spans the ages of 18-21 –  to guarantee access to an #apprenticeship, training or education, with 8 local regions backed by a £45 million pot to pilot approaches to deliver that, on top of the £40 million investment already allocated to the new Growth and Skills Levy.     And third, the Government has rightly identified the vital importance of joining health and employment skills support together, with £125 million for 8 regions to trial local strategies and innovations, including to set up three NHS accelerators to prevent people falling out of walk through ill health, with an additional £15 million for non-trailblazing areas to develop their own approaches.     All three proposals represent welcome, sensible and much needed reforms, but a rabbit out of a hat moment this was not. Instead, in its first major move since the Budget, what the Government did deliver was its clearest sign yet that devolution will be at the very heart of its agenda for change - and it is local leaders, not Central Government, who will be placed firmly in the driving seat to improve public services in the years ahead.     You can read the full paper here: https://lnkd.in/eM7kac2d And to discuss what this means with our experts at MH&A, get in touch! 

We at MH&A are encouraged by the Luminos Programme’s impactful work in Liberia. Addressing learning poverty in Africa, particularly through innovative programmes for out-of-school children (OOSC), is crucial to achieving long-term educational progress. The results are promising: a 15% increase in school enrolment rates and lasting improvements in literacy and numeracy skills highlight the potential of targeted educational interventions. Such initiatives not only help children gain foundational skills but also prepare them for future educational opportunities. Scaling up successful models like this one could play a key role in meeting Africa’s education goals by 2035. This also underscores the importance of collaboration between governments, organisations, and communities to overcome barriers to education. At MH&A, we support a range of educational initiatives, including qualification development work in Ghana, as part of our wider commitment to education. We look forward to seeing further progress and exploring how we can contribute to these global efforts!

Continuing our staff profile series, we're proud to introduce Dan Heard, one of our partners here at MH&A who plays a crucial role in driving our vision forward. Known for his expertise in major deals, Dan’s leadership has been instrumental in delivering tailored solutions for our public sector clients. Join us in getting to know the talented team making an impact at MH&A! What's the best piece of professional advice you've ever received? One of the best jobs I had in the Civil Service was being senior private secretary to former BP boss Lord Browne, when he was Government Lead Non-Executive. I got to hear lots of insights from Lord Browne and other business leaders as they contributed to Departmental boards. Their approach to engaging with the complex challenges faced by Departments showed me that, if you care about improving public services, there are lots of ways to do it – in the public sector but also in private enterprise. For a (then) career civil servant from a family of public servants, it was an eye opener. If you could pick one skill that has helped you the most in your career, what would it be? Before working in government and industry, I had ambitions to become an academic philosopher. Philosophers learn to dissect a problem forensically, and when engaging with it to say exactly and only what they mean. The context in academia, in public policy, and in big ticket commercial deals might be a bit different, but an ability to systematically get to grips with complexity is valuable in all three. It’s not enough on its own though – the people I’ve seen in my career who have had the biggest positive impact on delivering public services don’t just deeply understand the problem, they build pragmatic, collaborative ways to do something about it. What’s something about public sector consultancy that people often misunderstand? There can be a perception that private sector involvement in delivering public services is inherently a bad thing. I probably once thought so. After nearly 20 years of delivering citizen outcomes, both from inside government and by supporting from outside, I have come to a different perspective. The most important thing is that we have the best public services we can, that do the best by the people that need them most. It’s citizen outcomes that count. Sometimes the best tool for the job is in the public sector, sometimes in the private sector. Often it is both in collaboration. We need a pragmatic approach, built on effective regulation, skilled sourcing, mutual understanding, and a shared endeavour to improve our fellow citizens’ lives.

Our team is gathered in person for a much-anticipated face-to-face meeting today, with the excitement in the air as we plan for our Christmas celebration later on! 🎄 Bringing everyone together for these sessions gives us the chance to collaborate on a deeper level, sparking new ideas and sharpening our focus as we work toward the best outcomes for our clients. There’s nothing like these opportunities to strengthen connections and share insights that will shape our projects as we head into the new year!

Katy has provided a detailed and thought-provoking take on last week’s speech from the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. The proposals around decentralisation, strategic commissioning, and support for those 'in the middle of the pack' signal a potential shift in the approach to NHS reform and public services more widely. At MH&A, we recognise the challenges and opportunities that come with reforms like these. Initiatives such as the College of Executive and Clinical Leadership could play a key role in addressing workforce challenges, while the focus on patient choice and localised integration may pave the way for more sustainable improvements in healthcare delivery. The acknowledgment of the trade-offs in prioritising health spending over other areas of public services is an important consideration. Ensuring that this funding delivers value will be vital, not just for the NHS but for the wider public sector and the communities it serves.

Our latest staff profile spotlights James Sowray, a Partner here at MH&A and a driving force behind our strategic direction. With deep expertise in TVET, James brings a wealth of insight and leadership to our projects. His commitment to impactful client outcomes is central to the success we deliver to our clients. How do you stay motivated during challenging projects? For me, when it’s challenging is when I do my best work. The challenge motivates me, and unravelling the complexity and working through the layers of detail is when I think I am at my absolute best. It is when I feel most alive, most motivated and I absolutely love the feeling of delivering a great outcome for our client in these circumstances. It is also when I think our engagement teams really shine - and I love seeing the satisfaction and pride they get from doing brilliant work too. A gritty and complicated problem to understand and fix is the work I love to do. What’s your favorite thing about working with our clients? I have to say that we have the best clients to work with, and I can’t recall a single client in the four and a half years I have spent working at MH&A where I have not enjoyed working with or built a good relationship with. What I really enjoy though is when you form a long term relationship with a client, and build not only a great rapport and mutual respect, but also a level of trust and ongoing contact - because you want to hear about what each other is up to, and think about how you could work together again in the future. I am really lucky to have built this type of relationship with lots of my clients over recent years, and I think it comes from the client seeing and knowing that me and my team are as invested in delivering the outcomes required as they are. How do you like to unwind after a busy week? I love to cook, and take my time and put lots of effort into making something lovely that I can share with friends or family over the weekend. I like to feel busy at the weekend too, so when I start work again on Monday I feel like I have really made the most of my weekend and squeezed all the enjoyment out of it that I could. The absolute best way though is on some kind of city break. A couple of days somewhere different really helps me recharge and reset for another busy stint at work.

Today, we celebrate the small acts of kindness that make a big impact. At MH&A, kindness isn't just a one-day event – it’s woven into the way we work with each other, our clients, and our communities. One of our core values, collaboration, reminds us that teamwork thrives on mutual respect, support, and understanding. On this #WorldKindnessDay, let’s consider a few ways we can all make a positive difference: Listen attentively – a genuine ear is often one of the best gifts we can offer. Show appreciation – a simple “thank you” or word of encouragement goes a long way. Share knowledge generously – helping others grow reflects our ambition for a better world. Be open and honest – authenticity fosters trust and deeper connections. Extend kindness to yourself – we’re at our best for others when we take care of our own well-being. Let’s build a kinder world, one act at a time. How will you spread kindness today? #MakeKindnessTheNorm