The BBC will no longer have a dedicated education editor as part of a cost-cutting drive that will see 100 jobs go across BBC News, under a plan that school leaders described as “deeply regrettable”.
BBC staff have been told that the roles of education editor and social affairs editor are to be combined into a single position as part of a round of changes that will save £5.5m. However, prominent unions and campaigners are warning the reform will dilute scrutiny of two specialisms that are too important to go without a dedicated BBC role.
The education editor at BBC News is Branwen Jeffreys and the social affairs editor is Alison Holt.
In a message to staff seen by the Guardian, Richard Burgess, the director of news content, said he was proposing the change after a review of on-air editor roles. He said the review looked at “audience demand, editorial requirements and how we ensure these roles remain relevant in a changing news environment”.
There will also be no health editor title at the BBC when the current incumbent, Hugh Pym, leaves in the spring. That job will be incorporated into the role of medical editor, currently held by Fergus Walsh.
“These are difficult decisions, but I have given the changes careful consideration, taking into account levels of audience interest and editorial demand, as well as how we can work as efficiently as possible across the department,” Burgess said.
It appears BBC executives have opted to combine the education and social affairs jobs as they attempt to reduce duplication and cut wage costs. Sources said experienced education and social affairs specialists would remain at the BBC, but others inside the corporation have been left puzzled by a reform that will leave the world’s oldest national public service broadcaster without a dedicated education editor.
School leaders and teaching unions questioned the move. “On the face of it, this announcement suggests that the BBC is proposing to dilute leadership of its education coverage,” said James Bowen, assistant general secretary at the school leaders’ union NAHT. He urged the BBC to rethink the plan.
He said: “This would be a deeply regrettable move by our national broadcaster, which plays a vital role in shining a light on important issues affecting the education sector and holding the government and Department for Education to account.”
Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said the move would “diminish the public’s understanding of education matters in this country”. Matt Wrack, general secretary of the NASUWT teachers’ union, said: “At a time when schools are grappling with rising child poverty, crumbling buildings, teacher shortages and major funding cuts, the public needs to hear from strong public interest reporting in the sector.”
Nadra Ahmed, co-chair of the National Care Association, said she was concerned that the lack of a social affairs editor meant the sector could lose attention at a critical time, with the prime minister drawing up social care reforms.
One BBC insider said the combining of the education and social affairs editor roles “further erodes our ability to give sufficient coverage to the breadth and depth of two materially distinct topics”.
However, others inside the BBC said the issues of education, social affairs and health all had dedicated teams of journalists that would ensure proper coverage. A BBC spokesperson said: “The BBC remains committed to covering education, and will continue to do so both at editor level, and with its team of expert reporters and producers.”
Burgess said that alongside the editor role changes the job requirements of on-air editors would be reviewed to place “greater emphasis” on making an impact on social media and digital platforms such as YouTube and TikTok.
The BBC is making renewed efforts to boost its presence on those platforms as it attempts to reach younger audiences who are increasingly using the sites for news.
