Blog posts for author:Lindsay Plumpton

The Department of Education announced this month that Amanda Spielman will take over from Sir Michael Wilshaw as Ofsted’s chief inspector at the end of the year. Ms Spielman comes with a wealth of experience in the sector, as chair of Ofqual and also Education Advisor of Ark. Nicky Morgan, Education Secretary, described her as “uniquely qualified to take up this important role” and “the right person to improve the quality and consistency of Ofsted’s inspections.” 

Acorn Community is our online space dedicated to co-creation. Together, we’ll use Acorn to solve problems and address challenges - for a new qualification development, a supporting product, or something totally new. We want you to tell us what that should look like. Meeting these challenges will mean the best ideas become products and services that contribute directly to success – that’s success for the learner, for you, and for us. We’ve already set challenges around support materials for V Certs, our renewable energy qualifications, reducing re-offending rates among offenders, and supporting you through the Apprenticeship reforms.

With the eligibility criteria about to change, it’s a good time to highlight the benefits of Advanced Learner Loans, and how they could help your learners to get the skills they need to succeed. From August 2016, Advanced Learner Loans will be available to everyone aged 19 and over for study at Level 3 to Level 6 (they were originally only available for individuals aged 24 and over and for study at Levels 3 and 4). This opens them up to a significant number of learners and gives you more choice for delivery.

There are increasing numbers of learners who specialise in vocational subjects and are now progressing to higher education or apprenticeships. It’s vital that these learners are prepared to study at a higher level in terms of independent study, researching, developing self- awareness, as well as being skilled in their chosen field. With this in mind, NCFE offers the Level 3 Award and Extended Award in Higher Level Studies – fundable qualifications which are unique in the market place and can be used to complement apprenticeships, or as part of a bespoke Study Programme package.  These qualifications can now be supplemented by resources such as:

At NCFE, we’re eagerly anticipating the publication of the Sainsbury Review of Technical and Professional Education (TPE), which was delayed until after the EU referendum. This delay has been welcomed by some, as it allows more time for properly thought-out and tested qualifications to be created. The review is expected to present radical plans, meaning a revolutionary change for post-16 TPE provision, and it’s rumoured that it will recommend that the changes are piloted in 2019-20, which will at least give all of us some time to align ourselves with them.

Within the work preparation element of a Study Programme, we understand that sometimes it is difficult to identify your learners’ baseline strengths and weaknesses, design tailored programmes based upon this and accurate track distance travelled from the start to the end of the course. REED NCFE is excited to be launching a brand new Baseline Employability Skills Test, BESTest, which answers all of these questions and more.

Attracting the right talent for Apprenticeships is hard and at NCFE, we understand the time it takes to sift through candidates to increase your number of Apprenticeship starters and increase retention and success rates. CareerMap is offering a free 30 day trial of their Apprenticeship placement service exclusively to NCFE customers.

Meet Joel. At the age of six, Joel Fields, 18, from Birmingham, and his four brothers and sisters were put into foster care. But, thanks to The Prince's Trust, he was able to turn his life around. Find out how you can help people like Joel progress in their lives.  For 10 years Joel was moved from one foster home to another. Then, at 17, he was put into Independent Living accommodation, which helps young people without any family support to learn to look after themselves.

In the midst of uncertainty around the new round of ESiF contracts, NCFE is here to provide support. We’re ready and waiting with a range of curriculum solutions to help you meet the new funding criteria.

It’s a new academic year which marks a new start for many. But what about those learners who aren’t quite ready to take on an Apprenticeship or start work but need a little extra support to prepare them for their future? And what about the learners who are still a little lost as to which road to take? Traineeships are short periods of training and work experience designed for these learners. The flexibility of Traineeships offers employers the opportunity to help build a pool of high quality future recruits for their sector and they’re an ideal opportunity for young people, aged 16-24, who are motivated to get a job but lack the skills and experience that employers are looking for.