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P.S.H Everything

By Rachel Hopkins, Marketing Officer, Monday 17 July 2017

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This year, sex and relationships education (SRE) has been made mandatory for all children over the age of four in all schools in England, whereas previously, this was only an obligation for council-run schools. This is one example of the changing world we live in, influencing timetabling decisions and identifying gaps in the core curriculum which may not necessarily be equipped to arm schoolchildren with some of the ‘life lessons’, that can be lacking amongst traditional academia. SRE fits neatly in to the every growing umbrella of Personal, Social, Health and Education (PSHE) which has formed part of the National Curriculum since 2000. However, as all elements are not compulsory, the contents can be hazy and the responsibility lies with the school to decide the content of this wide ranging subject. From personal safety and first aid to money management, PSHE is the epitome of the subject that would like to be all things to all pupils and where the ‘E’ could almost stand for ‘everything else’.

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Here’s why apprenticeship opportunities for the young will now disappear

By Nick Linford, Writing exclusively for NCFE, Tuesday 11 July 2017

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The government lied in both its 2015 and 2017 manifestos. It committed to “create three million apprenticeships for young people by 2020”, when in truth ‘young people’ are not being prioritised. In reality, apprenticeship starts of all ages count towards the target, and so far this year a record 47% of starts are adults aged 25 and over. In fact, since counting towards the target began in 2015, more than 10,000 apprenticeship starts have been for people aged 60 and over. Yes, you read that right, aged 60 and over.

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10 qualities employers are looking for

By Katie Dawkins, Guest Blogger, Friday 30 June 2017

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This article was researched and written by Katie Dawkins who joined our Communications Team from Whitley Bay High School on a work experience placement.

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5 stages of the Functional Skills Reform

By David Redden, External Quality Assurance Officer, Wednesday 21 June 2017

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Functional Skills qualifications are changing. As an active member of the Functional Skills Working Group, we want to keep you up to date with everything that is going on with the reform and open up a conversation with you, our customers, as this is your opportunity to create the qualification your learners need. Take a look at the 5 stages that have been taken so far in the journey of the Functional Skills reform. Stage 1

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Is an IoT an HEI?

By Mick Fletcher, FE Policy Analyst, Tuesday 20 June 2017

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The proposals in the Post-16 Skills Plan (July 2016) sought to revitalise higher technical education by creating a new binary system, perhaps responding to the popular sentiment that laments the loss of the polytechnics. On the one side of the line, there would be Higher Education (HE) delivered in the main by Universities and regulated by the Office for Students (OfS). On the other side of the line would be Higher Technical and Professional Education (HTPE) delivered by Colleges or new Institutes of Technology (IoT) and regulated by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE). In HE, autonomous institutions would design their own programmes as now; in HTPE institutions would only be funded to deliver programmes centrally developed to rules set by IfATE. HE could include provision at levels 4 and 5 but only if they form part of a programme leading to a full degree.  HTPE would, it seems, be essentially at sub-degree level. The proposals raised a number of questions. How, for example, would it raise the status of technical education, to clearly signal from the outset that it is in the second division? Why would colleges opt to deliver the centrally planned programmes of IfATE when new rules give them easier access to degree awarding powers that let them design their own? Why would we want two systems of regulation in HE when one would do?

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