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Policy Corner - 15 February 2016

By Andrew Gladstone-Heighton, Policy Leader, Monday 15 February 2016

Andrew Gladstone-Heighton

The long, agonising wait for a ‘tsunami of exam reform’ (p8) - In less than 2 months time, schools will have to start teaching the new GCSEs and A Levels over 20 subjects. Ofqual still has to approve two-thirds (only 52 out of 156 have been approved) of the specifications for teaching and delivery— a situation described as ’shocking’ by teaching unions. It's up to colleges to stop this strike, says Corbyn (p46) - Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn has called on colleges to come up with a ‘reasonable’ pay offer for their staff ahead of a national strike planned for the 24 February.

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Apprenticeship reforms - What's the deal?

By , Tuesday 09 February 2016

The government states that it wants to improve recognition and quality of Apprenticeship programmes. It intends to achieve this by involving employers more heavily in Apprenticeships and giving them control over the standards, content and funding of an Apprenticeship. This, it argues, will ensure that all Apprenticeships suitably prepare learners for employment while also ensuring employers’ needs are met in terms of skills gaps. Another government plan is to protect the term ‘Apprenticeship’ in legislation to safeguard the brand and ensure high quality outcomes. Furthermore, in an effort to drive up the number of Apprenticeship starts, the upcoming Enterprise Bill will require at least 2.3% of public sector businesses with a workforce of 250 people or more to hire apprentices.

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#FEunplugged - Don’t Pull the Plug on Further Education

By Andrew Gladstone-Heighton, Policy Leader, Friday 29 January 2016

Andrew Gladstone-Heighton

It’s quite timely that the National Union of Students has launched its ‘#FEunplugged’ campaign today, making sure that the learner’s voice is heard at the heart of the Area Review process. This builds on growing concerns in the sector that the Area Review process is being pushed through without due consideration for the institutions it will affect.

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Ryan's Apprenticeship journey

By Ryan Richardson, Junior Software Developer, Friday 29 January 2016

Ryan blog.jpg

I started my Apprenticeship in Software Development last January at NCFE, which I’ve recently completed. I’ve gained important knowledge and skills, as well as qualifications and work experience – all while getting paid! Before I started my Apprenticeship, I attended the NCFE Rising Stars boot camp. During this, I achieved a Level 2 qualification in IT Professionalism, which included many different aspects of IT. This helped me better understand the path in IT I wanted to go down – Software Development, which I really enjoyed learning during the boot camp.

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Policy Corner - 19 January 2016

By Andrew Gladstone-Heighton, Policy Leader, Tuesday 19 January 2016

Andrew Gladstone-Heighton

1 January 2016 The biggest change to the schools system in 50 years (p8) - Ministers are considering publishing a whitepaper that will formalise its plans to convert every remaining state school in the country into an academy.

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