Blog posts for tag:funding

It was great to hear the news that a record £360,000 grant has been awarded to a team of academics for research on improving teaching standards in FE, showing a real commitment to improving vocational education. Awarded by the Gatsby Charitable Trust to a research team at the University of Huddersfield, the grant will be used to investigate how to improve both teaching and teacher training in FE colleges. The aim is to develop a sector-wide “intervention” designed to raise standards in technology, engineering, and vocational science subjects.

Following the announcement of the Apprenticeship levy rate and the Apprenticeship Institute in the Autumn Statement, the government has outlined further detail on the Apprenticeship reforms and their vision for Apprenticeships going forward. The paper, entitled “English Apprenticeships: Our 2020 Vision”, explores how the government intends to improve recognition and quality of Apprenticeship programmes, give employers more power in shaping Apprenticeships and the state of funding for Apprenticeships. The key points highlighted in the Executive Summary are the intentions for Apprenticeships to provide “substantive training in a professional or technical route” with a strong focus on key English and maths skills, and the availability of Apprenticeships at all levels, up to and including degree level, as well as across all sectors. It’s expected the amount of Higher Apprenticeships – those at a degree level – will increase and become more widely available. This is good news in the light of recent research that showed learners who undertake Higher Apprenticeships earn more than university graduates.

Judging by the initial reaction to the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement it seemed the Education and Skills sector had received its Christmas presents early. After bracing ourselves for pretty brutal cuts to budgets across the board, the actual announcements were generally positively received. Thanks in part to higher than expected tax receipts and debt interest, the government managed to avoid some of the larger scale cuts that the sector had been anticipating. Indeed, the ongoing protection to the schools budget and an increase in financial support for education and childcare continue to be welcome for the sector, spreading a little festive cheer. The government has also set out its intention to introduce a new National Funding Formula for schools by 2017, with the intention of overcoming the regional discrepancies brought about by the current system.

Ahead of the 2015 Spending Review and Autumn Statement, we’re predicting that the further education sector will continue to be negatively impacted as a result of the announcements due to be made by the Chancellor today. Following the announcement of and extensive discussion around the Apprenticeship levy, it is expected that the levy rate will be announced this afternoon.

Chancellor George Osborne today delivered the Autumn Statement, which he combined with the government’s Comprehensive Spending Review, to announce each governmental department’s spending limit for the next four years. We, as well as many in the sector, were braced for up to a 40% cut in the Adult Skills Budget (ASB), as this has often been the first area in education to see large reductions in spending when the government is looking to save costs.

We were encouraged to see the recent Policy Exchange report that calls for the government to divert up to half a billion pounds from universities into Further Education. The report, entitled Higher, Further, Faster, More argues that universities are sitting on “significant funding reserves” and that too much public spending is dedicated to Higher Education, to the detriment of the Further Education sector. The paper outlines the importance of further education and the need for “a diverse and thriving post-secondary education infrastructure” alongside our “world leading” higher education system. It argues that in order to meet its target of 3 million Apprenticeships by 2020, the government must ensure the further education sector is receiving adequate funds. The report proposes that universities should at least “partially fund themselves” due to their large income streams.

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.

The government’s Emergency ‘Summer’ Budget was announced this week; the first Conservative-only budget since 1996. The key announcement for education and skills was that the government’s target of 3 million apprenticeships by 2020 will be funded through a levy on employers. The levy will support all post-16 apprenticeships. This is likely to incentivise employers and encourage them to employ more apprentices. There are a plethora of advantages to businesses hiring apprentices and it’s good to see that employers are being encouraged to include apprenticeships in their business plans.

At NCFE, we’re always on the pulse with policy, funding, and everything else affecting the education sector. I recently attended the Meet the Minister event, hosted by FE Week, where Shadow Minister for Young People John Woodcock debated the FE sector, the growth of Apprenticeships, and other hot topics in the world of education.

Adult Learners’ Week 2015 began on Saturday, a week dedicated to celebrating the opportunities education can present to adults looking to upskill, further themselves in their career, or train in a completely new area. The government recently announced an imminent 24% cut to adult education funding for 2015-16; in an economy rife with spending cuts, adult education of often one of the first areas to experience harsh cuts. The Association of Colleges (AoC) has estimated this will result in the loss of a staggering 200,000 adult education places.