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The cuts to funding for adult skills in 2015-16 have been widely documented in the last month as the Association of Colleges warns that up to 190,000 adult education places will be lost next year. However, the government has stated that although overall funding is being cut, high quality apprenticeships and English and maths are being prioritised to ensure that learners are literate and numerate, with vocational qualifications of prestige. At NCFE, we have been working hard to ensure that our popular and valued vocational qualifications have their funding protected and we’re pleased to say that we now have almost 100 funded qualifications available for 15-16 with further qualifications pending approval. These qualifications include courses within Health and Social Care such as Level 2 Certificate in the Principles of Dementia Care, Level 2 Certificate in the Principles of the Prevention and Control of Infection in Health Care Settings, as well as substantial qualifications such as Level 1, 2 and 3 Diplomas in Entry to the Uniformed Services and many more.

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Over the last few weeks the manifestos for the UK national parties have all been released. So we wanted to give you a round-up of the key points potentially impacting schools and secondary education. Of course this is just a snapshot and with many pundits saying that this election is going to close, (some commentators stating a 91% chance of a hung parliament at present) coalition (or supply and confidence) relationships between parties could be highly likely which means many of the points outlines below could be up for negotiation. Conservatives

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The build-up to the general election has seen the topic of childcare discussed by all of the major political parties. Various pledges have been made in relation to accessing childcare, some of the highlights of these are; Labour: Labour want to ensure all primary schools guarantee access to childcare from 8am-6pm, and also extend free childcare from 15 to 25 hours for working parents of 3 and 4 year-olds.

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‘Everybody has A*s – employers want character’ (p10) – John Cridland, Director-General of the business lobbying organisation the CBI, wants schools to do more to develop character – he said in an interview with TES that his members would look "at all elements of a learner’s CV, rather than merely the qualifications, because everybody has A*s." He also called for Ofsted to judge schools on the holistic development of pupils, looking at a students’ ‘whole education’ – which has aligned with recent announcements from Education Secretary Nicky Morgan and Labour’s Tristram Hunt.

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A report by the Commons Health Committee has called for improvements to be made to the access available for social care at the end of life. Following the report which claimed there was “unacceptable variation” in the quality of care received across England, Care minister Norman Lamb said the government will now look closely at a policy of free end of life social care for all. Currently, families seeking free care for a dying relative at home have to go through a complex process of means testing and assessment to identify if they qualify for funded support for end of life care. As a result, more than half of deaths across England still occur in NHS hospitals, despite more than two-thirds of people saying they would prefer to spend their last days at home.

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Last week we celebrated the eighth National Apprenticeship Week, which saw more than 600 events held across the country, shining a national media spotlight on Apprenticeships; a spotlight which was only intensified by the build up to the general election. With a year of change behind us and a great deal of uncertainty still ahead in terms of the future for Apprenticeships, the week provided a welcomed opportunity to take stock and appreciate the true value that Apprenticeships have on the lives of learners, businesses and our economy. Co-ordinated by the National Apprenticeship Service, the week aims to help inspire more young people to become apprentices, whilst encouraging business to unlock the potential of Apprenticeships.

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As we get increasingly closer to May’s General Election, each of the major political parties are setting out their stall in terms of how they would improve education within Schools. With this in mind, it’s interesting to see Labour’s pledge to move arts to the heart of education, giving each child an entitlement to a creative learning experience. In his first major speech on the arts, Ed Miliband, Labour leader, told a gathering of cultural leaders that arts, culture and creativity would be integral to the next Labour government’s mission. He talked passionately about the “wider impact” these subjects can have on a young person’s education.

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Government scraps ‘deterrent’ apprentice rule (p1) – the government has ‘scrapped’ the rule that requires Apprentices to re-sit any English & maths GCSEs they sat more than 5 years before the Apprenticeship start date. The “Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) confirmed it had removed the rule — in place since 2009 — from the latest version of the specification of apprenticeship standards for England (SASE), but individual frameworks will need to be amended to reflect the change.”

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As Women’s International Day celebrates its silver anniversary after 25 years, we look at what’s changed for women in this space of time. How much more needs to be done? There’s no doubt that feminist movements such as the suffragette movement, perhaps the most famous of all, have substantially improved the lives of women in the Western world. Let’s remember that a mere century ago, women were unable to vote. In terms of laws, women have continued to break free from the shackles of oppressive regulation for over a century. There is the Gender Equality Act 2010, The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and The Employment Equality (Sex Discrimination) Regulations 2005 to name a few. But why are we still fighting for equality?

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‘Open traineeships up’ plea as starts hit 5K in first quarter (p2) – the government has been urged to open up more traineeships as ‘figures show 1,700 more people started on the scheme in the first three months of 2014/15 than in the entire first half of last academic year.’ Chief Executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) Stewart Segal said that he was encouraged by the figures – but called for a relaxation to the current rule that only allows Traineeships to be delivered by Ofsted grade 1 or 2 providers.

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Blog posts for tag:policy

An update on adult skills funding in 2015-16

General Election - what's in it for schools?

Securing access to childcare

Policy Corner - 17 April 2015

A call for improvements to end of life care access

Apprenticeships - the week that was

Embedding creativity in your curriculum

Policy Corner - March 2015

International Women's Day - Educating on gender equality

Policy Corner - 17 February 2015

Authors

Lindsay Plumpton

David Grailey

Andrew Gladstone-Heighton

Esme Winch

Michael Lemin

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Blog posts for tag:policy

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Authors

Lindsay Plumpton

David Grailey

Andrew Gladstone-Heighton

Esme Winch

Michael Lemin

Categories

Archive