Blog Archives: July 2013

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How important is happiness to learning?

By Lindsay Plumpton, Communications Leader, Tuesday 30 July 2013

Lindsay Plumpton

In America and Sweden, social and emotional learning is considered to be integral to student success in school, college, life and work. It’s believed that teaching children how to manage their emotions, build effective relationships and make responsible decisions equips them for the challenges that they’ll face, promotes academic success and discourages negative behaviour.   It’s interesting to consider: could the UK learn from this model? A recent survey conducted by independent research agency Public Knowledge in conjunction with NCFE showed that over 80% of the general public believes that young people should receive guidance on personal money management at school, with over 70% agreeing that students should receive lessons in sexual health, alcohol awareness and substance misuse. The research was conducted nationally with over 2300 members of the general public and demonstrates a strong feeling that school should be about more than academia.

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Nurturing world class skills in the UK

By David Grailey, Chief Executive, Monday 15 July 2013

David Grailey

It’s been a good month to be British! Not only did Andy Murray become the first British man to win Wimbledon in 77 years but the UK also gave a fantastic performance at the 2013 World Skills competition in Leipzig, achieving a whole host of medals. Particular congratulations must go to Ashley Terron, a bricklayer from Warrington and George Callow, a cabinet maker from Chichester who took the top spots and were honoured as the best young tradesmen in the world. World Skills is about celebrating vocational skills and talents in all their forms; from plumbing to floristry, from hairdressing to IT. At NCFE, we think it’s important to recognise the value of these skills and nurture people’s natural aptitudes in these areas. That’s why in addition to our wide portfolio of vocational courses, we now offer a suite of qualifications in Achieving Excellence in a Vocational Skill. The qualifications range from Level 1 to Level 4 and aim to extend a learner’s range of skills, attributes and behaviours within a wider context of work-related learning.

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A Year of Change and Challenge for us all

By David Grailey, Chief Executive, Monday 15 July 2013

David Grailey

Looking back it seems that not a single month has gone by without education being in the national news headlines in some shape or form. Rightly so, given the importance of education in our society, but sadly the stories haven’t always been upbeat. And while the team here at NCFE has been busy working on new qualifications to meet the latest DfE changes, we’ve been acutely aware of the wider challenges and changes facing all of you in your schools. For those of you already working with us, I hope that our continued commitment to customer service goes someway to helping alleviate the challenges you’re facing. Against this background of change and challenge, all our focus remains on the pupils. So with this in mind, perhaps one of the most thought provoking discussions that’s received recent media coverage is the report from the Children’s Commissioner for England. The report paints a very bleak picture of the impact that budget cuts are having on children from poorer families.

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UK employers want more control over training

By Lindsay Plumpton, Communications Leader, Tuesday 02 July 2013

Lindsay Plumpton

According to a recent survey for the Confederation of British Industry, 93% of 294 firms felt they knew best what employee skills they needed and would like qualifications to be better tailored to their needs. Almost half of those surveyed (45%) stated that many applicants with the right skills did not have the right mindset for work, while 39% said they often lacked any general work experience. The survey also revealed that 62% of organisations are worried about poor computing skills, 55% about literacy and 51% about numeracy.

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