Academies Week - 19 Sept

More than one angle on GCSE grading (p7)

Last week saw the announcement of the new GCSE grading system, which will support the introduction of new qualifications starting in 2015. The current A to G scale will be replaced with a 9-1 numerical system, with grade 4 being equivalent to a grade C, grade 7 to a grade A and the new ‘uber-grade’ 9 given to strictly controlled group of top performers.

The news media has covered this from a number of angles – GCSEs always receive high scrutiny – but in Academies Week’s opinion, 2 key issues have been avoided: firstly, the new, tougher grades may mean ‘the class of 2017 get lower grades in maths, English and science, then there is a real danger those subjects will suffer lower take-up [at A Level]’. The second, (and arguably more important point) is ‘Getting Grade 9 may help the super-clever get ahead, but does it not also mean the Grade 1s are getting further behind?

And where are the policies to help those who are not achieving the new top grades?’

FE Week 29 Sept

Ofsted directors traineeship dropout fears (p2)

Ofsted Skills chief Lorna Fitzjohn has highlighted concerns that too many learners are dropping out of the government’s flagship traineeship programme. This follows figures showing that only 200 of the 459 providers eligible to provide Traineeships are actually going to deliver them this year.

She said ‘We are also beginning to see quite high drop-out rates from traineeships programmes, people are not staying on them, because they’re not the right thing for them, so I do think the programmes themselves need closely looking at to make sure they are what a young person needs’.

Framework deadline for AOs ‘false’ says AELP Chief Segal (p3)

Stewart Segal, head of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) has stated that Awarding Organisations should have had more time to get their new Apprenticeship Frameworks submitted to the government’s Learning Aims System. He accuses that, by imposing a false deadline, there’s been a number of flaws highlighted with the system, and some apprenticeship frameworks have not appeared as fundable.

A spokesperson for the Skills Funding Agency stated ‘The agency has processed the significant number of changes to apprenticeship frameworks we received from the framework issuing authorities within normal timescales’.

FE Week 6 Oct

Functional Skills handed lifeline (p1)

The New Skills Minister Nick Boles has implied that Functional Skills could be set for a return to government favour.

After months of Functional Skills being branded as a ‘Stepping stone’ qualification, and talk of removing them from Apprenticeship Frameworks, Boles described them as ‘important ‘ when he appeared at an FE week Fringe event at the Conservative Party Conference.
Boles re-emphasised government policy, which states that learners achieving D grade in GCSE English or maths must re-sit the qualification, but added the following important caveat: ‘If you’ve done worse than that, maybe what it’s telling us is that the whole way a GCSE is constructed is just never really going to sell it to this person. That’s why Functional Skills are so important.’

He also set out his intention to work with Ofqual to improve elements of the qualification, including the branding.

This, along with the ongoing thematic review of Functional Skills will hopefully mean these important qualifications will be preserved and not ‘killed off’ in favour of the new ‘more rigorous’ GCSEs.

Skills Minister hints at scrapping cash contributions plan (p4)

In his first interview for FE Week, the Skills Minister outlined that he would consider getting rid of the requirements for employers to contribute toward funding apprenticeships if it risked putting employers off hiring apprentices.

The Minister has however reaffirmed his commitment to have apprenticeship funding from government to flow to employers – although achieving all this when the Conservatives have committed to increasing the number of apprenticeships 3 million in the next parliament will be a challenge (see below).

TES 3 Oct

Apprentice ‘arms race’ must embrace colleges (p48)

As politicians try to outdo each other in promising increasing number of apprentices, they haven't yet set out how FE Colleges will be involved in relation to the expansion of apprenticeships.

Richard Atkins, Principal of Exeter College has stated that, although he is pleased with the focus on apprenticeships in the political agenda, more money would have to be put into the Further Education sector to achieve the goals set out: ‘If Ed Miliband’s targets are to be met, we need another 10,000 apprentices every year…we won’t generate at those levels without additional funding’.

In a time of ongoing cuts to public finances, will the funding be made available for these additional apprenticeship spaces? Or do the respective political parties anticipate the extra money to come from employers?