TES 18 July

It’s all change at the top. Time for a fresh start? (p7) – its ‘all change’ in Education and Skills world, with new Ministers Nicky Morgan and Nick Boles replacing Michael Gove and Matthew Hancock.

The TES article looks at the legacy Nicky is set to inherit at the Department for Education, where ‘she faces the tough task of making her predecessors reforms work on the ground.

This may not be her only challenge, as a former senior policy adviser to Michael Gove suggested that ‘some officials in the Department for Education, wary of the pace of change, will use the reshuffle to try to put the brakes on reform’.

And the reason that Michael Gove was removed from office? According to commentators ‘his antagonistic relationship with Teachers’…

Whatever the truth, it looks like Nicky will have her hands full implementing the changes brought in by Michael Gove, and so may not get the opportunity to be distinctive in the few months left before the General Election.

Vocational education gets ‘focus it deserves’ (p46) – ‘Vocational Education in England is to receive unprecedented attention in the run up to next year’s election’ according to TES, as it comes under increasing scrutiny through Ofqual and Parliament.

Ofqual is looking at Vocational Education through a series of consultations – making sure all Vocational qualifications are ‘fit for purpose’ and could be trusted by employers.

Conservative MP Graham Stuart, head of the Education select Committee has announced that they will shortly start an enquiry looking at vocational education – as he views it ‘[England] has struggled to give vocational education anything like the status enjoyed in countries like Austria or Germany’.

A ‘call for evidence’ has already gone out for this select committee, and we reckon it’ll start reporting in October – Vocational education is very poorly understood by our political masters, so this is definitely one to watch…

www.feweek.co.uk

England won’t join European Apprenticeship body, says Skills Minister Matthew Hancock – The (former) Skills Minister has ruled out joining the European Alliance for Apprenticeships, an organisation that ensures Apprenticeships are transferable across Europe.

The Minister believes that this can ‘be achieved through less bureaucratic routes than a European Alliance for Apprenticeships’. Confusingly however, devolved nations are free to join the Alliance if they think it would best serve their purposes.

Will the government’s reformed Apprenticeship be recognised across Europe? Will they support a truly flexible global workforce? We can be sure that these will lead to further confusion for learners attempting the new revised standards.

Hackney UTC closure prompts tough 157 Group leader criticisms for Lord Baker project – The University Technical College (UTC) ‘movement’ has suffered a setback after Hackney UTC in East London was forced to close after attracting just 29 pupils to join in September.

This follows low recruitment at other UTCs and Central Bedford has been branded ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted. This has led to calls from the sector questioning the government’s drive to open more UTCs (with plans to open 50 by 2017).

With former Conservative education Minister Lord Baker pushing for an expansion of the UTC movement, we can expect these kind of tensions to continue, as the diversity of centres offering 14-19 education continues to diversify.

Awarding bodies group tells of ‘details’ concern over quals registration plan – the Federation of Awarding Bodies (FAB) has stated its concerns over Ofqual’s plans to set out in its ‘Lifting the Regulation Requirement ‘ consultation.

The consultation sets out removing the requirement for some qualifications to be regulated, instead depending on a ‘validity strategy’ for each qualification, and ongoing evidence of its suitability for its stated purpose. This is in addition to other consultations released in the last fortnight, setting out changes to the QCF and the way learning hours will be recorded on the future.

FAB’s concerns revolve around the details of the bulk of the proposals, which have yet to be published. Jill Lanning, CEO of FAB stated that ‘as ever the devil will be in the detail and there is a lack of clarity around the details such as Ofqual’s proposed ‘validity strategy’ mentioned in Glenys Stacey’s letter’.

Vocational education inquiry aims to explain reduction in Apprenticeship starts, committee chair announces – as covered in the TES, more detail has emerged on the Education Select Committee’s review into Vocational education.

It is set to look at (amongst other things) the decline in Apprenticeship numbers for 16 to 19 year olds as part of its wider look at Vocational Education.

This means the Apprenticeships and Further education systems will be under very close scrutiny by Members of Parliament, as they’ll focus on ‘the range of courses available, employer engagement levels, the impact of recent changes to funding and whether government investment represents good value for money’.

It is expected that the cross-party committee will look at ‘ways the government might encourage more businesses to offer apprenticeships and the factors which prevent more young people considering Apprenticeships.’