Blog Archives: September 2016

At the beginning of the summer, it would have been inconceivable that the government would be considering bringing back academic selection in schools. Yet here we are in September, with the story attracting news headlines in the national press, all starting with a photo of a document being carried into 10 Downing Street mentioning new grammar schools. The timing of the issue is the most surprising. The new Secretary of State for Education, Justine Greening, had one of the rarest and most useful things in politics; a fresh slate. There could be a real risk to her image with a controversial policy like this, and it seems like a political own goal for the first Education Secretary who was educated at a comprehensive school to be the one to re-introduce academic selection. In fairness to Ms Greening, it’s clear that the driving force behind the policy is the Prime Minister herself.

As we enter a new academic year, it’s worth reflecting on this year’s GCSE results and what they mean for technical and vocational education.  Newspapers reported a decline in overall outcomes; it was the biggest year-on-year drop since GCSEs began in 1988. There are a number of reasons for this.

The first issue, and one we expect clarity on soon, is grammar schools. Supposedly accidently leaked to the media at the beginning of September, the re-introduction of grammar schools is one of many options currently being discussed by government as part of its schools reform, and we anticipate more detail to follow in a subsequent consultation.   It’s possible that the grammar schools issue has been bought into the public eye to detract from other issues the Education Secretary needs to focus on, such as the deployment of the National Funding Formula, the ongoing teacher recruitment shortfall and the introduction of the actions outlined in the Education White Paper, to name but a few. It may also be a concession to the Conservative backbenchers, to appease them in the event of a Brexit deal that does not meet their requirements.

“We will need to move towards fewer, often larger, more resilient and efficient providers.” That was very much the message that has underpinned the area based review process. And for very good reasons, the FE college sector needs to reform to meet the demands of public policy changes, the challenges of reducing budgets, increased localism, and changes in the markets for education and training. The area based review process is supposed to deliver benefits for the key stakeholders in education and training, including learners, employers, the wider community, taxpayers and also for the colleges that undertake the process. It should lead to a more rational, objective and collaborative approach to planning post-16 provision in an area that would avoid wasteful duplication and create more demand-led, flexible and responsive curricula to meet educational and employer needs, eg to increase the number of apprenticeships. It would strengthen the regional reputation of colleges and also create a clearer and well understood brand for FE.

With apprenticeships in England set to change as a result of government reform, groups of professional bodies from different sectors are working together to design new employer-led Trailblazer apprenticeships, which will replace the SASE frameworks in a phrased process taking place over the next three years.                           We welcome the move to increase the quality of apprenticeships, and we want to make sure that we support both employers and training providers through this transition.

The National Audit Office has released a report that exposes a major flaw in the government’s plan to increase the number of apprenticeships. The government has failed to outline how more apprenticeships will lead to increased productivity. Of course, this should come as no surprise. Many in the sector have been expressing this concern for some time now. I’ve used speaking engagements at a number of conferences to express my own concerns earlier in the year. NCFE’s response to the BIS Select Committee inquiry call for evidence in March included this comment:  

This month, Alzheimer’s disease is being highlighted with the fifth World Alzheimer’s Month, an international campaign to raise awareness and challenge stigma. Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia – a progressive, degenerative brain syndrome that affects memory, thinking, behaviour and emotion. 46 million people globally are living with dementia – 500,000 of those are in the UK – and this number is expected to increase to 131.5 million by 2050. Other types of dementia include vascular dementia and mixed dementia, and the chief executive of Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) called dementia the ‘most significant’ health crisis of the 21st century. ADI figures show that someone in the world develops the disease every three seconds.