Blog Archives: October 2017

I recently attended the Schools, Students and Teacher Network (SSAT) Annual Lecture where the discussion was centred on how well we’re preparing pupils for the future world of work. CACHE Associate Director, Julie Hyde, was amongst the panel members conducting an insightful debate on the findings of the Taylor Review and how it should be the responsibility of us all, not just the government, to ensure that we support our pupils to navigate the complex landscape that lays before them. Issues around political matters, such as Brexit and the growing “gig” economy, now exist that many of us didn’t have to anticipate when we were 16 years old. The next 5-10 years involves significant change in workers’ rights and freedom of movement which may impact upon the career prospects of current and future school-age pupils. How does someone prepare themselves for a future of such unprecedented uncertainty? To echo the esteemed SSAT Panel member’s unilateral comments, the answer lies in resilience and agility.

Like most people, we can’t believe that it’s nearly November already. Not least due to a usual submission window from the Department for Education (DfE) passing us by without ever even opening. This has been a year unlike any other, where it’s been made abundantly clear that assumptions cannot be made  about the schools calendar. After a tentative wait, we’ve received the news that the 2020 performance tables will be opening this year for submissions. The technical guidance, we are told, will be released soon and we are still waiting for confirmation of when the first submission window will be opening.

There was a lot of talk at the Conservative Party Conference about the ‘skills revolution’; largely centred on promises of greater degree level apprenticeship opportunities for teachers. This, along with raising the profile of apprenticeships and ‘gold standard’ T-level technical qualifications, are part of the government’s plan to raise the esteem of technical education.  These are welcome announcements from the government, but in order to create a true parity of esteem, we need to go much further in promoting, and embedding, technical opportunities in mainstream learning from an early age.

We’re really proud to say that our Level 2 Certificate in Creative Studies: Craft has been developed to offer flexibility to schools to deliver a craft discipline that suits the needs of the pupil. This qualification aims to: · develop a broad and comprehensive understanding of craft

One of the key announcements at the Conservative Party conference was the increase in the payment threshold for student loans. Although the policy only applies to graduates who took out student loans introduced in 2012, it was launched as part of a raft of policies which appear to be trying to appeal to the younger demographic. Although at time of writing the official guidance is yet to be updated, the Department for Education (DfE) has clarified that this new threshold will also apply to advanced learner loans. Will this help the struggling advanced learner loans policy? We’ve seen continuing reports of the low take-up of advanced learner loans, with over half the budgeted amount underspent since 2013. As a key source of funding for learners looking to upskill themselves, this is a cause for concern.

This month, we spoke to Edith Hall, Chief Moderator for NCFE covering:Business Administration & Law and Preparation for Life & Work, to give us the inside track on what Edith and her Moderators are frequently asked and some handy tips for qualification delivery and assessment success. We’ll be speaking to more of our Chief Moderators, so if you have any burning questions about the sector you teach in, get in touch with [email protected].

In their simplest form, Functional Skills are practical qualifications in English, Maths and ICT which provide learners with essential knowledge, understanding and skills that will enable them to operate confidently, effectively and independently in life and work. On paper the offer makes sense, but historically the problem has been that rather than Functional Skills qualifications being given the recognition they deserve as technical and practical alternatives to traditional academic routes, there has been an ongoing disconnect in gaining that recognition from employers and industry. At NCFE we are passionate about the importance of Functional Skills being widely recognised and appreciated as high quality, robust qualifications and we are continually working to improve our offer for both learners and centres delivering our qualifications. We welcome the reform and are doing all we can as an active member of the Functional Skills Working Group to ensure that learners are at the heart of any changes made. Here we take a look at the stages so far in the Functional Skills Reform, and look ahead at how we deliver our own Functional Skills offer in the future.

We welcome the announcement from the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) indicating that they have issued letters to providers affected by the ongoing Adult Education Budget tender fallout. They state their new modified run-down extension contract value and the arrangements that will apply for the period 1 November 2017 to 31 July 2018. It’s our understating that the ESFA will now bring funding up to the value of 75% of last year’s amount. Whilst not the best outcome we could have hoped for, at least it provides some level of market continuation, as well as assurance for learners that their courses will go ahead as planned.

The government has published its experimental apprenticeship service statistics to August 2017, showing apprenticeship service account registrations, and ‘commitments’ to apprenticeship starts by age, level and academic year. The data itself is striking in its insight into the new world of apprenticeships, following the launch of the Levy. It reveals that only 55% of employers have signed up to use their Levy account. This means just under half of Levy paying employers are currently writing this off as a tax, without signing up to see how much their Levy payments will get them.

NCFE partner, Learning Curve Group (LCG) raised a fantastic £9,523 for 2017 their charity of the year, Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) by hosting a Vegas-themed charity ball. Heart FM DJ, Justin Lockwood, hosted the charity ball at Hardwick Hall Hotel, Sedgefield on Friday 15 September. Over 160 guests enjoyed fabulous entertainment from glamorous dance group Encore, saxophone player Daniel Johnson, rising singing star Abi Garrido and live band Audio Cover.